Freezing carrots is a great way to preserve their freshness and flavor for use in future meals. However, many people are hesitant to try freezing carrots because they are worried about the texture becoming soft or mushy after being thawed.
One common method for preserving the texture of frozen vegetables is to blanch them before freezing, but this extra step can be time-consuming and inconvenient. In this article, we will explore how to freeze carrots without blanching, and provide some tips for ensuring that your frozen carrots retain their texture and taste.
Whether you have an abundance of carrots from your home garden or you want to take advantage of a sale at the grocery store, freezing carrots is an easy and effective way to enjoy them all year round.
How to Freeze Carrots Without Blanching
Step 1 – Get the Ingredients and Supplies You Need
Freezing carrots is a straightforward preserving technique since you don’t need any fancy equipment. You can use the supplies you find in your kitchen. This is what you will need:
- A Sharp knife
- Fresh carrots
- Vegetable peeler
- Straw
- Zip-lock back
- Parchment paper
- Cutting board
- Permanent marker
Step 2 – Pick The Best Carrots For Freezing
It is important to remember only fresh carrots can be successfully frozen. You must start with carrots that are young, tender, and free of any soft spots. Avoid using old carrots, as they tend to be fibrous, tough, and limp and will not hold up well during the freezing process.
Choose medium-sized carrots for the best results, as they tend to retain their flavor the best during freezing. While smaller carrots can still be frozen, they may not retain their flavor as well.
Step 3 – Wash And Cut
Use cold water to wash off any bacteria or dirt from the carrots before peeling and cutting them. Chop off the top and bottom of each carrot, and if you wish to remove the skin, use a vegetable peeler or knife to do so.
You can freeze your carrots with or without skin but removing the skin after freezing can be difficult so try to save time by peeling them at the beginning of the freezing process. Then, cut your carrots into 1-2 inch chunks or your desired sizes.
Step 4 – Flash-Freeze
Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent carrots from sticking to each other. Place the pieces in a single layer, ensuring that they’re not touching each other. This way, the carrots will not clump together in the freezer.
Freeze the carrots for about 3 hours or until they are frozen completely. This step is essential because if the carrots are still soft while placing them into a bag, they will freeze together into one big clump.
Step 5 – Store In The Freezer
After they have frozen, take the baking sheet out of the freezer. Then transfer the carrots into a zip-lock bag or freezer-safe bag. Ensure you remove as much air as possible from the bags.
You can submerge your bag in water up to the zip so that the water pressure pushes all the air out, or use a straw tucked in the corner of the bag to suck the air out and then close it.
But before you place them in the freezer, label, and date the container using a permanent marker so that you can know how long your carrots have been in storage. After you are through, place the container back in the freezer.
Freezing Baby Carrots
You can directly freeze baby carrots or blanch them first. However, you should know that they don’t retain their original flavor once frozen. To freeze them;
- Wash them
- Spread them in a baking sheet covered with a parchment paper
- Flash-freeze them for about an hour
- Then, place them into a zip-lock bag
- But ensure you remove the air and freeze them
Pro Tips
- Don’t take the frozen carrots out until you want to cook them since freezing and refreezing them can diminish their flavor over time.
- Carrots can stay in the freezer for up to 10-12 months, but their flavor and texture change over time. But for better flavor, try using them within the first two months.
- You don’t have to defrost carrots first for most recipes. Just place the frozen slices directly into whatever recipe you are preparing.
- Frozen carrots are suitable for hot and cooked dishes since they will lose some crunchy texture.
Conclusion
As you have seen, freezing carrots without blanching is a simple process. All you have to do is select the carrots, wash, cut, flash-freeze put them in an air-tight bag, and place them in a freezer. So, to freeze your carrots follow these simple steps.
Check also: How to Cook Frozen Hash Browns.
