How long to cook zucchini? How and for how long should you cook zucchini until tender?

The benefits of freshly squeezed zucchini juice for the body

This drink with various medicinal properties contains a set of all microelements beneficial to health. It contains almost all vitamins of the B family, as well as ascorbic acid.

The drink will be very useful for the treatment and prevention of people with diabetes, because its glycemic index has only 15 units. This means that it does not raise blood sugar. Freshly squeezed juice is also useful for increased body weight, because half a glass of it has only 48 kilocalories. And consuming fresh concentrate with pulp helps to maintain a feeling of fullness for a long time.

The drink benefits from use at any age. Its healing properties are:

supports strength;
improves brain function, which allows a person to concentrate memory and attention;
speeds up recovery;
normalizes appetite;
saturates the body with vitamins;
normalizes hair condition;
protects the condition of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract due to its characteristic enveloping effect;
normalizes intestinal peristalsis, which helps combat constipation and diarrhea;
being an antioxidant, it neutralizes free radicals and removes toxins from the body;
relieves swelling;
restores normal complexion;
improves mood, fights constipation;
slows down the aging process;
normalizes kidney function, removing stones from them;
is an excellent preventative against food intoxication;
reduces the concentration of low-density lipoproteins, thereby preventing the development of atherosclerosis;
strengthens the cardiovascular system and normalizes blood pressure;
normalizes blood composition and fights anemia, increasing hemoglobin content;
changes the properties of blood vessels, making them elastic;
strengthens the immune system (it can be used to treat colds);
increases visual acuity;
improves men's health;
removes excess salts from the body, being an excellent prevention of osteochondrosis.

It is especially important to drink this juice when:

arterial hypertension;
gastritis;
atherosclerosis;
jade;
cystitis;
colitis, including ulcerative;
chronic constipation;
chronic cholelithiasis;
pyelonephritis.

Treatment with zucchini juice

The beneficial properties of the juice are effective in treating many diseases. In case of poisoning, take a glass of it daily for a week.

When starting treatment, you should take 1 tablespoon of juice per day, preferably before meals (20 minutes before). This dosage should increase to two glasses 3-4 times a day or even up to a liter. However, such treatment can last no more than 2 months, after which a two-week break is needed. The juice can be diluted for medicinal purposes with honey or water in equal proportions.

for diabetes

Introducing a vegetable drink into the diet for diabetes is necessary to maintain blood glucose levels.

What is taken into account:

glycemic index is not higher than 15 units. During heat treatment it increases;
tartronic acid strengthens the walls of blood vessels;
pectin helps the production of insulin;
B vitamins prevent the development of neuropathy, which is typical for diabetics;
reduces sugar levels in blood and urine.

for the cardiovascular system

Valuable substances in the composition that are needed for the heart and blood vessels:

magnesium - prevents the development of atherosclerosis. Normalizes heart rate;
potassium - removes excess salt from the body and excess fluid. When paired with magnesium, it regulates the activity of the heart muscle;
pectin - prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques;
B vitamins - regulate the activity of nerve cells. Needed for the production of hemoglobin.

for gastrointestinal diseases

The benefits of zucchini juice for the stomach and intestines are as follows:

does not irritate the walls of the stomach and intestines;
activates the digestive tract;
improves the process of food digestion;
prevents the development of intestinal cancer due to antioxidant properties;
heals irritated gastric mucosa.

How to make juice from zucchini

To make juice, you need to follow these tips.

Choose young vegetables that have soft, small seeds.
Wash the zucchini well, remove the peel, and cut off the tail.
Then cut them and put them through a juicer.
If you don’t have one, you can use a grater or meat grinder. After grinding, squeeze the puree through cheesecloth. It is not recommended to crush the puree with a spoon.

Treatment should begin during the so-called squash season. It lasts from July to September. Early fruits grown in greenhouse conditions are not suitable for preparing extracts. It is also unlikely that in the middle of autumn it will be possible to find the young zucchini needed for treatment.

The maximum storage time for freshly prepared medicine at home is one day. It will not be possible to save it for longer. It is useful to add a little honey and lemon juice to it. It is recommended to make mixtures of zucchini, cucumbers, celery, and carrots. The characteristics of the juice will not be affected if you use a juicer. You can make an excellent drink with pulp in it.

When and how to start introducing complementary foods

Children's doctors advise introducing the first complementary foods at the age of 4 months to babies who are not gaining weight well or have problems with bowel movements. This often applies to children who are bottle-fed. If there is enough mother's milk, then introducing complementary foods should wait until the child reaches six months of age. The first feeding has its own characteristics. To do everything right, it is important to know the following.

Compliance with the dosage when introducing complementary foods: it is better to start with a small amount - the first time you need to give 0.5-2 teaspoons to see how the body reacts to the innovation. Gradually increase to 5-6 spoons at a time.

