Are vitamins preserved in berries after freezing? || Are vitamins preserved in foods when frozen?

How to properly defrost frozen berries and fruits

Let's start with the berries.
You can eat them directly, without additional processing, or you can use them as raw materials for making desserts - jellies, mousses, baked goods with filling. The rules for defrosting them depend on the chosen method of use. If we just want to enjoy the berries, make a salad out of them, or mix them with yogurt or kefir, the easiest and most reliable way is to take them out of the freezer the night before, measure the required amount into a plate and place it in one of the upper compartments of the refrigerator. Defrosting in this way will be painless for the structure and vitamin composition of the berries. It is worth mentioning separately that we do not recommend defrosting berries in the microwave; a sharp temperature change will reduce the amount of nutrients in the product, the berries will lose juice, elasticity and integrity. Defrosting at room temperature, for its part, does not harm the beneficial contents, but worsens the appearance of fruits and berries. Thus, defrosting in the refrigerator is the best option.

If we decide to make a berry dessert, then the rules for defrosting depend on the type of dessert we have chosen. To prepare drinks - teas, compotes, fruit drinks, liqueurs - the berries do not need to be defrosted at all, but can be safely sent directly from the freezer to the stove. If you need berries for filling pies or dumplings, we do the same thing: from the freezer to the dough. But preparing jellies and mousses involves using thawed berries; in this case, it is better to keep them in the refrigerator overnight, as described above, and then proceed according to the recipe.

We defrost fruit according to the same rules: overnight from the freezer to the refrigerator. We make drinks and baking fillings directly from frozen fruit. The only caveat: if fruit additives are made directly into biscuit dough (for example, according to the charlotte principle) or casserole, and you prefer to put a large amount of fruit, then we recommend defrosting the fruit first and draining the resulting liquid. The same goes for very juicy berries such as strawberries or cherries. Tested from my own experience, because, as you know, a biscuit is a very capricious dough and due to excess liquid it may not rise, and a casserole may “float” a little. But if the fruit and berry addition consists of one substrate, feel free to cover the baking sheet with frozen fruits.

So, let's summarize. You need to defrost berries and fruits: 1) for direct consumption; 2) for making mousses and jellies; 3) for sponge cakes and cottage cheese casseroles with a lot of berries or fruits.

How to preserve vitamin substances in compote?

When a person receives information about whether vitamins and minerals remain in frozen berries, many begin to use them to prepare compotes and jelly. If a product that has not undergone the defrosting stage is added to boiling water, it can be considered beneficial for the human body. In addition, to preserve the full vitamin and mineral composition, it is necessary to load fresh berries into already boiling water. Cooking time should not exceed twenty minutes. Many chefs recommend adding a small amount of citric acid to the drink, as it helps preserve mineral and vitamin components.

How to quickly defrost berries for pie

If you decide to make a juicy berry pie, then it is important that the base is not watery, or the filling will “float”. And for this you need to use the following defrosting methods:

• place the bag of berries in a bowl of hot water for 10 minutes; if it does not defrost, drain the water and replace it with hot water again;
• you can also put the berries under running hot water from the tap for a few minutes;
• place the berries in a deep plate and place in the microwave for 20 minutes on the “Defrost” mode;
• turn on the double boiler for 5-10 minutes and place the berries in the bag into the bowl.

How to quickly defrost currants and blueberries

These berries tolerate freezing well and after defrosting they do not even change shape, and the taste remains unchanged. Just use one of the above methods, or better yet, leave the berries at room temperature for 30 minutes, they will thaw themselves.

Preparing berries for the winter is an excellent opportunity to prepare delicious compotes, smoothies and yoghurts, as well as pies. There are many ways to quickly defrost berries; it's a simple kitchen task.

There is another very useful berry that needs to be properly prepared for the winter. How to store rose hips at home - useful tips for housewives.

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Berry

• Time: 5-6 hours.
• Number of servings: 6-8 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 94 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: dessert.
• Cuisine: French.
• Difficulty: easy.

You can prepare a delicacy that was previously only available to kings and emperors in your kitchen from the simplest ingredients. For berry sorbet, use blueberries, wild strawberries, cherries, cherries, cranberries, strawberries, and any other fruits available in your region. You can use the berry mixture for sorbet to make the treat especially tasty and aromatic.

Ingredients:

• raspberries, blackberries, blueberries – 800 g;
• sugar – 6 tbsp. l.;
• low-fat yogurt – ½ tbsp.;
• lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.

