Many people love peaches, because these fruits have an incredibly pleasant taste and delicate aroma. This is a real storehouse of vitamins and nutrients. To be able to feel the excellent taste of these fruits during the cold season, you can stock up on them for future use. One of the most convenient ways is freezing. How to properly freeze peaches for the winter? You can do this in different ways, it's easy and quick. Properly frozen and preserved fruits will be a wonderful winter treat.
This preparation can be used in the future for preparing desserts, as well as as a filling for baked goods. Fragrant slices will be an excellent addition to various porridges in the diet of both adults and children. They are delicious on their own.
Features of freezing peaches for the winter
Peaches are a very delicate fruit and can be easily damaged. Therefore, when preparing for freezing, they must be handled carefully.
To prevent oxidation of the pulp and its darkening, the peaches are dipped in an acidic solution for several minutes. Prepared slices of ripe fruit can be placed in a weak solution of citric acid (add less than a teaspoon per liter of water). In this case, they will not darken during storage.
It is also quite simple to prepare: from lemon juice and water at a temperature of about 15 degrees. For a liter of water, adding 4 tablespoons of juice will be enough.
It should be noted that these fruits very easily absorb foreign odors, so the bags must be sealed, and during storage, fruits should not be placed next to foods that have a strong odor (fish, meat, seafood).
It is also worth thinking in advance about where the fruit will be used next. Depending on this, the portion in the package may be larger or smaller.
Selection and preparation of fruits
Peaches that will be frozen must be carefully selected. The fruits should be moderately ripe, without damage or signs of rot. It is necessary to wash fruits, even if you plan to harvest them without the skin.
It is preferable to freeze small fruits whole. It is better to cut large fruits into pieces - this will save space in the freezer.Overripe fruits do not need to be frozen whole or in slices, but they will make an excellent fruit puree that can also be successfully stored in the freezer.
Peaches must first be carefully washed and allowed to dry naturally or wipe dry with a towel.
Recipes for freezing peaches at home
Freezing is a great way to store vegetables and fruits. Moreover, it is fast and convenient. However, you can freeze fruit in various ways. Next we will talk about the most popular recipes.
Whole peaches with pit
This is the fastest freezing method, since no additional processing of the fruit is required other than washing and drying.
To freeze the whole peach along with the pit, wrap each prepared peach in paper, put it in a bag so that the fruit does not crush each other, and place it in the freezer.
Dry paper towels are great for wrapping fruit.
There should be enough space in the freezer for such a preparation.
Slices without skin
When freezing peeled peaches in the refrigerator, you need to wash and peel them. To do this, blanch the fruits for 20-30 seconds in boiling water. Then you need to remove the skin from the fruit and cut them into slices. After this, the prepared peaches are dried, carefully placed in plastic bags and sent to the freezer for freezing.
With parchment
To properly freeze peaches using parchment paper, you must first wash, peel and, if desired, remove the skin. To do this, make cuts in the shape of the letter “X” on the peaches and place them in boiling water for thirty seconds. After this, remove the fruits and place them in ice water.
Then you need to cut the fruit into manageable pieces, remove the pit and cut them into slices. Next, arrange the slices on parchment so that they do not touch each other, cover with another sheet of parchment on top and place in the freezer.
This method of freezing also requires significant freezer space.
Peaches in bulk
You can freeze loose peaches with their skins on, or you can remove them if you wish. This will not affect the taste of the product. If you want to remove the skin, then the washed fruits should first be placed in boiling water for 15-20 seconds, and then in cold water, after which the skin will be easy to remove.
Next, you need to divide the fruit into halves or smaller slices. To avoid darkening during freezing, the workpiece is placed briefly in water with the addition of a small amount of lemon juice or citric acid.
Then the fruits are taken out of the water, dried further and placed on any flat dish covered with film or baking paper. Peaches should not touch each other. In this form, the fruits are sent to the freezer for 3-4 hours for pre-freezing.
After this, they are placed in bags or other containers and sent for long-term storage in the freezer.
With sugar
Typically, this preparation is most often used for baking sweet confectionery, so it is better to pre-cut the peaches into convenient slices. For this freezing method, prepared peaches are placed in a bag or container, layering the fruit with sugar. Containers intended for storage are filled to the required height, tightly closed and placed in the freezer.
Fruits can be frozen immediately in this way, without pre-processing in the freezer.
In syrup
For freezing in syrup, you can use slightly overripe peaches and those that have released their juice. You will need the following ingredients:
- fruit;
- sugar;
- water.
You should first prepare the sweet syrup. To do this, take 350-400 grams of sugar for every 600 ml of water. Bring the water to a boil, stir the sugar well until completely dissolved.
Slightly cooled syrup is poured over the fruits placed in the container. In this case, the use of plastic bags will be inappropriate.
The workpiece is allowed to stand for 1-2 hours to soak the fruit, and then it is frozen in the freezer.
It is important not to fill the container to the very brim with syrup to avoid spilling it out.
Peach puree
To prepare a healthy and tasty fruit puree, the peaches must first be peeled. Then the pit is removed, cut into pieces and crushed using a blender.
Sugar can be added to taste or omitted at all if desired. In this case, it will be completely natural. The prepared puree is distributed into containers. They are tightly closed and sent to the freezer.
The puree can be pre-packed into ice cube trays and frozen. Then the finished puree cubes are placed in a sealed bag and frozen. These cubes are a wonderful addition to baby food during the cold season.
Further storage
It is not enough to freeze this delicate product; it is important to follow the rules for storing it.
If the freezing rules have been followed, the peaches will not darken during storage and will continue to have a pleasant appearance and taste.
If the temperature in the chamber is from 9 to 12 degrees, then frozen fruits can be stored for 6 months.At temperatures below 12 degrees, frozen fruits can be stored for at least 9 months. There should be enough space in the freezer for ingredients.
How to defrost peaches
For further use, frozen fruit should be thawed.
When properly defrosted, fruits will retain their flavor and shape. Peaches should be defrosted gradually, at room temperature or on the refrigerator shelf.
The slower the process, the better the final fruit will look. Under no circumstances should you allow defrosting in hot water or a microwave oven - this will not only worsen the appearance of the product, but will also destroy most of the preserved vitamins.
Frozen peaches can be used in a variety of desserts or eaten plain.