Introduction rules:

the following methods for preparing puree : baking, boiling, steaming.
Feeding time . The introduction of the first complementary foods should begin before 12 noon, preferably in the morning. This will provide an opportunity to observe the child’s body’s reaction to the new baby food. Problems that arise suddenly will not take you by surprise at night and will not spoil the sleep of your mother or child.
The consistency of the dish should be similar to kefir or porridge; this will allow the child to eat the prepared puree without any problems.
Storing vegetable purees : it is recommended to consume the dish within half an hour after preparation, while the beneficial properties of the zucchini are preserved. Heating is strictly prohibited.
You should not force your child to try a new dish; it is also recommended to postpone the introduction of the first complementary foods if the child is capricious or unwell. The main thing is the right, good mood between mother and baby.
, or butter (butter or vegetable) to the first feeding puree In addition, regardless of the method of introducing complementary foods, the puree should not include other ingredients - this will allow you to determine what the child has a negative reaction to.
Postpone the introduction of zucchini to the menu if, after the first feeding, the child develops redness, pimples of unknown origin, or a negative reaction of the body occurs, it is worth postponing the introduction of zucchini to the menu and try another vegetable.
Rules for selection and procurement

In order for vegetable puree to be as healthy as possible and safe for the child, it is necessary to correctly select the ingredients for it and process it. In the summer, there are no problems with buying zucchini - they can be found in abundance in markets and store shelves. If you want to get a completely natural product, not treated with chemicals, you need to grow it in your summer cottage. How to choose the right zucchini for the first complementary feeding and prepare the ingredient for cooking:

To feed your baby, choose small, young zucchini.
The vegetable should be elastic to the touch, without softness or spots, and the skin should ideally be light and smooth.
It is important to ensure that the peel is free of damage, cracks, rot and other defects.
If it is not possible to buy a young vegetable, then you need to peel the zucchini from the large seeds inside, using only the pulp in preparing vegetable puree.
If you bought vegetables at the market or store, wash them thoroughly and soak them in cool water with added salt. This simple procedure will help get rid of nitrates.
For one serving of puree you will need a small piece of vegetable. To prevent the zucchini from spoiling, it should be stored in the refrigerator, covering the cut area with cling film. During subsequent preparation, the edge covered with film should be cut off, and then cut the required amount for puree.

What are the benefits of zucchini drink?

Zucchini is a very healthy vegetable. The juice from them is rich in vitamins, organic acids and minerals. Among its riches are ascorbic acid, vitamins A, group B, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, copper, and pectins.
Add to this a very low calorie content - only 25 kcal per 100 ml - and we get a unique dietary product that helps you achieve a toned figure. The low glycemic index (15 units) allows it to be included in the diet for diabetes or obesity.

Green vegetable juice has beneficial effects on the digestive organs. It envelops their walls and stimulates intestinal motility. This makes a drink from a healthy vegetable a real treasure for those losing weight and older people with poor digestion. Pectin, which the product is rich in, removes accumulated waste from the body: poisons, fecal deposits, toxins, decay products.

Zucchini juice normalizes the water-salt balance , removes excess fluid, enhances kidney function, and prevents swelling. And the property of reducing cholesterol in the blood provides serious assistance to the functioning of the human cardiovascular system.

Folic acid, potassium and iron salts have a positive effect on blood composition, increase hemoglobin, strengthen blood vessels, increasing their elasticity.

Beneficial features:

Calming, restorative effect . A pacified nervous system copes better with stress and allows you to make calm and balanced decisions.
Improved skin condition . If your complexion has deteriorated during a long, harsh winter or during a serious illness, a zucchini drink will restore skin tone, smooth out the first wrinkles, and normalize skin tone.
Solving digestive problems, eliminating constipation . A drink with pulp improves the condition of intestinal microflora.
Diuretic effect - the body is cleansed of waste and toxins, swelling goes away, and the condition of the skin improves.
Fight excess weight by improving bowel function and easy cleansing.
Hypoallergenic , allowing the use of juice brewed from a vegetable in the first feeding of babies. Neutral taste and high nutritional value make this product useful for children.
Restoring immunity and metabolism , which helps the body in the fight against diseases and infections.

What is the best form to consume?

This seemingly unsightly drink contains many beneficial properties. To preserve the maximum of them, it is advisable to prepare it from fresh vegetables, including the peel, and consume it immediately .
Not everyone is delighted with the somewhat specific taste of the product, so a little honey is added to it . This light sweetening makes the drink even more useful, a healing elixir.

The optimal dosage is determined individually. It is recommended to drink from 100 ml to 1 liter of drink per day . Drinking more than 1 liter per day is undesirable. During exacerbation of inflammatory diseases or peptic ulcers, you should not drink juice.

Start using 1 tbsp. l. a day 15 minutes before meals. Gradually you can reach 2 glasses a day. It is advisable to divide this portion into 3-4 servings. After 2 months of treatment, you need to take a break for 2 weeks.

Zucchini Cake

Wash 2 large zucchini squash, grate on a coarse grater along with the peel. Dry them a little and squeeze out the moisture a little. Add 2 eggs and mix thoroughly. Add flour until the dough becomes the consistency of sour cream - a little denser than pancake dough.

Peel and finely chop 5-6 cloves of garlic into a bowl, wash and chop the dill and parsley, add mayonnaise or sour cream, mix well.

Bake the zucchini pancakes on both sides for 3 minutes, place them on a plate on top of each other, immediately brush them with sauce and herbs, and so on until the dough is gone.

