How To Store Celeriac | Can You Freeze It?

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Have you ever come across an odd shape, potato-looking vegetable with roots and stalks attached to it at a food mart and asked yourself, what is this thing? Well, that is what we call Celeriac. Celeriac is a winter root vegetable.

Despite its not-so-attractive appearance, celeriac is a very tasty and healthy vegetable. When cut into pieces, it has a beautiful sheer white colour inside and has an earthy smell. It has a sweet celery-like flavor with a bit of nuttiness to it.

How long does celeriac last? Celeriac technically lasts long. However, its life is greatly influenced by storing techniques. Well-stored celeriac can last for a long time. Sometimes, it goes bad early simply because one failed to store it properly.

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How to store Celeriac?

Celeriac is one of the healthiest and tastiest root vegetables, yet people do not use it much. A small amount of celeriac can go into many meals. It can be used in place of potatoes in food as it has low carbs and has a similar taste to potatoes.

Celeriac is highly affected by storing methods. A bad storage technique can make it go bad early, so we must handle it with care. Here we have shared with you a few easy storage techniques that will help you store your celeriac better for a longer period of time.

Choosing the right one

When storing for a long time, it is important to choose the right celeriac. You can easily check if the vegetable you are purchasing is fresh or not by checking its smell and weight. If the celeriac has an earthy smell and is a bit heavy on lifting, it definitely is a good one. If the celeriac is very lightweight, then the chances are that it is probably dry on the inside. You can easily purchase fresh celeriac from farm marts.

Avoid getting it wet

Do not wash celeriac before storing it. It is better if you brush off the dirt with your hand or use a brush.

Refrigerate

Refrigeration is a very easy and common method used for storing celeriac. When refrigerated properly, celeriac can remain fresh up to 14 days and sometimes even more. Always put celeriac in an airtight container before storing it in the fridge.

Can you freeze Celeriac?

Like all other root vegetables, we can also freeze celeriac. But first, you need to prepare it for freezing. The proper way to freeze celeriac is to blanch it first. If you freeze celeriac without blanching it, then the celeriac will go brown and mushy.

Take two separate pots. Fill one pot with cold water and the second one to be filled with hot water, and then add one tablespoon of lemon juice to the container containing hot water. The measurement is 1 gallon of water for one pound of celeriac.

Now cut the celeriac into small cubes size pieces, put these pieces in a perforated bowl, submerge this bowl into the pot with hot water for 3 minutes, and then take it out. Now submerge this bowl into the pot filled with cold water for 3 minutes and then take it out.

Dry it with a paper towel, and place it into an airtight bag. Make sure to remove extra air from the bag. This will keep the frozen celeriac fresh for months.

How long does Celeriac last?

Celeriac is called the ugly duckling of vegetables because of its unattractive appearance but trust us when we say that it can grow uglier with time. It sometimes develops molds, lose its colour, turns mushy and moist, turning into a vegetable that you will not use in your food or may even think is some vile poisonous herb.

Luckily, celeriac does not change its appearance very soon. It often lasts a good amount of time. We should always keep celeriac in an airtight bag after purchasing, and we should cut only what we will use from it.

When kept in the pantry, celeriac can last up to 3-4 weeks without going bad. If you put it into the fridge, you can use it for some weeks.

Frozen celeriac can last up to two months under the appropriate conditions. However, when you defrost it for use, you will notice that it has become a bit mushy.

How to tell if Celeriac goes bad?

Celeriac is a wonderful root vegetable with numerous health benefits, but a blessing can sometimes be a curse.

Like all other vegetables, celeriac also turns rotten with time. Here we have provided a few signs that will help you determine if the celeriac has gone bad or rotten.

Loss of texture: fresh celeriac has a crunchy, firm texture, whereas bad celeriac has a mushy texture that makes it unappealing.
Discolouration: one of the easiest signs to detect if a food has gone bad is to check its colour. Celeriac naturally has a clear brown coating on the outside and has a beautiful crisp white colour on the inside. However, bad or rotten celeriac will have a darker outer covering and is brown on the inside.
Bad odour: Celeriac being a root vegetable, has a natural, earthy aroma. The rotten celeriac may smell funny or has a bad odour.
Molds: Always check the roots of celeriac for mold. The roots of celeriac do sometimes grow white molds. Never use moldy celeriac.