How to freeze carrots for the winter: useful tips

According to statistics, in winter a person rarely goes to the store, buys less food. And all because in the winter time products consumed from the summer go to consumption. These are marinades, compotes, preserves, jams, salads. And most importantly, frozen fruits and vegetables. Buying them at the height of the summer season, we spend a penny on them than if we took them in the winter. In addition, frozen fruits and vegetables do not lose their beneficial properties - they completely retain all vitamins and minerals. Today we’ll talk about carrots - how to properly prepare it for freezing, in what form to freeze and how to safely defrost this vegetable.

The benefits of carrots for the human body

Carrots are carotene that a growing body needs so much. That is why carrots are considered to be a vegetable for high growth. But in order for this carotene to be well absorbed, it must be taken with vegetable oil. The perfect combination is a salad of vegetables with carrots, seasoned with a spoon of sunflower oil.

Carrots are incredibly good for eye health. It has a lot of vitamin A, a deficiency of which can cause night blindness in humans. For diabetics, boiled carrots are useful, even more than raw carrots. Red carrots reduce blood cholesterol, strengthens the walls of blood vessels - makes them more elastic. Red carrots have a lot of potassium, which is good for heart function.

And carrots are coarse dietary fibers that are not completely processed, swell in the intestines and, like a big stiff brush, clean out all unnecessary and stagnant stool. This is an excellent remedy for constipation. In addition, carrots absorb all toxins and wastes, purifying the body completely.

Carrots are not only eaten - they are used externally. Carrot gruel perfectly heals wounds and ulcers, relieves inflammation and redness. And masks with grated carrots are considered to be the best against aging and sagging skin.

Why freeze carrots

Indeed, why, if it is on sale all year? As noted above, the first reason is savings. In winter, vegetables, including carrots, are much more expensive. In addition, you do not know in what conditions they were stored. Often, the manufacturer processes root crops with chemical compounds so that they do not deteriorate and look good for a long time. Giving an artificial gloss to carrots, the seller deprives it of its beneficial properties. Such root crops can be not only useless, but also dangerous - you do not know how they were stored and how they were processed.

The second reason carrots should be frozen is to save time. Now you will not need to peel the carrots every time, wash it, cut it into the necessary pieces. Now you can just get it and add the right amount of finished peeled product to the finished dish. Very tempting, isn't it?

In general, carrots, of course, can be stored fresh. In this case, it must be placed in a cool basement or a glazed balcony. It is important to choose a suitable temperature so that the carrots do not freeze and rot. It is necessary to take into account the humidity of the room so that the fruits do not dry out and become moldy. Keep in mind that if it is too warm, the carrots will begin to grow, giving all the nutritious juices to useless sprouts. In a city apartment, it is unlikely that anyone will find a clean dark basement with optimal humidity and temperature. That is why carrots are much more convenient to freeze - he patted once and forgot about the storage problem. It remains only to get the carrots as necessary from the freezer and use it for its intended purpose.

How to freeze carrots

For freezing, you need to take fresh root vegetables, it is better if they are from the garden. If you freeze carrots from the market, you can be sure of its freshness by tops - if it is green and not stale - carrots were collected recently. It is best to freeze spring carrots - it is more juicy and sweet.

1. Root crops need to be washed and carefully dried. Wet carrots will stick together, it will be difficult to take in the right amount if you freeze everything in one container.
2. Young carrots can not be peeled - its skin is very delicate and thin. Ripe carrots should be peeled.
3. Now sit down and think about what you cook from carrots. The shape of the slicing of this vegetable depends on this. Often carrots are used in different dishes, so they are cut in different ways. Cut a little carrots into strips - it is suitable for pilaf, make carrot circles - they will work when you cook the roast. Diced carrots can be used to add to soup. For borsch carrots can be grated. Want to save time? Mix the grated carrots with beets and add these preparations to the borsch in the winter.
4. If you want to save even more time, carrots can be blanched before freezing. In this case, the carrots will be almost ready - it will boil when added to the dish much faster. Dip the chopped carrots in boiling water for 3 minutes, and then transfer it to a bowl of ice water. Such a temperature difference will not allow the vegetable to turn into porridge - the slices will remain whole. Then discard the vegetables in a colander so that the glass is excess water.
5. Now carrots should be packaged. You can break the vegetables into several packages - one with straws, the other with grated carrots, the third with slices. However, in this case, with each preparation, you will have to pick out the right amount of vegetable, and put the rest back in the refrigerator. Such temperature changes have a bad effect on the benefits of the product, so it is better to freeze carrots in portions. Pack all the carrots in small bags so that only one serving is needed for one dish. By the way, grated carrots with beets for borscht are conveniently frozen in muffin tins. When the vegetables are frozen, they can simply be transferred to a bag.
6. Such carrots can be stored up to a year. But do not freeze too much, enough to last until the next harvest.
7. Carrots do not need to be specially thawed. Just take the package you need from the freezer and drop it into the dish.

This is a simple carrot freezing algorithm that saves you time and money.

How to freeze boiled carrots

Carrots can be frozen in any form - boiled, stewed, fried. Boiled carrots are most often frozen by young mothers who have small children. Carrots are great food, but children eat little. You will not boil half the carrots each time? To save time, we will freeze boiled carrots. Pour water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. There should be little water so that it slightly covers root crops. Cooking salt is not added (if the carrot is for the baby). Dip the carrots in boiling water and cook for 20-30 minutes until fully cooked. When the vegetables become soft, they need to be removed, cooled and peeled.

Vegetables are cut into several parts and divided into packages so that only one portion is thawed at a time. In order not to lose the benefit of the product, you need to defrost it correctly. Transfer the carrot portion from the freezer to the refrigerator shelf and leave it there for several hours until it is completely thawed. And only then put the carrots in the microwave and heat to the desired temperature. If you defrost carrots immediately in the microwave, a sharp temperature drop will kill all the vitamins, the vegetable will become useless.After warming the boiled carrots, you need to knead it, if necessary, add a drop of vegetable oil. Not one peanut will refuse such a tasty and healthy treat.

Remember, carrots cannot be frozen again. And yet, when you remove the carrots for storage in the freezer, tightly tie the neck of the bag so that the vegetable does not absorb extraneous odors.

Carrots are a unique root crop. It is added to soups, hot dishes, salads and marinades. Not a single winter salad can do without carrots; it is needed for sauerkraut. Moreover, carrots prepare delicious desserts and preserves - in Europe it is generally considered not a vegetable, but a fruit. Even young carrot tops are used - they are added to various snacks and salads. Eat carrots in various forms, gnaw it raw, freeze. And then your dishes will always be decorated with bright slices of juicy carrots!

Video: harvesting carrots for the winter