Then put the zucchini cake in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, and you are ready to serve!

Potential danger and how to avoid it

Zucchini juice is healthy and does not cause any harm. The risk appears if you drink the drink in excessive quantities or add excessive amounts of sugar, honey or salt.

If you drink too much zucchini drink, diarrhea will occur, which is dangerous due to serious dehydration . To avoid negative consequences, consider your consumption rate.

For allergy sufferers

Hypoallergenic properties make zucchini juice a safe product for allergy sufferers. It reduces the manifestations of allergies and is used to relieve symptoms. Regular use of this product leads to a reduction in the manifestations of pathology.

For pregnant women and children

Due to the high content of folic acid, zucchini juice is very useful for expectant mothers . It relieves pregnant women from constipation, and is especially useful in the early stages.

Children can drink the drink from a very early age, but only if there are no contraindications or individual intolerance. If in doubt, it is best to consult your doctor.

How to introduce zucchini into your diet?

Like any other food, vegetables are introduced into the baby’s daily menu gradually. First, offer your child half a teaspoon of zucchini puree or juice, be sure to observe his body’s reaction. Diathesis, bloating, diarrhea, vomiting, and any other disorders signal that the time for complementary feeding has not yet come. After 1 month, try giving your baby zucchini puree again - he will probably eat it with pleasure and will not experience any discomfort.

Advice After a portion of zucchini, especially if consumed regularly, the baby’s stool color may change slightly and stool and urination may become a little more frequent—don’t be alarmed.

If the baby’s body accepts the new food normally, then the portion of the vegetable can be increased. But at 7 months the baby should not eat more than 100 grams of puree, so try to maintain breastfeeding. In rare cases, zucchini causes peeling of the skin, but such a reaction is not considered a reason to remove the vegetable from the menu.

The response of the children's digestive system is not an allergy, so parents should carefully monitor the baby and, if necessary, show him to the pediatrician.

How to take zucchini juice correctly

Alternative medicine specialists advise adhering to these rules when taking zucchini juice.

If you drink a glass of fresh juice an hour after eating, you can relieve yourself of nausea, flatulence, and heartburn.
First you need to take a quarter glass of juice. Gradually its quantity increases to 400 ml. This dose is evenly distributed over three doses.
You should not take the medicine late in the evening. Failure to follow this recommendation will negatively impact your sleep.
It is recommended to drink the medicine through a straw. This will protect tooth enamel.
If you drink the drink in one gulp, a person may experience nausea and vomiting. To prevent this from happening, you should drink it in small sips.

The first dose of this vegetable medicine should occur 20 minutes before breakfast. Subsequently, the resulting amount of juice is divided into even intervals. The only requirement is not to exceed the recommended dosages, so as not to make things worse for yourself.

In case of poisoning, you should drink two glasses of vegetable drink during the week. During this time, the body’s condition will noticeably improve, skin color will normalize, and bad breath will disappear.

You can add a little sugar or honey to this drink for sweetness. This way you can prepare a medicine with excellent taste. To improve the taste, you can also dilute it with water by half. But it is not recommended to take alcohol-based tinctures or those prepared according to other recipes, so as not to harm yourself.

Fresh juice

There is nothing simpler and healthier than zucchini juice. It can be squeezed and drunk or stored for the future. However, remember that if it is not subjected to heat treatment, it will deteriorate. In this regard, you need to prepare the juice once or twice in order to retain maximum nutrients in it.

For juice, choose not very large and young fruits, then it will be more tender. It is very convenient to use a juicer or a meat grinder (then the juice must be squeezed out of the resulting puree using gauze). At the same time, you can diversify the taste of zucchini juice with garlic or other vegetable and fruit juices.

Preparing squash juice

In order to provide yourself with a miraculous product for the whole year, you need to:

peel and cut the zucchini into 2-3 cm cubes;
blanch them for 8 minutes;
quickly place them in cold water (dip);
squeeze out the juice;
bring the juice to a boil in an enamel container;
immediately pour into jars and sterilize (for 500 l - 20 minutes, for 1 l - 30 minutes).

Zucchini juice is a universal product that has a beneficial effect on the human body. Its use is a support for all vital systems under conditions of constant stress and poor ecology. You should not neglect what nature shares with people, because there is nothing more useful than natural, environmentally friendly products and products based on them.

Is frozen product ok?

It is not always possible to find zucchini in winter. Therefore, you can successfully freeze it. To preserve all the beneficial substances, you need to do it correctly.

Young zucchini of medium softness and small size are suitable for freezing. They should be thoroughly washed in water, peeled, and washed again. Cut into small slices. After this, you need to leave it for a while so that all the pieces dry. Place into bags and place in the freezer. Before preparing the dish, the product is defrosted at room temperature.

Dishes made from zucchini will allow you to diversify your baby’s menu and enrich his body with useful substances. Do not be upset if your child refuses to eat cooked food. By the time he is one year old, he will finally get used to the new diet and will definitely enjoy eating zucchini puree. To avoid mistakes, you need to take into account the advice given by your pediatrician.

