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Prepping your vegetables beforehand is a great kitchen hack or shortcut that saves you a lot of time in the kitchen.
When you make soups, stocks, or most savory dishes, they often call for celery or onions because those veggies work in practically everything.
If you choose to buy veggies in winter when they go on sale and are cheaper, you may wonder how best to store and preserve them so they can last without spoiling. But can you freeze celery and onions?
Yes, you can freeze celery and onions to keep them in good condition for a long time so you can make use of them whenever you want; this saves you both time and money!
In this post, we will be discussing how to freeze celery and onions!
How To Freeze Celery and Onions
Make sure to pick fully mature onions. Scrub the outer skin of the onion clean with a vegetable brush under running water before chopping the onions into the desired size.
Spread the chopped onions evenly on a baking sheet, making sure to space them evenly, then place them in the freezer, so the onions become frozen as individually as possible.
Wrap the baking sheet with plastic film, adding a double layer if desired before placing it into the freezer.
When the onions are completely frozen, divide into small portions, this makes it easier to only pull out the needed amount from the freezer whenever you want.
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Place chopped onions into small Ziploc freezer bags, label the bags with the date of storage before placing them in the freezer.
How about celery? Well, before freezing celery, ensure it is crisp and tender because it’ll be more likely to freeze well.
After selecting the celery stalks, you plan to freeze, trim and wash the celery under cool water and scrub the surface with a vegetable brush to remove any dirt.
Do this thoroughly before using a sharp knife to trim the base of each stalk and any loose strings hanging off the ends. Trim off any discolored portion of the celery stalks and chop to your desired length.
Next, blanch the celery in a large pot of boiling water; you can skip this step if you don’t plan to store the celery in your freezer for more than two months.
Blanching helps preserve the flavor of celery and involves cooking the celery for several minutes in boiling water.
Ensure the celery is completely submerged in the water by placing the celery in a boiler basket before adding it to the water; this also makes it easier to take out. Avoid overcooking the celery.
After blanching, remove the celery from the boiling water and place it in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Allow the celery to sit in the cold water for about 3 minutes, or you can place the celery in a colander and set it under cold running water to cool.
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When the celery is cooled, drain and dry the celery, then blot with a paper towel to dry it thoroughly. This is very crucial because if excess moisture is left on the celery, it can cause it to go bad quickly when you freeze it.
When properly drained and dried, place the celery in a freezer-proof container; you can divide it into small portions so you can thaw only the amount you need each time.
Place the celery in freezer-proof containers, such as plastic containers or plastic freezer bags, and you can go ahead and place it in the freezer.
Conclusion | Can You Freeze Celery and Onions?
Can you freeze celery and onions? You already know that you can freeze celery and onions to keep them fresh for a long time.
Remember to leave enough expansion room when using a plastic container to store celery in a freezer. If using a freezer bag, ensure to expel all of the air before sealing it.
You can label the celery container with the date of storage and content before freezing it.
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