Expert explains how you should not freeze dumplings and varenyky

Homemade frozen dumplings and varenyky are a great option for busy people who don't have time to cook fresh food all the time because of their frantic lifestyle. However, preparing such semi-finished products also requires special care.

For example, some chefs advise blanching dumplings and varenyky, but information from international guides to freezing food, such as the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) guide, refutes this. The more proccessing the food undergoes, the lower its quality and the possible partial loss of benefits, Victoria Stelmakh, founder of the largest Ukrainian-language Facebook group on complementary foods and an expert on baby food, explained to FoodOboz.

According to her, the main thing is that excessive heating of semi-finished products without complete cooking and then freezing leads to damage to the structural properties of dough, meat, and the overall quality of the finished product.

Thus, with this type of freezing:

• salt partially loses its flavor and tends to increase the bitterness of any product, especially dough;
• if you use eggs for the dough, after partial heat treatment and then freezing, they become hard and rubbery;
• partially cooked and semi-finished products with dough lose their texture and tend to taste warm, not "fresh".