Source of the article: https://grudnichky.ru/pitanie/skolko-varit-kabachok-dlya-prikorma.html

Cosmetic properties

Cosmetologists also did not ignore the healing juice. They paid attention to its positive effect on the hair, as well as on the skin of the face and body. This product is an ingredient in many modern creams, lotions, masks and ointments.

Zucchini juice for hair

Zucchini liquid also helps improve the condition of hair: it strengthens, nourishes and slows down the appearance of gray hair.

Folk hair remedies:

nourishing mask: mix fresh juice from 1 zucchini with 50 ml of milk and 1 tbsp. l. olive oil, apply for half an hour, rinse with shampoo;
rinsing your hair with fresh juice strengthens your hair;
Rubbing the liquid into the scalp before washing with regular use will slow down the graying process of hair.

Zucchini juice for face

Zucchini juice is included in cosmetic products for all skin types. They differ only in additional ingredients: for example, aloe juice, kefir and St. John's wort infusion are added to the mask for oily skin, and aloe juice and oak bark decoction are added to the mask for combination skin.

Did you know? Zucchini is not a separate plant species, but a variety of ordinary (hard-barked) pumpkin.

Even if you simply wipe your face every day with a tampon soaked in fresh green juice, you can feel an invaluable effect:

the skin smoothes out, acquires a healthy color and becomes more elastic;
pores become smaller, acne and other blemishes disappear;
the skin receives the necessary hydration, nutrition and refreshment.

You can make your own face masks:

rejuvenating, nourishing: mix fresh juice with honey and sour cream in a ratio of 2:1:1, apply to the skin, after 20 minutes wash your face;
moisturizing: a mixture of 2 tbsp. l. green liquid, 1 egg yolk, 1 tsp. peach oil and 1 tsp. liquid honey covers the face and décolleté;
for problem skin: 1 tsp. mix juice with 1 egg yolk, apply a thin layer to the face, and after 30 minutes rinse with warm water.

Other uses

In addition to medicinal intake, zucchini juice can be used to make valuable masks and lotions - moisturizing, nourishing, rejuvenating, whitening, accelerating skin regeneration .

Using the product internally in combination with rubbing and massage with it also saves from cellulite and significantly improves the condition of the skin.

Mask for whitening, moisturizing, rejuvenating the skin. Mix 1 tsp. Mix the juice and yolk thoroughly and grind. Apply the mask to the skin of the face, leave for about a quarter of an hour, and then rinse with a cotton pad soaked first in warm and then in cold water.

Against gray hair. Before each hair wash, rub the juice into the scalp. This type of rubbing is also beneficial for the health of your curls.
Mask for moisturizing hair. Mix juice from a medium zucchini, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of almond or olive oil and 2 tbsp. l. milk. Apply to strands for 30-40 minutes before washing your hair.
Hair balm. Squeeze the juice from zucchini, peeled and peeled, and rinse your hair with it after washing.
Zucchini diet - loss of 1 kg per week. Replace harmful, high-calorie foods with a drink with pulp. You can prepare dishes with vegetables, fruits, fish, and poultry from zucchini. During the diet, the consumption of alcohol, baked goods, sausages, smoked and confectionery products is prohibited.

Principles of cooking zucchini

Many mothers recommend soaking the vegetable in cold water for about 2 hours; this rule is especially true for a product purchased in a store or market. But if the zucchini was grown in your own garden bed, this is not necessary. For the first feeding, take small young fruits, pay attention to the peel - there should be no cracks on it.

The seeds from the pulp of the fruit should be removed, but small zucchini usually do not have them. This food has a light consistency and does not contain large particles.

At the stage of first feeding, it is important for parents to follow the following rules:

comfortable temperature of new food;
absence of other ingredients in the puree;
gradual introduction of vegetables into the menu.

You need to cook zucchini for the first feeding and give it to your baby in the morning, which will allow you to observe the body’s reaction. If no symptoms of allergy or stool disorder are noticed, the portion can be increased the next day. Offer a new dish to your child before taking his main meal - breast milk or a special formula.

If you prepare puree with your own hands, carefully monitor the cleanliness of the food and utensils, and it is also important to know that the food must be fresh and warm and cannot be stored.

Advice The maximum shelf life for homemade puree is one day. To do this, take one or two baby food jars, pour boiling water over the containers and lids or boil them. Only after this, spread out the puree, close it, let it cool slightly and put it in the refrigerator.

Zucchini should only be cooked in water; it does not go well with cow's milk. You can only add breast milk or a special mixture to the puree in order to add sweetness to complementary foods. This vegetable goes well with fruits and herbs, but you should not mix products at the stage of introducing a child to adult food.

Discomfort in the intestines is caused by large particles of the fruit - seeds, peel, coarse fibers, so even young zucchini is carefully ground and the puree is inspected before feeding.

Zucchini juice for the winter - a very tasty and healthy preparation

If you have already tried almost all the winter juice recipes, it’s time for an original, sunny and very tasty zucchini drink. By itself, zucchini juice can hardly boast of a rich taste and aroma, so it would not be a bad idea to give it orange or lemon notes. And there is no need to talk about the benefits of zucchini; they contain a lot of vitamins and other elements beneficial to the body.

