The pumpkin harvest was better than expected this year? No problem, because pumpkins can be frozen easily. There are these 2 possibilities.
In recent years, the pumpkin has become enormously popular with us. Many even like it so much that they grow the pumpkin themselves in their own garden. Unfortunately, it only pleases us with its fruits in late summer/autumn. The rest of the year we have to do without the pleasure. Unless you buy pumpkin in jars.
So here's our tip: You can preserve some of the pumpkins at harvest time by freezing them! This way you can snack on pumpkin for about four to six months longer because it can be frozen for about that long.
Freeze pumpkin - Here's how!
If you want to preserve a pumpkin by freezing, you have two options to choose from. When deciding on an option, it is important that you know beforehand what you want to do with the pumpkin later. If you want to prepare the pumpkin as a vegetable, you should cut it into smaller pieces before freezing. However, if you want to make soups from it at a later date, it is better to freeze it as a puree.
➤ Option 1 - Freeze raw pumpkin:
Step 1:
If you want to freeze the pumpkin raw, first remove the skin. You can eat the Hokkaido pumpkin with the peel, so you don't have to cut it off. With other pumpkin varieties, however, you should remove them before freezing.
Step 2:
Then cut open the pumpkin and remove the seeds and stems.
» A little tip: Never throw away the seeds. You can roast these wonderfully.
Step 3:
Then cut the squash into cubes or small pieces and fill individual portions into freezer containers or bags.
» Important: Do not blanch the squash before freezing or it will go mushy quickly.
➤ Option 2 - Freeze the pumpkin as a puree:
If it is certain that the pumpkin is to be used to prepare a soup at a later date, then you canput it straight into the freezer in the form of mush.
Step 1:
You have to hollow out the pumpkin, deseed it and cut it into small pieces. If it's not Hokkaido, we'll remove the shell first.
Step 2:
Then put the pumpkin pieces in a saucepan with a little water and steam them for about 20 minutes until they are nice and soft.
Step 3:
Then discard the liquid and puree the squash with a hand blender. Once it has cooled down, you can fill it into containers and put it in the freezer.