Cooking method:

1. Mix berry mix, sugar, lemon juice in a blender.
2. Add yogurt and mix ingredients again.
3. Place the mixture in the freezer until it hardens, remember to stir.

Even the simplest dish will be more appetizing if it is served and decorated correctly. Such an exquisite delicacy as sorbet requires a special approach to this stage of preparation. According to the rules, the treat is served in wide bowls or glasses. There are many options for beautiful presentation of dishes:

1. Using a special spoon, sorbet balls are formed. They are poured with a drop of syrup, decorated with cranberries, blueberries, fruit slices, sprigs of mint, basil, or sprinkled with nut crumbs.
2. Multi-colored balls in a bowl look original and unusual. Prepare lemon, strawberry, orange versions. Place one ball at a time in a suitable bowl and decorate with topping.
3. As a “ware” for sorbet, use halves of a lime or an orange without pulp.
4. For decoration, use slices of fruit that form the basis of the dish, berries, mint, coconut flakes, grated chocolate, caramel elements or other decor.

What to cook from frozen berries?

Anything! The main thing is to follow the cooking rules in order to preserve the maximum vitamins.

A great option to make up for the lack of antioxidants and vitamins is to drink a freshly brewed drink from the summer harvest.

Frozen berry compote recipe.

• 3 liters of water
• 500 g of frozen cherries, cherries, sea buckthorn, currants, blueberries and any berries available to you.
• We bring the water to a boil and put the berries in it, without defrosting them first: this way we preserve the maximum vitamins in them.

• Let the compote simmer for 5-7 minutes and remove it from the heat. There is no need to cook it for a long time: prolonged thermal exposure destroys the beneficial substances in the berries and spoils the taste of the drink.

Main components

Currently, the most popular garden fruits growing on berry bushes are raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, black and red currants. Among forest fruits, the leaders are lingonberries, blueberries, blackberries and blueberries. The table shows the content of major nutrients in each berry.

The following table will show what vitamins and minerals are contained in berries.

The main minerals contained in almost all berry fruits, both forest and garden, are:

• chlorine;
• calcium;
• potassium;
• phosphorus;
• sulfur;
• iron;
• manganese;
• magnesium;
• sodium;
• copper;
• zinc.

Low calorie content and richness in vitamin and mineral elements make the presented products indispensable in the diet of people trying to lose weight.

Berry fruits containing a lot of vitamin C

Many people are interested in which berry contains the most vitamin C. Based on the tabular information, we can conclude that it is black currant. Strawberries come in second place, followed by raspberries and red currants. The fact that they contain the most vitamin C makes them indispensable in the diet of children and adults. The main benefits of consuming these berries are:

• prevention of cancer development;
• stimulation of the functioning of the immune system;
• protecting the body from the development of vitamin deficiency;
• improving the condition of the skin;
• restoration of the joint parts of the limbs.

The fact that these berries contain the most vitamin C makes them invaluable for people suffering from chronic inflammatory processes, as well as metabolic disorders.

Where are frozen berries used?

At any time of the year, frozen vegetables and fruits can be purchased at the supermarket. In industrial conditions, berries are harvested using shock freezing. If stored properly in the store, the fruits do not lose their shape and have the same color and taste as fresh ones.

If you wish, you can prepare berries for future use using the freezer yourself. The most popular among housewives are strawberries, cherries, blueberries, currants, and raspberries.

You can make jelly, fruit drinks and compotes from frozen berries. They are used as a component of dairy and alcoholic drinks, smoothies. They serve as the basis for creating berry creams, sauces, mousses, and jellies.

Frozen berries are ideal for ice cream and sorbet. They can be used to stuff dumplings, pancakes, muffins, pies, pies, and cottage cheese casseroles. However, thawed fruits are not suitable for decorating cakes and desserts. They don't look appetizing in fruit salads either.

Essence of Freezing

Within a few hours after picking, ripe fruits (only high quality ones) arrive at the plant. There they are washed, cleared of debris, sorted depending on size, small fruits and inflorescences are sifted out, dried and blanched. After blanching, they are cooled and placed in the freezer, where they are frozen at a temperature of -30 to -40 ° C.

Why is such a low temperature needed? The fact is that at a higher temperature - from -1 to -4 degrees - large ice crystals form, which destroy the cell walls and disrupt the consistency of the fruit. When thawing, the juice leaks out, as a result, the quality, taste and presentation of the product suffer. At very low temperatures, small ice crystals form, which do not in any way affect the cellular structure, and therefore the quality.