Papaya salad is a spicy salad that’s made from shredded unripe papaya. This salad is popular throughout Southeast Asia, but it’s gaining popularity all around the world due to its unique taste. If you’ve made papaya salad at home, you will likely end up with leftovers. If you want to store them for eating later, can you freeze papaya salad?
Can you freeze papaya salad? It’s not recommended to freeze papaya salad. Due to the high content of water that’s in the salad, it will cause them to become soggy when it thaws. Instead, it’s better to freeze just the green papaya and make the salad later.
What Is Papaya Salad?
This spicy salad originated from Laos, but it’s also eaten throughout Southeast Asia. Depending on what country you’re in, papaya salad will have different names.
In Thailand, it’s known as som tam. In Laos, papaya salad is known as tam maak hoong. If you’re in Cambodia, it’s called bok lahong. Traveling to Vietnam, it will be known as gỏi đu đủ.
No matter which country you are in, papaya salad is made the same way, but each country will differentiate the ingredients used a bit.
However, the main ingredients to make papaya salad include unripe papaya (green papaya), fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice, and hot pepper.
Other ingredients you can add are roasted peanuts, carrots, garlic, pork crackling, and tomatoes.
To garnish the papaya salad, you can add green beans, green cabbage, and herbs such as sweet basil and peppermint.
Based on your preferences, you add other food items for a more tasty salad such as crab, salmon, beef, shrimp, and cooked chicken.
Does Papaya Salad Freeze Well?
Once the papaya salad is made, it will have a very high content of water. For that reason, the salad will freeze well, but the problem will be when it thaws.
When the papaya salad thaws, it will cause the green papaya to become soggy. Since papaya salad is known for its crunchiness, freezing them isn’t a good option.
Instead, you should freeze the green papaya separately. Once you’re ready to prepare the salad, take the green papaya from the freezer and add them to the salad, along with the other ingredients.
How To Freeze Green Papaya
Freezing green papaya is simple and straightforward. To prepare them for the freezer, you’ll just need to prep them first.
Below are the steps to preparing and freezing green papaya:
Preparing the Green Papaya
Since papaya salad requires that crunchiness texture, you should harvest the fruit when it’s unripe. It will be green in color and the texture will be hard.
To save time, it’s best to shred the papaya first before freezing it.
Storing Green Papaya in Container
Once the green papaya is shredded, it’s ready to be stored in a container. For this fruit, you can use an airtight container or freezer bag. Both will do a good job of keeping the green papaya fresh and avoid air and moisture from destroying it.
It’s best to store the green papaya in portion. This way, you’ll only need to take the amount that you need without having leftovers.
If using a freezer bag, press on the bag to remove as much air as possible. Then seal the bag tightly to avoid air from leaking into the bag.
If using an airtight container, make sure the lid has no leaks in it. Just a small hole could cause the air and moisture to leak into the container and destroy it.
How Long Can You Freeze Green Papaya?
Prepared and properly stored, green papaya will last up to 3 months in the freezer. This means it should be shredded or cut into small pieces and placed in an airtight container or freezer bag.
After 3 months, the green papaya will still be safe to eat, but the quality of the fruit will deteriorate. When you thaw them, they will lose their flavor and the texture of it will become soft.
Therefore, if you’re planning to use green papaya to make papaya salad, it’s best to use it within 3 months. The earlier
How Do You Defrost Green Papaya?
The good thing about green papaya is there no need to thaw them. To make papaya salad, you can simply take the frozen papaya from the freezer and add them straight to the salad.
Leaving the green papaya to thaw could cause it to become soggy and lose that crunchiness. Therefore, it’s best to take the frozen papaya when you’re ready to use it.
Can You Freeze Leftover Papaya Salad?
If you have some leftover from making the papaya salad at home or from the restaurant, you should not freeze it. The papaya salad will freeze, but the problem starts when it begins to thaw. As the salad thaw, the ingredients, especially green papaya will become mushy. Since the salad are known for their crunchiness, you won’t enjoy the taste very much.
Instead, if you do need to store leftovers, you can keep them in the fridge for up to 2 days. Keep them in an airtight container to prevent air from leaking in and causing the papaya salad to go bad.
Other Questions about Papaya Salad
How long does papaya salad last?
Papaya salad doesn’t last very long once it’s prepared. At room temperature, it should be consumed right away. Letting them sit at room temperature for longer than 30 minutes will cause the ingredients to become soggy. Most importantly, if you use seafood or meat in the salad as well, it could get contaminated with bacteria.
Therefore, it should be stored in the fridge if the papaya salad isn’t going to be consumed within 30 minutes.
In the fridge, papaya salad will last for up to 2 days. Make sure to store them in an airtight container and seal the lid tightly.