Do Carrots Need To Be Refrigerated: Find Your Answer Here!

We’ve been taught to keep things mostly in the refrigerator these days.

Consider how your great-grandparents fared before refrigerators were invented. There has been much debate on whether carrots should be refrigerated.

We plan to respond to the same question in the following blog post.

If you want to eat your carrots within five days, store them at room temperature in a cold pantry corner. They may lose some of their crunchiness with time, especially if exposed to air.

Nothing lasts forever; the root vegetables will last longer with appropriate storage.

Keep reading to learn how to properly store whole carrots, peeled carrots, and unpeeled carrots, when to refrigerate carrots, and how to prepare carrots for freezing. 

How Long Do Carrots Last? 

The shelf life of carrots varies depending on where they are stored, such as in the fridge, freezer, or kitchen (outside), as well as the variety of carrots.

Suppose you have raw carrots on hand. When stored in the pantry, it has a shelf life of 3-5 days, 4-5 weeks in the fridge, and 6-9 months when frozen.

You can store baby carrots in the fridge for 3-5 days. They’re the most popular carrots, with a shelf life of 3-4 weeks when stored inside the refrigerator. However, they can stay fresh for 6-9 months when frozen.

We recommend preserving carrots that have been chopped and placed in a bowl of water in the fridge for 6-8 weeks. They will also expire faster if put outside in the kitchen.

Cooked carrots have a refrigerator shelf life of seven days and a freezer shelf life of  6-9 months. Furthermore, store-bought carrots should not be eaten outside.

How To Store Peeled Carrots?

Whole, unpeeled carrots are less prone to moisture loss than peeled or small carrots.

Carrots that have been peeled by hand and immature carrots are more prone to drying out once their protective outer coating has been removed.

To avoid peeled carrots from breaking, becoming white, and drying out, you should keep them wet. This approach allows peeled carrots to survive up to three weeks.

• Rinse carrots in cool water.
• Fill the dish or sealed container halfway with cold water. Place the carrots in the container and fill with water until thoroughly submerged.
• If you do not plan to consume the carrots within a few days, you will need to refresh the water regularly to avoid bacterial growth. Rinse the carrots and change the water every 4-5 days.
• Rinse the carrots before eating to remove any potential bacterial growth.

Carrots should be stored in the coolest part of your refrigerator, away from apples and other fruits that produce ethylene gas.

How Long Do Carrots Last In The Fridge? 

Carrots should be stored in the fridge away from the sun and extreme temperatures. You may also wrap them in paper towels and store them in plastic bags or containers.

Carrots may be kept in the fridge for up to 3 months.

How To Store Carrots In The Fridge?

The goal is to keep the humidity high while reducing pollution and disease. The fastest method is to rinse the carrots and preserve them in jars while they are still somewhat damp.

• Choose healthy carrots with a top diameter of around 1 inch.
• Remove the foliage, leaving 1/2 to 1 inch behind.
• Clean the carrots well, taking care not to break them.
• Pick any unhealthy or damaged carrots and set them away to be consumed later.
• Keep the vegetables in airtight containers, glass bottles, or snap-top jars.
• Store the container in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Carrot Storage Temperature

Carrots will survive 2-3 days at 20 degrees Celsius and 60–70 percent relative humidity.

They may be kept for up to 2 months at four °C and 80–90% relative humidity. Carrots may be held at 0°C and 95 percent relative humidity for up to 6 months.

Pre-cooling and storage at 0°C and 95–100% relative humidity are perfect conditions for quality preservation. The recommended storage temperature ranges from 0-2 degrees Celsius.

Do Unpeeled Carrots Need To Be Refrigerated?

Even if they’re raw, unpeeled carrots must be refrigerated for longer storage periods. This is because root vegetables, like carrots, are susceptible to moisture loss and dehydration if kept at room temperature for more than a week.

Carrots require moisture to be both fresh and crisp. They can become mushy if they lose too much water, whereas carrots with too much humidity can decay too quickly. Raw carrots, on the other hand, can be kept in the fridge for up to four weeks if adequately preserved.

If you’re not going to consume carrots within a few days, the simplest way to keep them fresh is to keep them in the fridge in an airtight container, such as a zip-top bag.

This method decreases the dehydrating effects of the refrigerator’s naturally dry air. The bag’s sealing keeps the surroundings damp and moist, making the carrots crisper.

Carrots increase their Vitamin A content over the first five months of storage. And if kept away from heat and light, they may last another 2-3 months.

Carrots have a crisp feel because the indigestible dietary fibers cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin harden the cell walls.  

How Long Do Carrots Last Out Of The Fridge?

The most probable answer to this would be 5-7 days.

Fresh carrots should be stored in a refrigerator, but they can also be held on the counter, in the pantry, or even in a root cellar. However, two considerations must be made before carrying out this activity.

First, separate them from the other vegetables.

Carrots, like other plants, produce ethylene gas as they grow. This gas causes fruits and veggies to ripen and rot faster. As a result, your carrots will decay more quickly than the other fruits and vegetables in the vicinity.

Second, do not store them in a plastic bag.

This is due to the possibility of moisture accumulating inside and allowing mold to grow, leaving your carrots unsafe for ingestion.

How To Store Carrots Without Refrigeration? 

If you have a big carrot harvest, you will undoubtedly need to find a way to store them without occupying all of your refrigerator space.

Carrots must be kept at room temperature when you wish to preserve homegrown carrots from your crop.

This method of storing carrots is known as the sand or sawdust technique, and it can be utilized in a garden corner or root cellar storage bins.

Alternatively, carrots can be left in the field during winter if the soil doesn’t freeze rigidly. As the temperature warms, they will grow a stiff core in preparation for blooming and seeding.

Storing Carrots Over Winter In The Field Or Backyard

1. Remove weeds and other debris from a section of your lawn.
2. Remove the tips of the carrots, maintaining 1/2 to 1 inch intact.
3. Get rid of a few that are unhealthy or broken.
4. You could put the carrots inside a basket at this point.
5. Rinse the carrots well to remove the majority of the grime.
6. Arrange the basket on the previously cleared ground or stack the carrots on the ground to a height of 5-6.
7. Cover the vegetables with a damp hessian sack; discarded cocoa bean bags work well.
8. Layer 4-six inches of wood shavings, grit, or fine dirt.
9. If you notice that the pile is withering out, softly spritz it with water.
10. Raise the bag’s edge and extract the necessary quantity before replacing the bag and mulch.
11. While kept in this manner, the carrots will sprout little white “hairy” roots. This is a good indication since they absorb the ambient moisture and keep their crispness.

Putting Carrots In A Sand Or Wood Chip-Filled Root Cellar

To store carrots in a basement area or cellar, you’ll need a root cellar, a cold and dark place, a couple of cartons or containers, and sawdust or wet sand.

1. Carrots that have had their tips removed are disease-free.
2. Line the bottom of your bin with a 2 inches coating of damp soil or sawdust before packing carrots for root cellar storage.
3. Place the carrots in a thin layer on top, then cover with 1.5 inches of damp soil or sawdust. Continue till your bin is four inches from the peak.
4. three to four inches of damp soil or sawdust should be applied at the end.
5. Carrots preserved in this manner would last at least 9–7 days and up to a maximum of 1 month, depending on the temperature and relative humidity of your cellar.
6. They will continue developing as long as the temperature somewhat rises.