Can You Freeze Taro Root?

3 minutes

Taro root is a large, tuberous vegetable that’soften used in soups and stews to add some heft to the meal, giving anyone that eats it something filling. If you’ve got a lot of taro root on hand, do you know how best to store it?

How to Freeze Taro Root

The first step to freezing taro root is to trim the root itself. Remember, of course, that taro is toxic when raw, and contains an irritant in the skin – wear gloves, and don’t eat until it’s thoroughly cooked.

1. Trim: First of all, trim any stalks, roots, and anything similar from the taro root. Eliminating these elements will enable you to ensure that you’re only freezing the important parts of the root.
2. Peel: After that, peel the skin from the taro root. The best tool for this is a pairing knife. We recommend slicing the root you’re working with into halves or quarters so that you have a flat side to rest the taro root on while peeling it.
3. Chop: Once the root is peeled, chop the taro root into chunks of around an inch cubed. This is the best way to ensure that it freezes evenly and well – ensuring that the taro root doesn’t succumb to freezer burn.

4. Blanch: Now, we have to blanch the taro root. Blanching is the process of boiling the chunks for a short period, before plunging them into an ice bath. You only need to blanch the cubes for 2 minutes.
5. Drain and Cool: Once the taro cubes are drained, cool them as thoroughly as possible.
6. Bag Up and Seal: Place them into a freezer bag, or several bags, if needs be, and press as much excess air out as possible. Then, seal the bag, making sure that the seal is complete.
7. Freeze: Transfer the taro root to the freezer. Once frozen, it can be kept for around three months.

3 Tips for Freezing Taro Root

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing taro root to have the best results:

Blanch Properly
Blanching the taro root properly is vital to ensuring that the root is frozen correctly and preserved – it’s the only and the best way to make sure that the texture of the taro root is damaged as little as possible by the freezing process. 

Seal the Bag Entirely
Ensuring that the bag is sealed is vital to avoid any freezer burn. As the air within the freezer penetrates the bag, it is liable to condense the air to moisture, before freezing that moisture, allowing for freezer burn to take place.  

Be Careful During Preparation
Taro root is toxic when raw, and the skin contains an irritant. During the preparation process, you must be sure to be as careful as possible not to allow the irritant to get onto your skin, using gloves is wise. 

How Long Can You Freeze Taro Root?

You can freeze taro root for up to three months. Beyond that point, the ice in the freezer is likely to have caused a level of freezer burn, leading to a taro root with poor texture.

How Do You Defrost Taro Root?

The best way to defrost taro root is to keep it in the fridge overnight – this will allow it to thaw to a temperature from which is can be cooked, allowing for an efficient and tasty meal.

Can You Refreeze Taro Root?

Yes, you can refreeze taro root. After the cooking process, it’s very unlikely that you’ll be face to face with any textural degradation during freezing.

You can also refreeze taro root in another dish. For example, if you freeze blanched taro root then add it to a stew which you then want to go and freeze – this is fine!

Does Taro Root Freeze Well?

Yes, taro root does freeze well – provided you blanch the taro root first, there is no noticeable degradation in quality between fresh and frozen taro root.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing taro root or taro root in general, then these may help: