Apricot - an amazing fruit, presented to us by nature itself, a great source of vitamins.
It contains a large amount of vitamin A - an antioxidant that actively fights cancer cells, iron, which increases the level of hemoglobin, potassium, which is necessary as a prophylaxis of cardiovascular diseases and many other useful substances.
Compotes are made from apricot, and jam is prepared for the winter.
However, to preserve the nutritional value of this fruit, it is best to freeze it.
Today I would like to talk about how to freeze apricots for the winter.
Do apricots freeze?
Apricots with sugar are harvested for the winter in the form of mashed potatoes, slices in syrup, whole and halves. Since heat treatment is negligible, it in no way affects the beneficial properties of fruits.
Freezing has recently gained popularity among the population and is gradually replacing the usual conservation. There is a simple explanation for this - in the frozen state, fruits retain all their beneficial properties. Naturally, not all vegetables and fruits can retain their taste under the influence of low temperatures. What about apricot?
The freezing process for these fruits has its own distinctive features. You can freeze them, but some hostesses are afraid to store them in the freezer, since apricots, like peaches and plums, begin to darken and lose vitamin C under the action of enzymes. Thus, when defrosting, their color and shape are lost.
To avoid this, you need to consider all the nuances of freezing this fruit, which will be discussed a little later.
The nutritional value
For people who are still in doubt - whether it is worth freezing fruits or preserving "the old fashioned way", it must be said that vitamins are preserved in full only in the first case.
In addition, apricot in frozen form has excellent preventive and healing properties for the treatment of vitamin deficiency, anemia, heart problems. It also contributes to the gentle removal of excess cholesterol from the body, and due to its low calorie content (45 Kcal per 100 g of product), it can be used as a fat-burning product.
People suffering from problems of the cardiovascular and digestive systems (for example, constipation) need to eat 100 g of this product every day. Thus, until the season comes, frozen fruits can be considered as an excellent alternative to fresh apricots.
Can apricots be frozen, what is better to do?
Before you begin to engage in fruit freezing, study the capabilities of the refrigerator, their shelf life will directly depend on this. For example, at -18 ° C the fruit will be stored for 1 year.
The process of freezing fruits is as follows:
1) the collected fruits are thoroughly washed and dried so that they do not stick together with each other during freezing;
2) after that they should be cut into a specific shape that you need: slices, cubes or any other shape;
3) dried pure fruits should be laid out on a tray in one layer and frozen;
4) after that they need to be transferred to bags or plastic containers.
Remember to also sign containers if you make several mortgages to determine their shelf life.
Apricot Freezing Recipes
So, we came to the most interesting thing - the apricot freeze recipes.
Apricot puree
To make mashed potatoes from these fruits, we need:
ripe apricots - 3 kg;
granulated sugar - 1-2 kg;
citric acid - 6 g.
The amount of sugar in this recipe does not make much difference, since apricots in the frozen state do not deteriorate, so it is used here more as an additional sweet than as a preservative, so choose its number to taste.
1. Fruits are washed under running water. In the presence of bruises or damaged parts - cut them out.
2. Divide all the fruits into halves, extracting seeds from them.
3. Next, skip the fruit through a blender or meat grinder.
4. Then sugar and citric acid are added to this mixture and set for 20 minutes to allow the sugar to brew.
5. After this, the mashed potatoes should be boiled - 5 minutes from boiling. Do not forget to stir more often.
6. After cooling, the mass is laid out in plastic containers and set to freeze.
That's all, the apricot puree is ready!
How to freeze apricots for the winter whole or halves
When you freeze the fruits in this way, you can then cook the compote, pouring them into the compote without separation from the seeds, or make a sauce or smoothie, adding other fruits. This is done as follows:
1) choose the appropriate fruits;
2) thoroughly rinse them under warm running water;
3) dry by laying on a towel; dry;
4) cuts and get a bone (optional);
5) put the dried fruit on a tray in one layer and expose it in the freezer.
For convenience and cleanliness, line the bottom of the freezer with a clean bag and lay the fruit on it. When the fruits freeze, they should be taken out and put in a dry bag and put back in the freezer.
An important point: Before starting to freeze fruit in the freezer, it is recommended to remove all unnecessary products from it, since the apricot has the ability to absorb odors. Well, you are unlikely to want to cook compote, from which the smell of fish comes ...
Frozen Fruits in Syrup
In order to preserve the entire vitamin complex of fresh apricots to the maximum, they can be prepared in syrup and used as a filling for various pastries, since they keep their shape perfectly and juice does not flow from them when defrosting.
To make apricots in syrup you need:
1) wash the ripened fruits and dry them on a towel;
2) cut in half and remove the bone;
3) take a deep pan and lay in it layers of fruit, while each of the layers is filled with sugar (1 tbsp. L.);
4) leave in this form after the conversion of sugar into syrup;
5) after the complete transformation, we transfer the fruits to pre-prepared containers;
6) cover the lids tightly and put in the freezer.
Grated fruits with sugar
This option of cooking frozen apricots can be used as a delicious jam, and since there is no heat treatment in it, this delicacy will absolutely not lose its beneficial substances. The cooking process is as follows:
1) prepare the fruits: wash and dry them;
2) cut in half and remove the stone;
3) we grind fruit through a meat grinder or blender;
4) add sugar at your discretion and 1 tbsp. l lemon juice;
5) leave until sugar is completely dissolved;
6) put the grated fruits in containers, cover with tight lids and put in the freezer.
In addition, apricots can be combined with other berries and fruits, and then cook a variety of compotes. For example, we cut apricots into slices and freeze them with apples and cherries, so you can get just a storehouse of vitamins that will be useful to all your relatives and friends.
So fantasize about your health, and put the fruits of your experiments in the freezer!
