the local fruit and vegetables that you find in the markets at this time (not to mention the summer sweets just passed, which I hope you have preserved, are easy to freeze and allow you to savor what you love most in the middle of winter (without getting it to the other side of the world!) Here's how it's done
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Imagine yourself in January and visualize the lane of the fruits and vegetables of the supermarket. Spheres of a sickly red in the basket of gods tomatoes, peaches succulent and inviting like a kitchen sponge: these are the products grown to travel to our hemisphere. Instead, local fruit and vegetables that you find in the markets in this period (not to mention the past summer sweets, which I hope you have put in preserves, they are easy to freeze e they allow you to savor what you love most in the middle of winter (without getting it to the other side of the world!).
If, despite our recommendations for making preserves at home , favorite fill the freezer, we assure you that the freezing it is a wonderful way to take advantage of the fruits, legumes and herbs you find during this period.
Il freezing process does not destroy nutrients and, even if the texture will not be quite the same after defrosting, the flavor of strawberries in the middle of winter is a beauty, like porcini in April. In this way, si it will support the local economy - native varieties are less common because they are less productive - and, above all, you will reduce the number of kilometers that products travel to your home, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases for transport.
Basics for good home freezing:
- use i fresher products you find and freeze them as soon as possible
- wash and dry all
- remove the stones and cut into pieces of similar size between them
- used containers that withstand low temperatures, freeze or vacuum bags and remember to leave a little more space (the product will increase in volume)
- if you want to avoid plastic, there are good old men glass containers (check that they can go to the freezer anyway) and affix a label with the content and date
- at the time of use, thaw in the refrigerator
1) Freezing of fruit
There are several approaches to fruit refrigeration: could be preserved in sugar, syrup or dry. Some experts suggest that the freezing with sugar it helps to better preserve the flavor and texture of the fruit: once thawed, most of the sugar can be safely rinsed off. For this method it is sufficient to gently combine the prepared fruit with the sugar, let it rest until it starts to release the juices, then you can pack and put in the freezer. To do the syrup, heat 700 g of sugar with 900 ml of water over medium - high heat until the sugar has dissolved: this will take about five minutes. Pour over the prepared fruit and leave to cool, then place in the freezer. If the sugar causes the fruit to turn slightly black, add a little lemon juice. For a conservation dryinstead, prepare the fruit and arrange it on a baking sheet to place in the freezer; when it is frozen, put it in the bags.
Freezing vegetables
Freezing vegetables it is not as intuitive as that of fruit. Even if it remains easy, each vegetable has its own method of preparation. There are several websites that provide great specific advice for different vegetables. We suggest some of them:
the clove of garlic
Kitchen in sympathy
Crazy for bento
Freezing of herbs
Dry the herbs it is a valid and simple system, which perhaps comes to mind before the freezing hypothesis, notwithstanding the herbs hold up well in low temperatures. The easiest way to do this is to remove the leaves from the stem, rinse and dry them. Arrange the leaves on a tray in the freezer and, once frozen, collect them in a freezer bag on which you will affix the packing date.
An alternative is to put them in ice containers together with extra virgin olive oil to have tasty cubes available to use when needed.
Then freeze the pesto in the ice trays and putting the cubes obtained in a bag is a practical and popular trick, but we have discovered another system that uses a great international chef, Jacques Pepin. Apparently I'd rather not freeze the pesto finished but opt for the freezing of a basil puree to be transformed into pesto after defrosting.
Here's how it does it:
- Immerse in boiling water e cook the basil leaves until soft (about a minute)
- Drain in a colander and cool in water and ice
- Drain again and press gently to remove excess water
- Put in a blender with a pinch of salt and olive oil
- Whisk until creamy and freeze in small portions
So what are you waiting for stockpile the provisions for the winter, like the ant from the famous story?
Ilaria Brambilla
Read also our food preservation guide
