How to store shredded carrots?

In this article, we will answer the question “How to store shredded carrots?”, and what are the factors that affect the shelf life of shredded carrots.

How to store shredded carrots?

Shredded carrots can easily be refrigerated or frozen. Refrigerated or frozen carrots can be directly added to your recipes like soups, carrot muffins, casseroles, spaghetti sauce, carrot cakes, stews, stir-fries, pasta, and salads. 

What is the shelf life of shredded carrots?

The shelf life of frozen shredded carrots is about 4 months and the shelf life of shredded carrots in the refrigerator is about 14 days, according to experimental data.

In a study, minimally processed carrots were stored for 14 days under refrigeration storage after being dipped in 0.5% citric acid, 0.05% ascorbic acid, and 0.05% calcium chloride, for 5 minutes, for sanitization (2).  

In another study, shredded carrots were frozen and stored at -24 °C for 4 months. The volatile compounds, which are responsible for the aroma and flavor of carrots, were significantly impacted by the frozen storage (6).

What factors affect the shelf life of shredded carrots?

The factors that affect the shelf life of shredded carrots both in refrigeration and frozen storage are (2,4):

  • Food handling and hygiene practices of the food handler – high hygiene quality, such as proper hand washing is required to minimize contaminations throughout the processing of carrots
  • Sanitation conditions of the utensils and processing unit – cleaning and sanitizing cupboards and knives may reduce microbial contamination and cross-contamination by residues form other food products
  • Washing conditions used in the process – filtered water should be used to wash the vegetables
  • Use of sanitizers or preservatives – the use of sanitizing or preservative solutions, such as solutions containing calcium chloride and ascorbic acid are good options to extend the shelf life of shredded carrots
  • Temperature of storage and transportation – a rapid freezing or refrigerating after processing reduces microbial growth
  • Packaging material used to store shredded carrots – the use of correct water-proof plastic packaging materials can favor the preservation, in contrast to paper bags 
  • Freshness of the vegetables – carrots processed after being stored for a long period have shorter shelf lives than fresh harvested carrots

How to freeze shredded carrots?

To freeze shredded carrots, you may blanch them (7). Prior to processes, such as freezing, carrots are usually blanched in hot water or steam for air removal,  stabilization of color, hydrolysis and solubilisation of protopectin and inactivation of microorganisms and enzymes. 

Despite the beneficial effects of blanching depend on the degree of thermal treatment applied, the quality and bioactivity of the final product can be negatively affected due to the destruction of nutrients relatively unstable to heat, the loss of water-soluble components by leaching and the changes in texture with this sample pretreatment (3).

How to blanch shredded carrots?

  1. Wash peel and shred the carrots using a grater or food processor.
  2. Take a large pot and fill ⅔ part of it with water. Bring it to a rolling boil. Use 16 cups of water for every 4 cups of shredded carrots.
  3. Put the shredded carrots in the hot boiling water and let it stay for 2 minutes.
  4. Drain the water and immerse the shredded carrots in ice-cold water to halt the cooking process.

How to freeze shredded carrots? 

  1. Drain the carrots properly.
  2. Fill the freezer bags with meal-sized portions of the shredded carrots. Squeeze out all the air from the bag, use a straw for this purpose. Prefer using a vacuum-sealed bag for best results.
  3. Label the bag and freeze for a year.

How to refrigerate shredded carrots?

Shredded carrots can also be refrigerated. Properly wash and peel the carrots before shredding them. The peel of carrots has lots of microbes that can grow and spoil the carrots if not removed.

To sanitize the carrots and increase their refrigerated shelf life, it is recommended to dip them in water solutions of clean water containing 0.5% citric acid + 0.05% ascorbic acid + 0.05% calcium chloride for 5 minutes. After that, the carrot must be centrifuged and packaged in polypropylene antifog pouches (2).

Place the shredded carrots in an air-tight container, freezer bag, or any plastic bag. Processing fresh produce into fresh-cut products increases the risk of bacterial growth and contamination by breaking the natural exterior barrier of the produce (4).

However, by safely handling the vegetables, using sanitizers to reduce their microbial loads, proper packaging and adequate storage, the shelf life of shredded carrots can be increased (2).

A considerable increase in the concentration of the carrots volatiles was observed during refrigerated storage, as reported by a study, which had a significant deleterious effect on the sensory properties of shredded carrots (6). 

Other FAQs about Carrots that you may be interested in.

Can you get sick from eating bad carrots?

Can cockatiels eat carrots?

Can squirrels eat carrots? 

Conclusion

In this article, we answered the question “How to store shredded carrots?”, and what are the health benefits of eating carrots?

References

  1. Sillani, Sandro, and Federico Nassivera. Consumer behavior in choice of minimally processed vegetables and implications for marketing strategies. Trend Food Sci Technol, 2015, 46, 339-345. 
  2. Piscopo, Amalia, et al. Quality of shredded carrots minimally processed by different dipping solutions. J food sci technol, 2019, 56, 2584-2593.  
  3. Gamboa-Santos, Juliana, et al. Effects of conventional and ultrasound blanching on enzyme inactivation and carbohydrate content of carrots. Euro Food Res Technol, 2012, 234, 1071-1079. 
  4. Guidance for Industry: Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits and Vegetables. Food and Drug Administration.
  5. Shin, J‐H., et al. Combined effect of mild heat and acetic acid treatment for inactivating Escherichia coli O157: H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium in an asparagus puree. J appl microbiol, 2006, 101, 1140-1151.
  6. Kjeldsen, Frank, Lars P. Christensen, and Merete Edelenbos. Changes in volatile compounds of carrots (Daucus carota L.) during refrigerated and frozen storage. J agric food chem, 2003, 51, 5400-5407.  
  7. Freezing vegetables. E. Andress, J. Harrison. So Easy to Preserve, Sixth Edition. Cooperative Extension. The University of Georgia

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