How to freeze zucchini for baby food

To continue proper and healthy feeding during the winter, you can store vegetables in the freezer. Preparing zucchini for freezing is very simple:

wash and cut into cubes, as before cooking;
spread in a thin layer on a flat cup and, covering the top with foil, put in the freezer for an hour;
then the frozen cubes are transferred to an airtight container and put back until used;
It is important to use freezer-safe containers or a foil envelope.

It is better to take care of supplies in advance. Freezing zucchini and subsequently preparing dishes from reliable raw materials is more economical and smarter than buying untested products in winter. It is better to cook zucchini that has been frozen for one time only. They should not be allowed to thaw; they must be immediately immersed in hot water.

How to make zucchini juice

We present to your attention a simple recipe for making zucchini juice. We improve the taste of this healthy drink with grape leaves and cloves. We will cook with sterilization. The prepared drink will be low-calorie and will be very suitable for those who are on a diet.

Ingredients:

Zucchini – 1.5 kg.
Grape leaves – 3 pcs.
Cloves – 1 pc.
Salt to taste.

Cooking process:

Rinse the zucchini well under running water and remove the skin if it is thick.
Use a juicer to squeeze out the zucchini juice and pour it into a cooking container.
Place the container on low heat and cook the juice for 10 minutes from the start of boiling. Salt the juice to your taste.
Wash the grape leaves thoroughly, rinse them with boiling water and place them at the bottom of the jar.
Place a clove bud in the jar.
Pour the boiled squash juice into a jar up to the level of the hanger.
Now the juice needs to be sterilized.
To do this, take a large saucepan and place a piece of cloth or any stand on the bottom. Pour clean water into the pan and heat it to approximately the same temperature as the juice.
Place a jar of hot juice in the pan so that it is immersed in water up to the level of the jar hanger. If there is too much water, drain off the excess.
Sterilize the jar of juice over very low heat for 10 minutes, just make sure that the water in the pan does not boil.
Immediately roll up the jar with a sterile lid, turn it upside down, cover with a warm blanket and leave until completely cooled.
Store this juice in a cool, dark place.

Bon appetit!

Selection of vegetables and equipment

Prepare vegetable puree for babies only from fresh zucchini, preferably grown in your own garden, free of nitrates and other harmful chemicals. You can cook from frozen zucchini, but do not allow it to refreeze.

Prepare enamel dishes for cooking (the food will retain as many vitamins as possible in it). Place the vegetable only in boiling water and cook with the lid closed.

A steamer is ideal for cooking zucchini for babies. All useful substances are perfectly preserved when baked in the oven. Remember that you can only feed your baby freshly prepared food.

How to prepare

Zucchini should be thoroughly washed, wiped dry and the stalks trimmed. If the vegetable has a thick skin, it will need to be peeled and seeded; in the case of young vegetables, this is not necessary.

The lemon or orange also needs to be thoroughly washed and peeled. The top layer of zest can be carefully removed, grated on a fine grater and also used for preparation - this will give the juice a pleasant spicy flavor.

You need to squeeze the juice out of the zucchini using a juicer. You can squeeze juice out of citrus fruits by hand by cutting the fruit into several pieces and straining the pulp using gauze or a fine strainer.

Mix the zucchini juice with sugar, pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Then add fruit juice to the pan, mix thoroughly and bring to a boil again. Then you need to add the chopped zest and boil for another 5 minutes.

The jars in which the juice will be stored must first be sterilized in any convenient way, and then pour the still hot liquid into them without waiting for it to cool. We roll up the jars under sterile lids, turn them over, wrap them in a warm blanket and wait to cool at room temperature.

Rules for preparing the product

In order for the entire vitamin complex to remain in full composition even after heat treatment, the zucchini must be cooked correctly. How many minutes should the product be cooked? The time required for the product to be completely ready is about 10 minutes (only the time from the moment of boiling is taken into account).

If the vegetable is not from your own garden, but purchased at the market or in a store, then you first need to soak it in cool, slightly salted water . As a result, harmful chemical fertilizers with which the vegetables were quite possibly processed will evaporate.

Before cooking the dish, the zucchini must be washed thoroughly. Peel and rinse again. The water should be cool.
Cut the zucchini into small cubes or rings.
Place in a saucepan and add a small amount of water.
Cook for 10 minutes after boiling.
After this, the resulting mass is crushed using a sieve or blender.
The liquid in which the zucchini was cooked is added to the resulting mush.

The zucchini puree should have a medium consistency. The dish must be prepared without adding spices and salt.

Using the same principle, you can prepare juice for a child. The difference lies in the amount of liquid added. For 100 g of vegetables you need half a liter of liquid.

As the child grows up, you can include squash caviar and other dishes in the diet. You can make them quickly and easily at home.

You can buy zucchini puree in jars. You should carefully study the composition. There should be nothing except water and the vegetables themselves.

You can cook using a slow cooker or a double boiler. In the case where there are no such devices in the house, you can prepare it as follows.

