Freezing carrots: step-by-step
Would you like to learn how to freeze carrots so that they remain fresh and firm for the days to come? Check out our brief guide below!
Carrots are among the most popular veggies served on Polish tables. They’re added to almost every soup, can be eaten raw, cooked, grated, sliced, etc. There are so many possibilities!
Be sure to check out how to freeze carrots so that they remain fresh for a long time and can be used whenever you need them to fix a meal or a delicious snack.
Perhaps you’d like to take a sip of a heavenly carrot juice on a cold evening in fall? Having frozen carrots on hand will enable you to do that easily.
Prepping carrots for freezing
Carrots can be used for delicious soups, desserts, and main courses. They’re most commonly served cooked, added to a traditional Sunday chicken soup, or raw, grated with apples to go with the main course. You’ll also see them roasted with sweet peas, cut into tiny cubes.
You can also enjoy carrots completely raw.
Before you decide to freeze some carrots, pick out the nicest ones. If your carrots look even slightly off before freezing, you can be sure it’s going to be much worse after thawing in a couple of months.
Freezing slows the process of spoiling down but doesn’t stop it altogether. So make sure you select and buy the best carrots: ones that are vibrant in color, are spotless, and have no discoloration.
Always pick the nicest and fresh carrots if you intend to freeze them.
To prep carrots for freezing, wash them well and dry carefully (you can use paper towels or a strainer for that). It would be perfect if you take the time to peel them, too. Carrot’s skin is thin and barely noticeable in young carrots.
But with older vegetables, the skin can be unpleasant to eat and usually has to be removed. So if you wish to use your carrots for something else than soup, peel them first!
A few methods for preparing carrots
Once peeled, cut off the end where the green part of the veggie once was.
Because they’re not particularly sizable, carrots can be frozen in whole.
But it’s much more practical to cut them into thin slices.
If you’re thinking about preparing carrot patties or using your frozen veggies as a side dish (with a grated apple, for example), you can grate your veggies before putting them in the freezer.
Whichever form you choose, you can now put your carrots in a ziplock bag or a container.
Blanching carrots
You can also blanch your carrots before freezing them. It’s enough to treat them to a 10-min salty bath in boiling water and dry them afterward on paper towels which help get rid of the moisture fast.
Blanching proves to be perfect for those who don’t have much space to spare for frozen products. While blanching, carrots will shrink a little, letting you save a bit of space in the freezer!
Blanching is an optional step when it comes to carrots. You don’t have to do it; it’s ok to freeze raw carrots as well.
How to freeze carrots properly
In an ideal scenario, you should put your carrots in a refrigerator for a couple of hours before freezing them. The process will give you the best results and the veggies will remain fresh for longer.
You should also remember to dry your sliced or grated carrots well on a paper towel. The drier they are, the better the taste after thawing.
Some freezers come with Fast Freeze containers – if you use them, your products will be frozen faster. If you happen to have them available, it’s best to place your carrots there.
And most importantly…
If your carrots happen to thaw (because of an equipment failure or power outage) you can’t freeze them back. This rule applies to all frozen fruits and vegetables. If it happens to you, you have to use them immediately or throw them out.
Thawing carrots
If prepped and frozen properly, carrots can be kept in your freezer for up to 12 months.
Try to use them during that year you have. Although, to be frank, I personally keep my frozen food for longer and it’s still perfectly fine.
Before using your carrots for cooking or baking, it’s sometimes recommended to thaw them first. Carrots will obviously thaw on their own once put in boiling water, but it’s better to thaw them separately if you have some frying in mind.
Remember: it’s possible to spoil a perfectly fine frozen product through improper thawing.
I personally advocate for slow thawing in room temperature or a refrigerator. It all depends on the dish you intend to prepare with the carrots, though – if you plan to make some soup, you can put the carrots in the pot directly and add the rest of your veggies to it. It’s ok to mix fresh and frozen products since all ingredients will combine anyway and their tastes will fuse.
Last but not least: remember that it’s not recommended to thaw your carrots in a microwave! They are going to lose most of the vitamins and will be considerably softer.