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The Freezer: It Keeps Your Carrots Awake at Night!

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Summary

Areas of Science
Difficulty
 
Time Required
Long (2-4 weeks)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
A specialty item to help view the structure of the vegetables is optional.
Cost
Low ($20 - $50)
Safety
Adult supervision is recommended when using the stove and working around boiling water.
*Note: For this science project you will need to develop your own experimental procedure. Use the information in the summary tab as a starting place. If you would like to discuss your ideas or need help troubleshooting, use the Ask An Expert forum. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions and offer guidance if you come to them with specific questions.

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Abstract

Brrrr, freezing cold! It's the worst nightmare of any fresh fruit or vegetable! If the produce in your kitchen had legs, they would run in a panic every time the freezer door opens. Why? Well, freezing temperatures are not kind to fresh produce. Freezing kills the plant tissues and alters them on both a chemical and physical level. Chemically, the enzymes in the produce become more concentrated and do not work normally, so that discoloration, off-flavors, vitamin breakdown, and toughness may develop. Physically, the water inside the cells of the fruits and vegetables crystallizes and expands as it freezes. The cell walls become cut and damaged by the sharp crystals, so that when the produce thaws, the water leaks out, and the produce becomes floppy and limp.

Manufacturers of frozen produce try to get around these problems in two ways:

  1. They utilize a technique called blanching to inactivate the enzymes that cause problems.
  2. They freeze the produce very quickly and to very low temperatures (-40°F). This minimizes the size of the ice crystals; thus, less damage is done to the cell walls.

In this cooking and food science fair project, you will investigate the power of blanching to improve the quality of frozen vegetables. You will peel and chop a vegetable into equally sized pieces, and then divide it into two groups. One group will undergo blanching, where it will be immersed for 1-2 min in rapidly boiling water, and then immediately scooped up and plunged into an ice water bath to stop the cooking. After the blanching, the vegetable will be drained and frozen in a single layer as rapidly as possible. The other group will not undergo the blanching process, but will simply be frozen in a single layer. Compare the color, texture, and toughness of the two groups after they are frozen solid for a week and a half and then thawed. A testing method for toughness is given in the Science Buddies science fair project, Tough Beans: Which Cooking Liquids Slow Softening the Most?. You can also select a sample piece of vegetable from each group, cut a cross-sectional slice, and examine it using a magnifying glass. Note any structural differences that you see.

Bibliography

  • McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York: Scribner, 2004. pp. 18-19, 24, 146-147, 206, 277-278, 495-496.

This source describes the process of blanching:

  • W Contributors. (2008, May 22). Cookbook: Blanching. Wikibooks. Retrieved October 9, 2008.

This source describes how to prepare different types of vegetables for freezing:

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Ask an Expert

Do you have specific questions about your science project? Our team of volunteer scientists can help. Our Experts won't do the work for you, but they will make suggestions, offer guidance, and help you troubleshoot.

Global Connections

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.

This project explores topics key to Responsible Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.

Variations

  • If you have a freezer capable of "deep-freeze" temperatures, evaluate the physical properties and ice crystal sizes that are produced when blanched produce is quickly frozen at the lowest freezer temperature possible, against the physical properties and ice crystal sizes that are produced when blanched produce is frozen at 0°C (the freezing point of water).

Careers

If you like this project, you might enjoy exploring these related careers:

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There is a fraction of the world's population that doesn't have enough to eat or doesn't have access to food that is nutritionally rich. Food scientists or technologists work to find new sources of food that have the right nutrition levels and that are safe for human consumption. In fact, our nation's food supply depends on food scientists and technologists that test and develop foods that meet and exceed government food safety standards. If you are interested in combining biology, chemistry,… Read more
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Growing, aging, digesting—all of these are examples of chemical processes performed by living organisms. Biochemists study how these types of chemical actions happen in cells and tissues, and monitor what effects new substances, like food additives and medicines, have on living organisms. Read more
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Good taste, texture, quality, and safety are all very important in the food industry. Food science technicians test and catalog the physical and chemical properties of food to help ensure these aspects. Read more

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General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.

MLA Style

Science Buddies Staff. "The Freezer: It Keeps Your Carrots Awake at Night!" Science Buddies, 23 June 2020, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/FoodSci_p035/cooking-food-science/how-to-freeze-vegetables?class=AQXRZTiJRdgAXpTq4fMoLidMu0aUtG5iQY5O6IixtdTUU0jlVzMj2uPW2_PyKUnoCX-f2UMO64fk0mpOEnYTkMrDwVgLyyPEZ9XOG9WuF5G-m0PaWUuImBXKrqdHWs7uV8k. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

APA Style

Science Buddies Staff. (2020, June 23). The Freezer: It Keeps Your Carrots Awake at Night! Retrieved from https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/FoodSci_p035/cooking-food-science/how-to-freeze-vegetables?class=AQXRZTiJRdgAXpTq4fMoLidMu0aUtG5iQY5O6IixtdTUU0jlVzMj2uPW2_PyKUnoCX-f2UMO64fk0mpOEnYTkMrDwVgLyyPEZ9XOG9WuF5G-m0PaWUuImBXKrqdHWs7uV8k


Last edit date: 2020-06-23
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