Can cucumber be frozen?

Many foods, separately or already included in elaborate dishes, can be kept in good condition for a long period of time in the freezer. Some of them are easily preserved and without the need to take too many precautions, but others require prior preparation and a specific storage method, as is the case with cucumbers.

The ideal way to enjoy this vegetable, whether fresh or pickled, is to consume it in the shortest possible time once you buy it, but it is not always possible. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to keep it in the freezer to try to maintain its flavor and texture. Keep reading aHOWTO if you wonder: can cucumber be frozen or not? We anticipate that it can be done and we will tell you how to do it correctly and how to defrost it.

Can cucumbers be frozen or not?

Freezing the cucumber and keeping it good for a while is possible, although it is inevitable that it will lose part of its original flavor and texture when you thaw it to consume it again in salads or other preparations, it will maintain a large part of the properties and benefits it contains. However, in order to keep it in good condition and save as many of its properties and benefits as possible, it must be frozen properly.

It can also be stored in the fridge, but the time to eat the vegetable is reduced. Placed on the warmest shelf (approximately 4 to 6 o C) in the refrigerator, fresh cucumbers keep for 3 weeks. Therefore, if you have doubts about how long cucumbers last in the fridge, take these three weeks as a reference. On the other hand, if you are wondering how long cucumbers last in the freezer, stored at a temperature of -18 o C, sliced ​​cucumbers can be stored for a period that ranges between 5 and 8 months. The lower the temperature, the better the conservation of the cucumber in the freezer, although the energy that the appliance will consume will be higher.

How to freeze cucumbers

How can cucumbers be kept in the freezer? That is the question you will be asking yourself after knowing that it can be frozen. Depending on how you want to freeze it or what you want to use it for when you defrost it, you will have to choose one method or another. Learn how to freeze fresh cucumbers with these four methods:

Sliced ​​cucumber

To freeze raw cucumber in circles or slices, one of the main ways this product is consumed for salads, for example, follow these steps:

• Wash and dry the cucumbers.
• Remove the tails from each and cut them into thin slices.
• Put the slices on a plate with plastic wrap and leave them in the freezer for 10 or 12 hours to freeze well.
• If you are going to take longer to consume them, now that they have a harder consistency from being frozen, place the slices in freezer bags with a hermetic seal. You will have more space and the food will be better stored.

Cucumber in cubes

Freezing the whole cucumber is not very practical for reasons of use and space, so it is advisable to keep it in different forms, such as the aforementioned slices or even in cubes, which are practical for certain recipes. To freeze it in this last way, follow these instructions:

• Wash and remove excess moisture from the cucumber skin.
• Place the cubes on the tray you have for baking or on plates, cover them with plastic wrap and place them in the freezer for about 12 hours.
• After this time, store them in airtight packages or freezer bags for storage.

Grated cucumber

Prepare and freeze the grated cucumber with these easy steps:

• Rinse the skin of the cucumbers well and pat them dry.
• Use a coarse or fine grater, as needed, to grate the cucumbers.
• In a tray or plate place several layers of cucumber zest and absorbent kitchen paper or gauze to remove excess water.
• Place the cucumber zests without excess water in Tupperware or in freezer bags with hermetic closures to be able to store them well and without taking up too much space in the freezer.

Cucumber juice

Freezing cucumber juice is also possible. Have you prepared one and have left over? Store it in the freezer like this:

• Pour the cucumber juice into one or more ice cube trays.
• Place them in the ice tray drawer and let the cucumber juice ice cubes make.
• If your freezer does not have this particular drawer to place the ice cube trays well, wrap them carefully in freezer bags to prevent the juice from absorbing other odors and place them on a flat base, on the base of the drawer itself, or on other frozen products that are flat such as boxes.

How to defrost cucumbers

After discovering that cucumber can be frozen and how to do it properly depending on what you want to use it for later, you also need to know how to defrost cucumber well. Be aware that the thawing process can leave the cucumber out of the shape it was in before storage, slices, and cubes can be very mushy.

To avoid this, for example, if you care because you are going to use it in a salad and you want it to keep its shape, try not to completely thaw it and try to use the cucumber while it is slightly frozen. To achieve this, you just have to store the package that you used to freeze it in a lower section of the fridge and keep it for at least an hour to partially thaw.

With this method, you will ensure that the cucumber is not excessively deteriorated and maintains all its properties. Once the hour has elapsed in the refrigerator, check its condition to using it in the elaboration that you want to prepare thus it will arrive with the most maintained form at the table, by which time it will be practically completely thawed and, surely, when you start eating it will be just right. thawed.