How to properly freeze carrots for the winter in the freezer: rules and methods of freezing

Carrots are traditionally keep in a cool place: in cellar, basement, balcony. Subject to a number of conditions, the vegetable can last until spring. An alternative to storing in a cool place is the freezer.

We will tell you how to freeze carrots for the winter in the freezer, what are the advantages and disadvantages of this method of storing vegetables, and where to use defrosted carrots.

Is it worth freezing carrots

Vegetables stored in a cool place lose their beneficial properties over time, while frozen foods retain their vitamins and minerals for up to a year.

This factor is of great importance in deciding the issue of long-term storing carrotsrich in carotenoids (α-, β-, γ-carotenes, phytofluen, phytoene, etc.), vitamins (B1, B2, B6, C, K) and other valuable nutrients.

The chemical composition of carrots per 100 g of product is presented in the table.

Pros and cons of freezing

Can carrots be frozen? Freezing in terms of the level of benefits stands between canning and fresh storage, although the benefits of fresh carrots are maximum during their ripening season, when stored in winter, root crops inevitably lose some of their vitamins.

Frozen carrots are not consumed in summer and autumn, but frozen vegetables are useful in winter: if the carrots are stored without disturbances, they retain up to 90% of vitamins and up to 100% of trace elements.

Interesting! One of the important properties of carrots is the presence in the vegetable of a yellow-orange pigment, or beta-carotene, which, after entering the bloodstream, is synthesized into vitamin A, which has a beneficial effect on eye health and prevents early vision loss. Raw carrots 15 cm long provide a person with 0.018 mg of vitamin A.

Carrots in the freezer fully retain their taste, color and aroma, they are easy to defrost and cook quickly.

The minus of freezing is strict rules of storage and use: the product must be frozen and thawed once, the defrosting procedure must be carried out immediately before cooking. Do not store defrosted carrots in the refrigerator.

Where to apply frozen carrots

After thawing, the orange root vegetable is best not eaten raw. The ideal way to use is the inclusion in salads, soups, borscht, meat and vegetable dishes, the recipe for which involves the heat treatment of vegetables.

Carrots that have been stored frozen can be boiled, fried, baked, and stewed. The vegetable will fully give the dish color, aroma and benefit.

Selection and preparation

Preparation for freezing includes the selection and processing of root crops, as well as the selection of suitable containers.

Carrots

Only fresh young are chosen for freezing. rootsnot damaged or discolored... Overripe vegetables are not suitable for storage in the freezer, they have almost no benefit. Root vegetables that are too small are also not suitable - they lose their taste when frozen. Choose a medium sized carrot.

Before harvesting for the winter, carrots are washed, peeled from the top layer and the ends are cut off. Place the processed vegetables on a paper towel to dry. If you freeze wet carrots, ice will form on them.

Containers

Suitable containers for freezing carrots are small plastic containers, disposable cups, plastic bags for storing frozen foods, ice or baking trays (they store mashed potatoes or grated carrots in them), plastic bags with a zip fastener.

For freezing, ordinary plastic bags are also used, if they are dense enough.

In what form to freeze

Before starting freezing, it is recommended to decide how the defrosted root vegetable will be used. The method of cutting and the degree of processing of the vegetable depends on this.

Whole

Washed and peeled root vegetables are dipped in boiling water for 2-3 minutes and immediately cooled in cold water. Then they are dried and laid out in prepared containers.

Chopped

It is convenient to freeze sliced ​​carrots - in circles, strips or cubes up to 6 mm. The vegetables are dried and placed in a labeled container (with the date of freezing), which is sent to the freezer.

To prevent the pieces from sticking together, the chopped carrots are first scattered on a tray and left in the freezer for 1-2 hours. Then they are transferred to a container and put back into the freezer.

Interesting! Afghanistan is considered the birthplace of carrots. It was here that she was first discovered. Then she grew up in the wild and was purple and white and yellow. Orange carrots came to Russia from the Netherlands, where they were grown for the royal family. Regular consumption of an orange vegetable can change a person's skin color to yellow. This property is used by zoologists to preserve the color of the plumage of bright birds. In addition, carrots are added to the diet of cat breeds that have a red coat.

An example of storing a chopped root crop is in the photo.

