Housekeeping note: can I freeze whole or grated carrots for winter? Tips for storing root vegetables in the cell

Carrots - one of the most demanded products, according to the concentration of vitamins and useful mineral substances, especially in the winter period. For the safety of root crops in the home is a great method of freezing. With this method of storing carrots, it retains all its useful substances and trace elements.

The article describes the technology of freezing vegetables, the possible difficulties and problems associated with this method of storing carrots. You can also watch a useful video on this topic.

Features of the structure of the root

Features of the structure of vegetable culture dictate the rules that are recommended to comply with, so that the result of freezing was successful. Consider them:

1. For storage, carrots should be dense, well-structured, quite juicy.
2. On the surface of the fruit should not be cracks, scratches, grooves. Otherwise, when frozen, moisture, protruding on the skin, will become ice. That is extremely not desirable for quality storage.
3. Cone-shaped fruits contain more nutrients. This means that the vegetable, losing some of the vitamins in the freezing process, will be able to preserve a certain amount of them.

Is it possible to store carrots in the freezer until spring?

By tradition, carrots are stored in cool cellars and basements, packed in bags, or folded in boxes with filler. In the absence of storage, vegetable culture can be frozen in a home refrigerator. And thus it is easy to keep it. Frozen root crops are economically beneficial, as vegetables are more expensive in winter. In addition, contributes to the preservation of most of the nutrients in vegetables.

Rubbed

One of the convenient ways to store carrots is to freeze it in a grated form. This method has the following advantages:

1. Compactness is an important quality because it freezes more vegetables.
2. Convenience for cooking first courses, stews, pilau, etc.

The main drawback of grated carrots - a strong seal in the container prevents to divide it into portions. Kinks on the ice crust violate the structure of the vegetable. To get around this problem, grated carrots need to be stored in one of the ways:

• in small containers for one preparation;
• a strip in a long bag, turning it into a bar (when defrosting it is enough to cut off the required length);
• loose in bulk package (you need to shake it 2-3 hours after laying in the freezer so that vegetables do not freeze over).

Board: When rubbing carrots, choose the side of the grater, where the holes are large. If this is not done, the loss of carrot juice will be greater.

We recommend watching the video about freezing grated carrots:

Whole

If the carrots are small, intact, all about the same size, then these vegetables can be stored in the freezer as a whole. Features of freezing whole carrots:

1. root crops will not be able to be placed compactly, which means that less crop can be saved, or more camera will be required;
2. vegetables are thawed for a long time.

How to keep the whole carrot? To do this, it must be cleaned, planted three minutes, cooled in ice water, drained, dried and hidden in a container in the freezer.

Boiled

When storing boiled root vegetables, vegetables lose most of their beneficial properties.. But sometimes such a freeze is necessary in order to have the opportunity to quickly prepare baby puree, or to use for filling during baking.

Boiled carrots can be stored in two ways:

1. whole fruits;
2. in the form of mashed potatoes.

The whole process consists of the following actions:

1. Vegetables should be washed (if cooked mashed potatoes - cut into pieces).
2. Dip in cold unsalted water and bring it to a boil.
3. Boil from 20 to 35 minutes, depending on the size of the fruit.
4. Pull the cooked carrots and put them in containers. They must be firmly closed to prevent odors from soaking the prepared product.
5. For puree, blend vegetables with a blender and put in small ice containers (if it is intended for the child). Let the mashed potatoes dry quickly so that it does not darken.

A more gentle method of freezing thermally-processed carrots - blanching. Cooked root vegetables immersed in water for three minutes. Pulled carrots are doused in an icy stream of water; this must be done in order to lose less nutrients.

Boiled carrots have their own characteristics when defrosting:

1. Vegetables pulled out of the freezer are initially kept on the shelf in the refrigerator for two to three hours.
2. The thawed product is placed for further defrosting in a microwave.

Important: It is not recommended to re-freeze boiled carrots.

Timing

If you follow the technology of freezing carrots, then its shelf life in the freezer (at - 18 ° C) can be long - a year or a little less. In this case, the roots, if they lose nutrients, it is not fast. It is better not to use remnants of last season's blanks for next winter.. Labels with the date on the packages with frozen carrots will tell the expiration date.

