How to freeze apples for the winter in the freezer at home with a photo

Probably everyone who has his own garden planted apple trees in it. Often it is not even one tree. And when the time comes to harvest, a reasonable question arises: what to do with fruits that have not had time to eat. In fact, there are many options for storing apples, but the most useful is freezing, since in this case the maximum amount of vitamins remains in the product. This article will discuss how to properly freeze apples for the winter in the freezer.

Features of freezing apples at home

There are certain rules to follow if you want a quality product:

Before freezing, the fruits must be dried so that they do not stick together.
It is impossible to re-freeze the fruit, so they are packaged in small portions.
So that the peeled slices do not turn black, you need to soak them for a quarter of an hour in a slightly s alty or slightly acidic solution.
For winter preparations, a ripe, not deformed product is chosen.
Do not freeze fruits that have been plucked for a long time. Keep a minimum amount of time between harvest and processing.
Apples can be frozen without peeling them. If necessary, it can be easily removed from slightly melted fruits.
Apples are frozen at a fairly low temperature, so the freezer should work properly.

Which varieties of apples are best for

Of course, not all apples are suitable for freezing. They prefer late (autumn or winter) sweet-sour varieties: Antonovka, Golden, Kutuzovets, Sinam and many others. The specific variety will depend on the intended use.

For example, Jonathan and Golden Delicious keep their shape best, while Fuji and Gala taste sweet. But remember, like most frozen foods, apples will change slightly in both texture and taste.

Preparing fruit for freezing

For harvesting fruits you will need:

apples;
water;
towel;
knife;
cutting board;
pans or trays;
bags or storage containers.

Collect ripe whole apples, wash them well with water and dry with a towel. If necessary, cut off the skin with a well-sharpened knife. Cut out the stalk, "tail", core. Next, you need to cut the fruit in the chosen way. If you plan to freeze whole fruits, then just rub them well.

Desired temperature

In most recipes, apples are recommended to be stored at a temperature of minus 18 degrees and below.

The colder it is in the freezer, the longer the fruit can be stored.

There is also an option that involves shock freezing. In this case, apples are immediately packaged in containers or bags and sent to the freezer. The freezer is set to Super Freeze mode.

Any of the above methods require the ability to control the temperature of the freezer.

Ways to freeze apples for the winter

There are different ways to freeze apples. They will differ depending on the capacity of the freezer and the purpose of freezing.

Whole

For this freezing option, you need to take fresh apples. First, they are washed and dried with a towel. Next, you need to remove the seeds (this rule is not mandatory, but it's better to do it now, because it's much easier). If necessary, peel the fruit. If this is done, be sure to hold them in a special solution, which was mentioned at the beginning of the article. This will help keep the appetizing look even before the apples are in the freezer.

For its preparation you will need:

water - 1 liter;
citric acid - 5 grams.

Stir the acid well in the water and hold the chopped fruit in the resulting solution for at least a quarter of an hour.

After the fruits are packed in bags or sealed containers and poisoned for storage.

Apples frozen this way can stay in the freezer for up to six months. Whole fruits can then be baked, added to pies, pies or made into compote. The only disadvantage of this method of freezing is that fruits take up a lot of space, and storing them can be simply inconvenient.

Slices

Another popular freezing option is sliced apples. First you need to rinse the fruits well and wipe them with a towel. Further, if desired, you can remove the peel (if you plan to cook compote, then it is better to leave the peel, but for various kinds of fillings - cut off). Cut the apples into 4 parts and remove the seeds, stalk and "tail".Next, the fruit is already cut into slices or plates of the required size. To keep the look, do not forget about saline or lemon solution.

After spread the sliced \u200b\u200bsections on a baking sheet or kitchen board. To simplify the task of shifting, it is better to cover it with parchment or cling film. Carefully place the tray in the freezer of the refrigerator.

Here the main thing is to arrange the fruit slices correctly: make sure that they do not touch each other.

After about 3 hours, sliced apples can be taken out and packaged in bags or containers for storage. They try to exclude air from entering the container - this will increase the shelf life. Fruit frozen this way takes up much less space.

Dry Freeze

With this option, apples are frozen in two temperature regimes, so you need to have a freezer with the ability to adjust the supply of cold. Apples are also laid out on a board or baking sheet in one layer.

Remember to control that the pieces do not touch each other. The fruits are sent to the freezer for a couple of hours at a temperature of minus 23. Then the fruit is taken out, packaged and stored already at a standard temperature of minus 18 degrees.

In sugar syrup

This freezing method is very popular among housewives for two reasons:

thanks to the syrup, the shelf life increases up to a year;
apples become sweet and can be eaten on their own without any further processing.

Ingredients:

water - 0.75 liters;
sugar - 0.45 kilograms;
ascorbic acid - 1.5 grams.

Recipe:

Cook the syrup from the indicated ingredients.
Cool and pour over chopped apples.
After a day, pour over the pieces of fruit with boiling water (it is more convenient to use a colander for this), put on a tray according to the scheme described above and send to freeze in the freezer.
After 2-3 hours, pack the apples and send them to the freezer for storage. Do not forget to monitor the absence of air in the container.

Pure puree

This option of freezing the product is perfect for using mashed potatoes as pastry fillings or for baby food. In the first case, you can add sugar to taste, in the second - it is better to do without it. To prepare applesauce, the fruit must be washed, dried with a towel, cut off the peel in a thin layer, remove the stalk, seeds and "tail".

Prepared apples should be cut into small pieces, put in a saucepan and pour a little water.Wait until the resulting mixture boils, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until the fruit takes on the desired consistency. Cool the resulting slurry. If necessary, you can additionally puree in a blender. The finished puree is frozen in jars. Shelf life is 10 months on average.

Storage

The shelf life of frozen apples at a temperature of minus 18 degrees is on average 9 months, but it may vary depending on the method of freezing. If you want to prolong it, then you need to soak the fruit in a s alt or lemon solution.

Ingredients for brine:

tablespoon of s alt;
4 liters of water.

Cooking method:

Combine s alt with water and mix well.
When the s alt is completely dissolved, lower the apple blank into the solution for just a few minutes.
Lay out on a baking sheet and freeze in the standard way.

Ingredients for sugar solution:

sugar - 2 cups;
water - 3 glasses.

Cooking method:

Mix everything thoroughly until the granulated sugar is completely dissolved.
Pour the apple slices in the same solution for a few minutes and mix well.
Spread out on a tray and freeze using one of the methods described above.

If the freezer does not support such low temperatures, you can also freeze apples for the winter, but they will be stored for only 3 months. For packaging, choose storage bags or airtight containers. Be sure to completely release the air from the bags if possible, and close the containers tightly.And in order not to miss the end of the shelf life, they sign the date of packaging of each container.