How to freeze carrots at home for the winter in the freezer
There are several ways to freeze carrots for the winter. But in order to preserve all the valuable properties of the product, you need to know how to do it correctly. You should prepare the vegetables themselves and the necessary equipment.
Important information
Many people ask the question whether it is possible to freeze carrots and whether beneficial substances are stored in it? If you follow all the rules, then all the vitamins are preserved, and the product crushed on a grater can be easily added to any dish without wasting time.
Reasons why many housewives choose to store vegetables in the freezer.
- Saving money. In winter, vegetables are much more expensive, it is much more pleasant to take an already prepared product from the refrigerator without leaving home.
- It is not known in what conditions the product is stored in a store environment. In addition, winter vegetables on the shelves often undergo additional processing for better storage and flavor. Therefore, taking out your carrots from the freezer, you can be sure of its environmental friendliness.
- Saving time. When you start cooking, you don't need to waste time peeling and chopping the vegetable. Is everything ready!
- It happens that there is nowhere to store vegetables from your garden. In this case, the freezer comes to the rescue. Not everyone has spacious cellars and basements (in addition, in these rooms, it is also necessary to maintain the correct conditions).
For freezing, a small root crop, dense structure, sweetish taste is suitable. Carrots can be stored both whole and chopped on a grater.
It is not necessary to buy a freezer for storage, many refrigerators have a freezer in which any vegetables, including carrots, should be stored for a long time. It is only necessary to transfer it to the usual refrigerator compartment if a gradual defrosting of the product is required.
Preparation rules
Freezing carrots for the winter at home should be done according to all the rules, then all vitamins will remain intact.
Vegetables must be carefully selected. Do not freeze old, rotten root crops eaten by pests. After selection, you need to wash the carrots, clean them of dirt and dust, cut off the ends.
The next step is blanching. Prepare two containers of water. In one you need to boil water, in the other pour ice water. Large roots are dipped in boiling water for 4 minutes, small ones are enough to hold for two minutes. After that, vegetables are immediately sent to ice water. Thanks to cold water, the vegetable will not cook completely, it will remain fresh and crispy.
Root vegetables are spread on a towel and left to dry completely. Cut clean, dry carrots in any way: cubes, rings and strips. Can be grinded with a grater. It all depends on what kind of dish the slicing is intended for.
So that the pieces of vegetables do not freeze to each other, you need to lay them on an ordinary wooden board in layers and send them to the freezer for 1.5 hours. Then collect in one pile. After this procedure, the vegetable cuts will be stored without sticking.
For freezing, it is better not to choose plastic bags and glass dishes. The first option may tear, and the second may crack due to the low temperature.
The best choice is plastic containers. They fill the product without reaching the edge of 1 cm. You can use vacuum bags, which are fixed with paper clips, adhesive tape or special clips.
It is recommended to indicate on each package or container the date and time when the product was packaged. Plastic cups, containers for storing ice can also serve as containers for freezing the product.
It is best to keep the storage temperature in the vegetable preparation freezer below -18 degrees. The higher the temperature, the less the frozen food will be stored. So, for example, at a temperature of -8 degrees, carrots can be stored for no more than three months.
Freezing methods
There are several basic and popular ways to freeze carrots in the freezer for the winter.
The most common option is to freeze freshly chopped carrots:
- you can put all the chopped mass in one bag and roll it into a block, cut off the required amount of carrots as necessary;
- you can simply transfer the cooked carrots into a large bag, but after two hours in the freezer, the bag must be shaken so that the chopped strips do not freeze to each other;
- you can decompose the vegetable mass in portions.
An option with a preparatory stage involving blanching:
- carrots are cut into separate pieces in any shape, but of the same size;
- all cut slices are dipped in boiling water for two minutes;
- then the vegetables need to be cooled by placing them in ice water for three minutes;
- spread the pieces on a towel and let them dry;
- vegetables are ready to be frozen.
Carrot puree (ideal for those with small children):
- peel and cut carrots into slices;
- chopped vegetables are poured with water and after boiling, cook for about 40 minutes;
- cooked root vegetables are kneaded with a fork or chopped with a blender;
- the resulting puree mass is laid out in ice molds or any other small plastic container after final cooling (to cool the puree faster and not darken, you need to immerse the container with the contents in cold water);
- at a temperature of -18 degrees, the contents of the molds are frozen within three hours;
- then the vegetable cubes are removed from the molds and transferred to bags.
In winter, this puree can be given to small children or added to various cereals and soups during cooking. They dissolve easily and give the dish a pleasant taste.
Roasting with onions (other vegetables can be added):
- peel and chop carrots;
- cut onions into small slices;
- chopped vegetables are sent to a pan with butter and stewed for about 35 minutes;
- as soon as the vegetables have cooled down, you can start freezing.
After the slices are distributed in the containers, they must be tightly closed so that the carrots do not absorb neighboring odors.
A frozen carrot dish, subject to the preparation technology, can be stored for about a year. After this time, it is best to prepare fresh vegetables again.
Defrosting rules
Frozen fresh or cooked carrots do not need to be thawed. Take enough vegetable from the freezer and add to the dish at the last stage of cooking.
If carrots are not supposed to be added to a hot dish, then you need to follow some rules in order to preserve valuable components:
- from the freezer, the vegetable is moved to the regular refrigerator so that the product thaws a little;
- after that, you can start defrosting at room temperature;
- you cannot use a microwave for this purpose, as all nutrients disappear.
Before use, it is enough to warm up carrot puree or add it frozen, for example, to mashed potatoes or soup.
And before reading this article, I thought that if the carrots were frozen, then all the useful vitamins would not be preserved in it, I was wrong. As long as the carrots are a good price, you need to freeze them for the winter.