Can You Freeze Raw Carrots And Celery?
Raw carrots and celery are two distinct types of vegetables. They are in fact two of the most used veggies in every household. Carrots can be added to any recipe or can be had alone as a dish. Celery is mostly used to enhance the flavor of a recipe.
You might not always have the time to go grocery shopping, or sometimes you might not find raw carrots and celery available on the market. You must have thought about stocking them in your houses. So, can you freeze raw carrots and celery?
Yes, you can freeze raw carrots and celery. They freeze extremely well given that you follow adequate freezing guidelines. However, you cannot freeze celery and raw carrots together. This is because both of them require different freezing techniques. Read on to know more!
How Can You Freeze Carrots?
You can freeze raw carrots easily. The process is quite simple and follows a three-step approach. All you have to do is follow the steps gradually and adhere to the freezing guidelines adequately to achieve maximum results.
Check out the steps for freezing raw carrots here.
- Use fresh carrots and wash them thoroughly with water. This will remove all the dirt particles. Peel the carrots and cut the ends with a pointed knife. Make sure you peel the carrots carefully and that there is no skin left.
- Once the carrots are peeled nicely, chop, dice, or slice the carrots. The way you decide to cut your carrots will be determined by how you want to use them later. You can also cut the carrots into halves for freezing.
- Transfer the raw carrots into freezer-friendly airtight bags. Make sure to remove as much air as possible and secure the bags tightly. This will keep them safe from freezer burns. Label and date the bags. And your raw carrots are ready to freeze.
How Can You Freeze Raw Celery?
Unlike raw carrots, celery can be frozen in two ways. You can either freeze the celery stalks or you can freeze chopped celery. Both of these freezing techniques follow different processes. And which freezing method to choose from depends on how you would like to use the frozen celery.
However, if you want ready-to-use celery for sauces, soups, and stews, it is best if you chop them before freezing. On the other hand, celery stems can be used in a number of ways; for example, you can pair celery stems with hummus.
Check out both methods of freezing celery below.
Freezing Celery Stalks
- When you are freezing celery stalks, it is very important that you blanch them before freezing. This is because blanching will help retain the flavor and color of the celery after defrosting them later.
- Put the celery in boiling water to blanch. This will not take more than 2-3 minutes. Once they have blanched, transfer them into a cold bath to stop further cooking. Make sure you do not overdo the blanching as it might affect the freezing.
- Remove the blanched celery stalks from the cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and spread them evenly on a baking tray for flash freezing. Put the stalks inside a freezer for about 2 hours to solidify.
- Lastly, transfer the celery stalks into airtight freezer bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible because air contact will ruin the celery stalks. Label and date the bags appropriately, and your celery stalks are ready to freeze.
Freezing Chopped Celery
- Wash and rinse the celery properly with water. Chop them into fine cuts and spread them evenly on a tray lined with baking paper. Put the tray inside the freezer for flash freezing. This will take a few hours.
- The next step is to remove the tray from the freezer and transfer the chopped celery into airtight bags. It is crucial to seal the bags tightly and remove all the air to protect them from unnecessary freezer burns.
- Once you have packed your chopped celery into freezer bags, label, and date the bags. This will let you know how long the celery has been in the freezer. Lastly, stack the bags in the freezer for freezing.
Tips To Store Raw Carrots And Celery In The Freezer
Take a look at the tips and tricks for freezing raw carrots and celery for the best results.
- It is better to freeze raw carrots cut into halves. This will allow you to use frozen carrots in various ways. You can always cut them into the required sizes later. However, if you freeze chopped, diced, or sliced carrots, they only have specific uses.
- If you do not have the time to flash-freeze the chopped celery on a tray, you can directly transfer them into airtight bags and freeze them. Do this for 30 minutes, take out the bags, and give them a shake. This will separate the chopped celery, and you can freeze them now.
- Raw carrots and celery freeze well. You can use both of them directly from the freezer without defrosting. It is safe to use frozen raw carrots and celery. In fact, if you are freezing chopped celery, there is no need to thaw them at all.
How Long Can You Keep Frozen Raw Carrots And Celery?
Raw carrots and celery have a different shelf-life when frozen effectively. Raw carrots can be frozen for up to 3 months, whereas celery stalks can be frozen for up to a year. If you use them within this stipulated time, you will not experience any flavor or texture alterations.
You can also keep raw carrots for more than three months in the freezer, but it is not advised to do so. This is because the longer you keep them in the freezer, the sooner they will show flavor changes. Use frozen chopped celery within three months of freezing.
You can also keep your raw carrots and celery in the refrigerator for 4 weeks and 2 weeks respectively. They keep well in the refrigerator for the mentioned time. After that, you will notice changes in the vegetables, and they will eventually rot. So it is better to freeze them to keep them for longer.
Can You Refreeze Raw Carrots And Celery?
Celery and raw carrots, both have great freezing properties. Yes, you can refreeze them, but make sure they do not exceed the freezing time limits. Otherwise, they will show flavor alterations. Because you can also use these vegetables without defrosting, they react to refreezing well.
However, it is not recommended that you avoid refreezing raw carrots and celery. This is because refreezing can sometimes destroy the texture due to air exposure. You can take out the required quantities of these vegetables from the freezer for usage to avoid refreezing.
How Can You Use Frozen Celery And Carrots?
You can use frozen celery and carrots in any desired way: in recipes, salads, or with other vegetables. It is up to you, how you would like to use your frozen veggies. And because they are raw, you can prepare almost any recipe.
Summing it up, that was all about freezing raw carrots and celery. Now you know the processes to freeze them. So the next time, you are planning to store raw carrots and celery for longer, use specific approaches to freeze them.