How to Freeze Carrots Easily

Many gardeners are faced with a dilemma when harvesting carrots- what to do with the surplus crop to most effectively and easily preserve carrots? The answer is simple- freeze carrots! The steps below will explain how to easily freeze carrots.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• shovel
• at least 2 large bowls
• kitchen sink
• sharp knife
• cutting board
• steamer
• ice
• towels
• freezer bags

1. Pick the carrots. Carefully pull the carrots by the greens. If the root becomes separated from the greens, carefully use a shovel to dig around where the carrots are, being sure not to nick the carrots in the process. Separate the carrots from the greens and place the carrots in a large bowl. If desired, save the greens in a separate bowl, otherwise discard them.

2. Wash the carrots in the kitchen sink. Use a moderate water pressure. High water pressure is not necessary and could possibly bruise the carrots. Use your hands to gently rub the dirt off the carrots. Place the clean carrots in a separate bowl.

3. Use a sharp knife to cut the carrots on a cutting board. If flying carrots is a problem, be sure to angle the knife slightly and place a hand over the area where the carrots are to be cut to contain the pieces.

4. Place the carrot pieces into the steamer. Any type of steamer will suffice- stand-alone steamer, microwave steamer, or stove top steamer. Be sure to steam the carrots until they are tender-crisp and not too soft. Use caution when removing carrots from the steamer, as carrots will be extremely hot.

5. Place steamed carrots into a bowl of ice water. Use a large bowl to allow for water displacement when adding the carrots. A good proportion to use is one part ice to three parts cold water. Let the carrots sit in the water until they become slightly colder than room temperature.

6. Set out clean towels- kitchen towels work best- and place cold carrots on the towels to dry. As carrots are being lifted from ice water, shake carrots and squeeze slightly to get some of the water off. Leave carrots on the towels for at least one hour in order to dry them slightly.

7. Place carrots in freezer bags and place bags in freezer. Frozen carrots should keep in the freezer for at least two months, as long as proper care was taken during freezing process.

Tips & Warnings

• Label freezer bags with a permanent marker, if desired.
• Paper towels should not be used in place of cloth dish towels, as paper towels can shred when wet.
• Carrot greens can be used in place of parsley for any dish, and can even be frozen for use in soups!
• Use extreme caution when opening steamer and taking carrots out of steamer, as carrots will be extremely hot.