You need to prepare the puree from well-washed zucchini, peeled and seeds removed.
Place a pan of water on the fire.
You need to prepare a sieve into which the vegetable is transferred and placed on top of the pan.
During boiling, steam rises from the surface of the water, which makes the dish ready.
The dish should be cooked by covering the pan with a lid.

How long does a cooked dish last? It is better to cook fresh puree before each feeding. In other cases, the finished puree should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days. During feeding, the required amount is taken and heated.

How to properly prepare zucchini for processing?

Regardless of how much you plan to process the zucchini, what you want to boil it in and why, you must first prepare the vegetable as follows:

We thoroughly rinse the products under cool running water and peel off the peel using a vegetable peeler or a sharp knife.
It is strictly not recommended to boil the fruit with seeds; it is recommended to cut them out or scrape them out with a spoon. Tip: If you want to achieve maximum savings in the time spent on boiling zucchini, you should pay attention to zucchini.
These products, even in their entire form, are ready in just 6-7 minutes. In this case, all manipulations are performed as usual.
Next, if necessary, divide the vegetable into quarters or cut into semicircles, cubes, and slices.

If the zucchini is not fresh, it is recommended to soak it in salt water for 10 minutes. This will prevent bitterness from occurring.

Interesting facts about zucchini

For cooking, it is better to use young, evenly shaped greens - they are the most tender. Overgrown zucchini, on the other hand, have a harder texture and tough skin that is difficult to remove.

Zucchini can be given to a child from 6 months in the form of puree. When cooking fruits, you should use a small amount of water - this way the puree will not be too liquid (children do not like this).

Zucchini is easily absorbed by the body and practically does not cause allergies. It contains a large amount of vitamin C (prevention of colds, normalization of the gastrointestinal tract) and B (improves metabolism), as well as iron, copper (participate in the process of hematopoiesis), potassium (normalization of the cardiovascular system) and others useful microelements.

To easily peel the zucchini, you need to cut it in half and peel it vertically using a vegetable peeler or knife.

How to boil zucchini

At home, zucchini can be cooked in a variety of ways. Here are the most basic and simple ones:

In a saucepan. Pour cold water into a container, add a little salt and bring to a boil. Then put a whole or cut into pieces zucchini into the liquid, mix the mass or roll the fruit from side to side so that it does not stick to the bottom. After the water boils again, reduce the heat slightly and cook the product, depending on its size, for 10-20 minutes.
In a steamer. This approach is a little different from how a double boiler is usually used, so you need to proceed very carefully. First, pour the required amount of water into the appropriate tank and turn on the fully assembled structure. As soon as steam starts to appear, remove the lid and place the chopped zucchini in the basket. It is best to do one layer. Cook the fruit for 20 minutes. Large pieces and whole vegetables are not processed with this approach.
In a slow cooker. There are two approaches you can take here. At first, the vegetable needs to be boiled directly in water in the “Stew” mode for as long as required depending on the size. With the second, a special basket and the “Steam” mode are used. In this case, the product is suspended above the water, which will become a source of steam.

If necessary, the component can be boiled in the microwave. True, you will have to experimentally determine how much to process it to the desired state. If you do not use water, as many do, the product will turn out baked and not boiled.

There are several ways to cook zucchini:

in a double boiler (in accordance with the instructions for this category of devices);
in a multicooker (using the “Baking” or “Cooking” mode);
in a regular saucepan;
in a pressure cooker.

In a multicooker, zucchini is cooked in the “Baking” mode and must first be filled with the required amount of water. In a steamer, vegetables are placed on a special grill, and the liquid is poured into a separate compartment. The readiness of the zucchini is checked in a similar way.

How and for how long should you cook zucchini until tender?

To bring the zucchini to readiness by boiling, you only need to spend a few minutes. How long to treat a component depends on its size and type of impact. A whole zucchini, previously peeled, must be cooked for 15-20 minutes. Vegetables cut into small pieces will be ready in 10 minutes. In a slow cooker, the chopped product will also boil in just 10 minutes , but in a double boiler it will have to be kept for at least 20 minutes . As a result of such processing, the consistency of the pulp will completely change and it can be used for soup, puree or an unusual cake.

How to cook zucchini

Let's figure out how to cook zucchini for complementary feeding correctly, as well as how much to cook zucchini for baby puree.

Zucchini is the favorite summer vegetable of the majority of the population, but let’s not lie, it tastes best when fried. Typically, 90% of people do not cook zucchini; such a vegetable is cooked in most cases for baby puree, which is what we focus on.

How to cook zucchini for complementary feeding

For baby puree, it is better to select young zucchini, where the grains have not yet ripened and the peel is very thin.

We will need:

Filtered water;
Zucchini.

How to cook zucchini for complementary feeding step by step

Fill the pan with filtered water; you don’t need to add much. Pour by eye, estimating whether the zucchini will be covered with water. Place the pan on the stove.

If the zucchini is young, we simply wash it. If we realize that the peel is already thick, we cut it off with a vegetable cutter.

We cut the zucchini into circles or cubes, whichever is more convenient for you. If the seeds are hard, remove them. If the pan allows, you can cook the zucchini whole, then the cooking time will be longer.

But usually housewives still cut the vegetable into pieces.

