Wash and scrub carrots well. Peel only if necessary.
Cut carrots to desired size. Coins, spears, chunks or diced. Use knife, mandolin or food processor.
Bring a large pot of water to boil. For 4 cups carrots use 16 cups water. Do not add salt.
When water is boiling add 4 cups of carrots and bring back to boil. It's important to leave enough room for carrots to move freely in the pot. Keep repeating process 4 cups at a time, bringing water back to boil each time.
When water returns to full boil, set timer and boil for 2 minutes (or time specified below).
Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice.
After 2 minutes of boiling the carrots, immediately turn off heat and transfer carrots to ice cold water. And let cool for at least 2 minutes.
Remove carrots from water into a strainer and let drain.
For less ice crystal formation, transfer carrots to a clean dish towel and pat dry as much as possible to remove as much surface water as possible.
Place carrots into freezer bag in convenient portion sizes. Once in bag, pat flat and remove as much air as possible before sealing tightly. You can even use a straw inserted into a small opening to suck out air and create a simple vacuum seal to help prevent freezer burn.
If you wish, you can also freeze carrots on a baking sheet for 2 hours before transferring to freezer bag. This prevents carrots from freezing in a big lump.
Label and freeze for one year.
Video
Notes
Different sized carrots require different blanching time:
Coins/sliced/diced - 2 minutes of blanching
Thicker cut coins, slices, spears - 3 minutes of blanching
Baby cut peeled carrots - 5 minutes of blanching
Approximate carrot equivalents:
1 pound (454g) = 3 to 4 cups diced/sliced carrots
2 medium carrots = 1 cup diced/sliced carrots
Raw frozen carrots without blanching will only last 1-2 months in the freezer before color, taste, flavor and nutrients are lost.Do not freeze whole carrots.