Blanched

Can boiled carrots be frozen to avoid long boiling or stewing after defrosting? Yes, for this, before freezing, the root vegetable is blanched for a few minutes in order to improve the taste and reduce the cooking time in the future. Then doused with cold water.

Blanching algorithm:

1. A saucepan, 2/3 filled with water, is put on fire.
2. Chopped or whole vegetables are immersed in boiling water.
3. After 2 minutes, the carrots are quickly transferred to ice water. For another 2 minutes, the roots cool down.
4. The vegetables are transferred to a colander to drain the water.
5. Dried carrots are laid out in a thin layer on a board and placed in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
6. Frozen vegetables are placed in a container and put back into the freezer.

Grated

Usually raw carrots are frozen by grating. The technology of this process is simple: the vegetable is rubbed and laid out in baking tins, after 1-2 hours, when it is completely frozen, they are transferred from the tins to bags or plastic containers.

This creates convenient portions of grated root vegetable that can be used for frying and complex recipes. For example, a Korean pickle recipe does not preclude the use of rubbed defrosted carrots.

Puree

Young parents and lovers of fresh carrot puree freeze the vegetable in the form of ready-made carrot gruel. To do this, boil the root crop in unsalted water for 20-30 minutes, and then punch it with a blender to the desired consistency. A meat grinder is also suitable for grinding carrots in puree. The future complementary food for the child is placed in a sterile container and sent to the freezer.

Storage periods

How long a frozen orange root vegetable will retain its quality depends on the container and freezer. It is best to store your carrots in an insulated deep-freeze freezer. Such a chamber guarantees the freshness of the vegetable throughout the whole year. In a regular freezer, carrots can store 7-9 months... It is recommended to keep it in a closed container to protect it from extraneous odors.

Interesting! Holtville, California, hosts a weeklong Carrot Festival every February. During the week, participants choose the "carrot queen", hold a carrot parade, prepare the best dishes from the orange root vegetable, and also participate in sports competitions with carrots as inventory.

The ideal storage temperature for frozen carrots is -18… -23 ° C. At this temperature, bacteria and pests die and natural wilting slows down.

How to properly defrost carrots

To properly defrost the carrots, the container with the vegetable is transferred to the main chamber of the refrigerator, where it slowly goes from frozen to a fresh state. It is easy to check the condition of the carrots - the thawed vegetable can be pierced with a fork.

It is not recommended to put frozen carrots directly into boiling water or boiling oil in a frying pan. If it is necessary to speed up the defrosting process, it is better to use cold water, dropping a container with root vegetables into it, or a microwave oven with a defrost function.

Reviews

We suggest you read the reviews of those who tried freezing carrots instead of fresh storage.

Tatiana, Millerovo: «We have a private house, in the yard there is a small dugout in which vegetables and vitriol are stored. I inherited this dugout, and it copes well with its function, but once my daughter-in-law advised me to keep the carrot in the freezer - not whole, but grated and laid out in small molds. Freezing occurs quickly, and in winter you just need to take out a portion, defrost it and add it to the frying. It is very convenient, for the third year I have been harvesting carrots this way, although, of course, I still keep some part in the dugout. "

Victor Valentinovich, Krasnodar: “They brought me a box of homemade carrots from Kushchevka, and I needed to store them somehow. In my apartment I have a small balcony, there is simply nowhere to put it, and the carrot will freeze in winter. My wife chopped up all the carrots and put them in small bags that are stored in the freezer! You can get, for example, one piece, or you can get the whole package, it contains about 500 g. In winter, I will not buy carrots from the garden at the market in Krasnodar, but in the freezer they are now at hand. By the way, I also store beets. "

Inna, Irkutsk: “In winter, I will start feeding my 8-month-old daughter with vegetable puree, so I immediately prepared mashed potatoes from my grandmother's carrots - cooked and ground with a blender. At home, making mashed potatoes is elementary. No salt, no pesticides or expensive jars. I put everything in silicone muffin tins and froze it. Then I just put the ice mash circles in one big bag. "

Conclusion

Freezing carrots is a way to keep the vegetable fresh for a long time. When choosing root vegetables for freezing, special attention is paid to their ripeness, size and color. Roots that are too small or overripe are not frozen.

It is better not to freeze an orange vegetable entirely (as it takes up too much space), it is convenient to keep the carrots in the slices. Blanching before freezing significantly reduces the subsequent cooking time of the vegetable. Also, carrots can be prepared grated or mashed.