When the water boils, add the zucchini slices or cubes and cook for 10 minutes. For a whole zucchini, the cooking time is 20 minutes. We don't add salt.

After cooking, take out the zucchini.

A whole cooked zucchini does not lose its shape, but few housewives practice cooking it whole.

The water can be used to make baby puree. Place the zucchini and a few spoons of broth into a blender, beat everything, you get a homogeneous zucchini puree for babies or older children.

How to cook zucchini in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

Zucchini;
Water.

How to cook zucchini in a slow cooker step by step

Wash the zucchini, if the peel is very thick, cut it off with a vegetable cutter. The grains can be removed.
Place the zucchini slices into the multicooker bowl. If you are not cooking for a child, but for yourself, you can add salt and spices.
Add a small amount of water to literally cover the vegetable.
Close the lid and select the “Cooking” or “Baking” mode. Cooking takes 10-15 minutes depending on the mode.

How to cook zucchini in a double boiler

Ingredients:

Zucchini;
Water.

How to cook zucchini in a double boiler step by step

Place the required amount of water into the steamer bowl. Usually this information is indicated in the instructions for the equipment.
We load already prepared zucchini into the upper tray: washed, cut into slices.
Cover with a lid and cook for 15-20 minutes. We determine readiness by the softness of the vegetable.

How to cook zucchini for a child?

When it comes to preparing vegetables for babies, slightly different rules begin to apply. Here, too, you can use two approaches:

In a saucepan. Place the chopped product in a small saucepan and fill with filtered or drinking water. The liquid should cover the vegetable by a couple of centimeters. The product needs to be cooked for about 15 minutes, i.e. until completely softened. We take out the pieces from the broth, grind them through a sieve and slightly dilute them with the liquid remaining after cooking.

In a steamer. We also bring the water in the double boiler until it boils and steam comes out. Place the finely chopped vegetable on the surface of the bowl in one layer and cook for at least 20 minutes. If you place the zucchini in a bowl with holes, and place a solid bowl under it, you will also be able to collect vegetable broth, which can then be used to dilute too thick puree.

Boiled zucchini is perfectly absorbed by the body, takes part in the prevention of a number of diseases, and improves the body’s vital functions. But you can only count on this if you know how long to cook the product so as not to deprive it of all the useful components, and strictly adhere to these parameters.

Source of the article: https://www.dompovarov.ru/cook/skolko-varit-kabachok/

How long to cook zucchini

Zucchini cooks quickly and quite simply. If they are cooked in a regular pan, the cooking time will not exceed 20 minutes. Young vegetables may cook faster, older vegetables may take a little longer. If the zucchini is cut into cubes or rings, then they should be cooked for 10-15 minutes.

In a slow cooker, any type of zucchini can be cooked in 10 minutes, and in a double boiler - 20 minutes. The peel can prolong the cooking process if the vegetable is overgrown, so it is recommended to remove it in advance. In addition, particles of hard skin can spoil the consistency of the dish.

One of the most popular varieties of zucchini is zucchini . These vegetables are small in size, have small seeds and not too thick skin. They are most often cooked whole, and the cooking time is on average 6-7 minutes.

If after cooking the zucchini is planned to be used in the children's menu, then it should be cooked a little longer than indicated above. An undercooked vegetable can disrupt the digestion of a child’s body, so it must be brought to one hundred percent readiness. If zucchini is cooked for puree soup, then it is imperative to remove the peel, remove the seeds and cook until soft.

Sometimes zucchini is pre-boiled in order to later prepare rolls from them. To maintain the desired shape, the vegetable can be boiled not until fully cooked. However, this method is best used if the vegetables will be baked or fried after cooking.

New mothers often google how long to cook zucchini for baby puree. If the zucchini is fresh or frozen, but cut into small cubes, 10 minutes after boiling water is enough.

If you decide to cook the whole zucchini, it will take about 20 minutes.

How long to cook zucchini for baby puree

How long to cook zucchini for baby puree? This requires 6-10 minutes. It is important to preserve vitamin C after processing, and for this purpose the fruit is placed in water that is already boiling. The young zucchini is cooked until it is completely hidden in the pan under water. This usually happens quickly. You can also not cook, but simply steam the dish. Both taste and benefits will be preserved.

Such a finished product has a complex of properties that are important for the body:

Antiallergic
Antianemic
Diuretic
General strengthening
Increased intestinal motility

Cooking is important for infants, since zucchini is easily digestible, normalizes water-salt metabolism and carries out natural blood purification.

Recipe for zucchini puree for complementary feeding

To test the theory of how long to cook zucchini for complementary feeding in practice, try the classic puree recipe, which is useful for every mother and every father to know:

Soak the zucchini in cold water. In 15-20 minutes it will remain clean without any nitrates.
Clean the fruit well.
A circle is cut from the middle part.
Cut it into small cubes.
Cook over moderate heat until soft.
It is correct to grind the finished zucchini while still warm through a sieve, achieving the consistency of liquid sour cream. If the mixture is too thick, just add the broth to it and beat everything with a fork.

In a water bath or in a double boiler, you should also focus on the softness of the vegetables.

