Got celery on hand in the fridge and not sure what to do with it? Often recipes will call for one or two ribs of celery, leaving the rest of the stalk to sit in the refrigerator drawer for days. The best way to use it up is eating celery sticks with peanut butter or making a celery salad. But if you don’t have time: can you freeze it? Here’s what to know.
Can you freeze celery?
Celery freezes well: the flavor of the vegetable remains essentially unchanged. However, the texture does become softer after thawing. For this reason, you’ll want to use frozen celery only in cooked dishes like soups and stews. A better way to use up leftover fresh celery is in recipes like salad, soup, smoothies, or juice.
How long does celery last in the refrigerator?
Before you go to the trouble of freezing, consider making your celery last longer in the refrigerator! A head of celery lasts in the refrigerator for about 1 to 2 weeks in plastic or unwrapped. But wrap it in aluminum foil and it lasts 3 to 4 weeks! Celery emits ethylene gas and plastic traps that gas, which makes it go bad faster. Foil lets the gas escape, which helps the celery to stay fresher longer. If you’d like to preserve it beyond that point, you can freeze it for 3 to 6 months. Keep in mind that you’ll need to blanch the celery in boiling water before freezing it. So in some cases it might be easier to make celery soup or celery salad instead of preparing it for the freezer.
How to freeze celery
The best way to save that celery in the refrigerator drawer? First, try it in recipes like a big batch of celery soup, crunchy celery salad, a celery smoothie or even celery juice. But if you don’t think you can use it in time, you can freeze it!
The best way to freeze celery? Blanch it first. Blanching is boiling vegetables until they’re just crisp tender. It helps to keep vegetables colorful while frozen by locking in a bright color, and makes them last longer by stopping the natural enzyme activity that deteriorates their texture, color, and flavor.
Here’s how to freeze celery:
Tips for how to use frozen celery
Frozen celery can be used right from the freezer in cooked dishes: no need to defrost! Here are a few tips:
Use frozen celery only in cooked dishes, like soups, stews, and braises. Don’t use frozen celery raw in salads because the texture is much softer after freezing. Frozen celery can be added right to cooked dishes: no defrosting is required. It may release more moisture than fresh when cooking, so it may need an extra minute or two when sauteing.Use within 3 to 6 months. The flavor can degrade the longer it is frozen. For best results, use it within 3 months.
Other ways to use celery
In many cases, it’s easier to make a recipe with leftover celery than to go to the trouble of blanching it, flash freezing it on a baking sheet, and then transferring it to long-term storage. Here are a few of our top celery recipes for using up leftovers of this crunchy vegetable when it’s raw:
Go for Celery Salad with Apples, our favorite way to use up a load of celery!Opt for Creamy Celery Soup, lusciously silky and smoothTry a Celery Smoothie or Celery Juice, made in a blenderMake a simple Mirepoix for a tasty soup
More freezing methods
Not sure whether you can throw things into the freezer? Here are a few more tutorials for preserving foods:
Learn how to freeze dairy products, like cheese, milk, sour cream, ricotta, yogurt, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese and mozzarellaGo for freezing rice, almond milk or coconut milkTry freezing veggies and fruits like broccoli, onions, cabbage, green beans, zucchini, corn, potatoes, avocados, tomatoes, strawberries, peaches, blueberries or bananas
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