Vegetable preparation

Consider step by step the process of preparing carrots for storage in the freezer for the winter:

1. Carrots must be picked fresh. If from the market, then with green, not faded leaves, if from the garden, then immediately after digging. The taste is better in the spring freeze, it has more vitamins.
2. Sluggish and spoiled root vegetables are not suitable. It is necessary to choose vegetables of average size, without spots and rot.
3. Wash all selected roots thoroughly, removing the adhering dirt with a soft brush or sponge. Do not use detergents, it is better to change water several times or to wash under running water.
4. If the tops are still on the fruit, then it should be cut and set aside. It can be dried later and brew.
5. Washed carrots should be peeled and cut off the ends of the fruit from both sides. Rinse again.
6. Before chopping a vegetable, you need to decide on the form of cutting: a whole root vegetable, in a grated form, diced, circles, straws. The thickness of the pieces, you can choose any.
7. Stage blanching is optional. It is preferred for withered, not juicy vegetables or very small. Vegetables are blanched in boiling water for 2-4 minutes, cooled in water using ice, decanting excess liquid and dried.
8. After drying on clean cloths, the carrots are ready for the freezing process.

Optimal packaging options for freezing carrots:

• Vacuum bags. A convenient fastener allows you to hermetically close the container, and therefore, do not allow foreign smells inside. It is better to choose small packages in terms of one cooking.
• Plastic containers with lid. Their ergonomic shape allows you to save space in the freezer compartment.

How to store in the freezer?

After preliminary preparation of vegetables, you can proceed directly to the freezing. An important rule for storing frozen vegetables is to comply with the conditions under which the products in the container do not stick together in one frozen room. Otherwise, there will be the problem of separating a part of the carrots, without damaging the other fruits.

To vegetables in the container were crumbly, should:

1. Prepare a cutting board or tray.
2. Spread the carrot evenly on it.
3. Lined fruit send in the freezer for several hours.
4. When they freeze slightly, pull out.
5. Fold in the prepared container and return to the freezer compartment again for long-term storage for the winter.

Laying slightly frozen carrots in the container, you should leave some free space - with further freezing the fruit will increase slightly in volume. If you use the super-freeze refrigerator mode, you can quickly get frozen vegetables, put them in a container and send to the chamber for long-term storage.

For the successful preservation of carrots in the freezer, you must follow certain rules:

1. It is necessary to establish the optimal thermal regime in the freezer - not higher - 18 ° C.
2. Excessive compaction of bags with vegetables in the chamber can lead to the formation of solid pieces of ice product, from which it will be very difficult to separate the desired portion.
3. All containers and containers with frozen vegetables should be hermetically sealed from the penetration of foreign odors.
4. In the case of planned refrigerator prevention, to avoid undesirable defrosting of the product, it should be moved to a cold place (on the balcony in winter). You can wrap insulating material and overlaid with ice. For a few hours, a simulated "fridge" will save the carrot from defrosting.

Alternative methods

There are other options for storing grated carrots without freezing. Consider them.

Drying

In a city apartment, carrots (pre-cut into thin circles or straws) are dried in the oven, in the microwave, on the balcony, or in a special dryer. Dried root vegetables contain large amounts of nutrients.. Store them for up to a year in linen bags or containers without air access.

We recommend watching the video of drying carrots for long-term storage:

Preservation

Vegetable can be used in the preparation of homemade preparations for the winter. Carrot in the composition of spicy and spicy canned salads has a long shelf life.

You can dry and carrot tops. Dried topper brewed with boiling water is a healthy and tasty drink.

What if something went wrong?

Even with the technology of freezing carrots, you can face difficulties. Consider what problems may arise and how to solve them:

• In the process of cooking vegetables (especially when rubbing) it turned out that they emit a lot of liquid. In order not to get separately frozen carrot juice and dry cake, it is better to process such fruits on a juicer.
• If it was found that the vegetables are tough, not juicy, then the best way to freeze them is cooking or blanching. With this technique, the situation is easy to fix.
• If the carrot is filled with the smell of other products in the refrigerator, then you need to seal the bags and containers in which it is packed. Or lay out in the refrigerator bags of rice grains - they absorb all odors.

Additional tips and warnings

Here are some more tips. When freezing carrots for the winter, it is recommended to follow certain rules.:

1. In order for the carrots after defrosting to be tasty in the dish, you need to choose the appropriate variety: moderately juicy, well-structured.
2. When cleaning the fruits, carefully monitor whether the root crop has rotted inside. Such a carrot can cause poisoning.
3. If it seems that the root crop smells like mold, it is better not to freeze it.
4. Do not ignore the drying phase of chopped vegetables: for this they use paper or cloth towels.
5. The faster the freezing process, the more vitamins in vegetables can be saved. First, in the freezer you need to set the temperature to -35 ° C, and after the fruits freeze, reduce to the optimum mode.
6. Do not forget about the alternative methods of storing carrots at home.

The carrots stored in the freezer will please the hostess with everything: the ability to use a winter billet at any time for cooking, taste, ease of processing, and economy. Do not ignore this excellent method of storing root vegetables. And the result will exceed all expectations!

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