Preparing puree soup from young zucchini

This light and healthy dish is perfect for a summer lunch. It doesn't take much time to prepare the puree soup. 3 - 4 young zucchini are boiled whole in a small amount of lightly salted water for 20 minutes. Using a blender they are turned into puree.

Fry a couple of tablespoons of flour until light golden brown in a frying pan in which a piece of butter has been preheated. The fried flour must be mixed with the squash broth so that no lumps form. You also need to pour a couple of glasses of milk there. Add zucchini puree to the resulting mixture. Cook the soup for another 8-10 minutes.

Serve puree soup with chopped herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro) and toasted pieces of white bread.

Zucchini puree recipe for babies

Composition and nutritional value of zucchini

Zucchini contains many useful microelements, namely:
Vitamin complex (A, C, group B, E, PP);
Calcium;
Magnesium;
Iron;
Potassium;
Pectin;
Natural sugar;
Cellulose.

Zucchini is usually introduced first in the form of complementary foods. The baby becomes familiar with this food after milk or formula. The baby's first teeth have not yet come out; he does not realize that food needs to be chewed. That is why, to prevent your baby from choking, you need to puree the zucchini. For the first complementary feeding, any product should be ground to a homogeneous puree.

How long to cook zucchini for puree

Zucchini can be eaten in any form: its peel, seeds, pulp, even raw, can be eaten by adults. The child must first boil the vegetable, since the raw vegetable is too hard and can harm the tummy. The first question that a young mother will face is how long to cook zucchini for complementary feeding?

The structure of the vegetable is not particularly dense. It is soft in itself, very watery. Therefore, it does not require long boiling, like pumpkin, for example. To cook the zucchini, just hold the pieces in boiling water for 10 minutes.

Thermal treatment can be any type, as long as it does not require cooking in oil and does not dry out the zucchini. That is, you can cook zucchini for the first feeding either in a saucepan or in a slow cooker. You can also steam it in a double boiler. In any case, it will take about 10 minutes of cooking.

Cooking zucchini correctly

Today, in every kitchen you can see a variety of household appliances. I would like all this to help housewives prepare delicious and healthy dishes. Zucchini can be cooked in different ways.

Any housewife, having once cooked zucchini, will be able to determine by the appearance of the product how much it needs to be cooked for a particular dish. You don't even have to time it. This vegetable is very easy to prepare. And for it to be as useful as possible, it is better to choose it during the season, when there are more opportunities to purchase a quality product without nitrates. Bon appetit!

Sources

https://onwomen.ru/skolko-tushit-kabachki.html
https://coolhealth.ru/nutrition/poleznye-svojstva-i-protivopokazaniya-soka-iz-kabachkov.html
https://mixfacts.ru/articles/%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BA-%D0%B8%D0%B7-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B1%D0%B0%D1 %87%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B5-%D1 %81%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B0-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B8%D0 %B3%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5
https://ZozhMania.ru/produkty/polza-kabachkovogo-soka
https://foodexpert.pro/produkty/napitki/sok-kabachka.html
https://fermer.blog/bok/ogorod/kabachki/polza-i-vred-kabachkov/2201-sok-iz-kabachkov.html
https://9dach.ru/sovety/kak-sdelat-sok-iz-kabachkov
https://kulinarenok.ru/sok-iz-kabachkov-na-zimu-retsepty-palchiki-oblizhesh/
https://skolkovaryat.ru/skolko-varit-kabachok/
https://kakvarim.ru/kak-varit-kabachok.html
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Zucchini-curd casserole

As you can see, preparing squash puree for children is not at all difficult. You won't need any other ingredients other than water and zucchini. But for older children and adult household members, you can prepare an amazingly tasty and healthy dish from zucchini and cottage cheese. This casserole is an excellent stand-alone dish or a side dish for a meat treat.

Ingredients:

young squash fruits – 400 g;
wheat flour - one table. spoon;
refined vegetable oil - one table. spoon;
garlic - a couple of cloves;
granular cottage cheese – 200 g;
salt - one pinch;
quail eggs - eight pieces;
Russian cheese – 50-70 g.

Preparation:

Cottage cheese for preparing this treat should be chosen with a minimum percentage of fat content. If the grains are large, then they need to be mashed with a fork so that the mass acquires a uniform consistency.
The zucchini is suitable when young. If you do take overripe fruits, you need to remove the seeds from them.
Remove the skin from the zucchini, wash it thoroughly and grate it on a finely perforated grater. You can chop the vegetable with an immersion blender.
Grind Russian cheese on a grater.
Combine approximately half of the cheese mass with granular cottage cheese. Add crushed garlic. This ingredient can be omitted.
Mix these ingredients and add quail eggs.
Lightly squeeze the zucchini mass with your hands. It’s even better to leave it for 10-15 minutes to allow the juice to release. It definitely needs to be drained.
Combine the zucchini mass with the curd mixture. Mix well until smooth.
Add the sifted wheat flour and mix again.
Lubricate the walls and bottom of the refractory mold with refined vegetable oil. Fill the form with the mass and level it.
Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top. Place the dish in the oven.
Set the temperature at 200°. Bake the treat for about 20-25 minutes.
Before serving, this casserole must be cooled slightly and then cut into portions.