Sure, You Can Freeze Celery. This is How.
Regardless of having a popularity as an on a regular basis snack meals, celery is an extremely versatile ingredient that lends itself nicely to varied recipes, including each texture and taste. The carrot-family vegetable may be eaten uncooked or sauteed. It is also a supply of a number of very important vitamins, together with vitamin A, C, and Ok. “Principally the entire basic consolation meals use celery,” says Chris Mentzer, a chef and director of operations for Rastelli Market Contemporary.
Shopping for a complete head of celery usually leaves you with an excessive amount of in your fingers. Whereas recent celery retains longer than different greens, it will definitely turns mushy and inedible for those who do not eat it shortly sufficient. Freezing celery is a good way to ensure you at all times have this generally used ingredient available.
The very best technique is to blanch celery earlier than freezing, says Mentzer. Doing so helps lengthen the frozen celery’s lifespan for eight months or extra. And, as a result of the celery is pre-cooked, it is easy to toss into soups and stews.
You can freeze recent celery, however it should soften considerably throughout the thawing course of and lose a lot of its distinct celery-like taste, says Mentzer. “Contemporary frozen celery has a a lot shorter shelf life, too — solely about two to 3 months,” he provides.
Why it’s best to blanch celery earlier than freezing it
Blanching extends the lifetime of frozen celery as a result of it helps expel among the moisture from the vegetable, which in flip prevents freezer burn. The feel of cooked frozen celery is superior to recent frozen celery, which turns into smooth and soggy because it thaws.
Finest methods to make use of frozen celery
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Should you diced and blanched your celery earlier than freezing, you may add it to soups and stews straight from the freezer, says Mentzer. Nevertheless, for those who plan to make use of celery in one thing like a stir fry, thawing helps stop moisture from ruining the dish and turning it mushy.
You may have to thaw and cook dinner recent frozen celery earlier than utilizing it in recipes.
A few of Mentzer’s favourite makes use of for celery are in consolation meals like:
- Pot pies
- Soups and stews
- Stuffing
- Casseroles
Frozen celery lends itself notably nicely to soups and stews since you seemingly will not discover the slight change in texture.
Mentzer does not suggest utilizing frozen celery for juicing for the reason that recent frozen stalks develop into too smooth as soon as thawed.
Insider’s takeaway
When you’ve got an excessive amount of celery in your fingers that you do not need to waste, freezing is a good way to lengthen the life of those crunchy stalks. Blanching then freezing celery will lengthen its life for eight months or extra. Use it in your favourite consolation meals dishes like Thanksgiving stuffing, cream of celery soup, and hen pot pie.
