Can You Freeze Cooked Turnips?
Turnips are lovely vegetables that go perfectly in winter soups and stews. If you’ve grown too many in your vegetable patch this year, you might be wondering if you can freeze cooked turnips to stop them from going to waste.
Turnip Vs Sweede
Sometimes the swede can be confused with a turnip, which has a similar appearance. However, turnips are typically smaller and the flesh inside is white rather than orange or yellow coloured.
As turnips are quite a hardy vegetable, they do last quite a long time either in the fridge or in a dark cold cupboard, so if you may not need to freeze them at all.
However, as they do take so much time to prepare, you may want to peel chop and cook them en masse so they are ready to be eaten whenever you fancy.
Can You Freeze Cooked Turnips?
Yes, you can freeze cooked turnips. You can freeze turnip chunks, mashed turnip, turnip mashed up with other vegetables such as swede or carrot and you can freeze a soup or stew that contains turnips.
Can You Freeze Raw Turnips?
Freezing raw turnips is not recommended.
Like many vegetables, turnips do not freeze well unless they have been cooked, or at the very least blanched, first.
To blanch your turnips, place the peeled and diced pieces into boiling water for two minutes and then place them into iced water to cool. This is the quickest method for getting them freezer ready.
Can You Freeze Cooked Turnip Greens?
Yes, you can freeze cooked turnip greens. Just follow the instructions below as if you were freezing turnips.
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How To Freeze Cooked Turnips
Freezing cooked turnips is easy with these simple steps. Before freezing, consider portion sizes – smaller portions are easier to defrost and mean you can remove enough from the freezer for one meal or portion which can prevent food waste in the long run.
- Before freezing, make sure the cooked turnips are cold from cooking. If you’ve blanched the turnips you can do this using iced water.
- Place the cooked turnips into freezer-safe containers such as zip-lock bags or plastic tubs.
- Label and date the turnips. Cooked turnips will keep in the freezer for up to a year.
How To Defrost Cooked Turnips
Smaller portions of cooked turnips shouldn’t take too long to defrost, so you may only need to allow a few hours. For larger portions, defrost overnight or take them out first thing in the morning if you want to eat them for dinner.
Cooked turnips should always be defrosted in the fridge. You could also defrost them in the microwave if you wanted to use them straight from frozen.
How To Reheat Cooked Turnips
There are a few ways to you can reheat cooked turnips.
The easiest way is in the microwave. How long you’ll need to microwave them will depend on your microwave’s settings, but 2-3 minutes on high should do the job.
For chunks of cooked turnips, you can pop them into a pot of boiling water for a few minutes. You can test for doneness by gently inserting a knife, much in the same way you could check potatoes are cooked. If the knife goes in easily, then they are cooked.
Finally, turnip mash can be heated up on the stovetop in a pan on medium heat. Keep stirring to prevent any hotspots. As mash can be a little watery after cooking, this is a great way to thicken it back up. You could also add a little cream.
As with all reheated foods, ensure the turnips are piping hot before serving.
