How to freeze carrots for the winter in the freezer at home

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 are wondering if it is possible to freeze carrots and are useful substances preserved in it? If you follow all the rules, then all the vitamins are preserved, and the grated product is easy to add to any dish without wasting time.

The reasons why many housewives prefer to store vegetables in the freezer.

Saving money. In winter, vegetables are much more expensive, it is much more pleasant to take an already cooked product from the refrigerator without leaving home.
It is not known under what conditions the product is stored in store conditions. In addition, winter vegetables on the shelves often undergo additional processing for better storage and taste. Therefore, taking your carrots out of the freezer, you can be sure of its environmental friendliness.
Saving time. Starting cooking, you do not need to spend time cleaning and chopping vegetables. Everything is 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 (besides, these rooms also need to maintain the right conditions).

For freezing, a root crop of small size, dense structure, sweetish taste is suitable. Carrots can be stored whole or grated.

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. Transfer to a regular refrigerator compartment is only necessary when gradual defrosting of the product is required.

Preparation rules

Freezing carrots for the winter at home should take place 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 root crops 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 be cooked completely, it will remain fresh and crispy.

Root crops are distributed on a towel and left to dry completely. Clean, dry carrots are cut in any way: cubes, rings and strips. Can be crushed with a grater. It all depends on what dish the cut is intended for.

So that the pieces of vegetables do not freeze to each other, you need to lay them out 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, vegetable cuts will be stored without sticking.

For freezing it is better not to choose plastic bags and glassware. The first option may tear, and the second one may crack due to low temperature.

Plastic containers are the best choice. They fill the product, not 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, ice storage containers can also serve as containers for freezing the product.

The storage temperature in the freezer for vegetable preparations is best kept below -18 degrees. The higher the temperature, the less the frozen product is stored. So, for example, at a temperature of -8 degrees, carrots can be stored for no more than three months.

Freezing Methods

How to freeze carrots for the winter in the freezer there are several basic and popular ways.

The most common option is to freeze fresh 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 needed;
you can just transfer the cooked carrots into a large bag, but after two hours in the freezer, you need to shake the bag so that the chopped strips do not freeze to each other;
you can divide the vegetable mass in portions.

Option with a preparatory step 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 cool the vegetables 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 (perfect option for those with small children):

carrots are peeled and cut into slices;
chopped vegetables are poured with water and boiled for about 40 minutes after boiling;
cooked root crops 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 the final cooling (so that the puree cools faster and does 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 for three hours;
then the vegetable cubes are taken out of the molds and put into bags.

In winter, this puree can be given to small children or added during cooking to various cereals and soups. They dissolve easily and give the dish a pleasant taste.

Sauté with onions (other vegetables can be added):

carrots are peeled and grated;
onion cut into small slices;
chopped vegetables are sent to a frying pan with oil and stew for about 35 minutes;
as soon as the vegetables have cooled, you can start freezing.

After the slices are distributed into containers, they must be tightly closed so that the carrots do not absorb neighboring odors.

A frozen carrot dish, subject to the cooking technology, can be stored for about a year. After this time, it is better to prepare fresh vegetables again.

Defrosting rules

Frozen fresh or boiled carrots do not need to be thawed. Take the required amount of 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 to preserve valuable components:

from the freezer, the vegetable moves to the regular refrigerator compartment so that the product thaws a little;
after that you can start defrosting at room temperature;
don't use the microwave for this purpose, as all nutrients disappear.

Carrot puree can be warmed up before use or added frozen, for example, to mashed potatoes or soup.