Can you freeze turmeric shots, and how long do they keep?

Making a week of turmeric shots in one go saves time, but fresh juice doesn't keep for long, so sooner or later the freezer starts to look like the answer.

Can you freeze turmeric shots? Yes, if you've made them at home. The Food Standards Agency's guide to freezing food says your freezer should be around -18°C and works like a pause button. Freezing keeps a shot safe for longer, though the taste slowly fades.

Key takeaways

• Homemade turmeric shots freeze well in single portions, such as an ice cube tray or small sealed pots.
• Freezing pauses bacteria rather than killing them, so how clean and fresh the juice is going in still matters.
• Defrost in the fridge overnight and drink within 24 hours of fully defrosting.
• For fruit and veg, the FSA suggests the best quality comes within three to four months of freezing.
• Bought shots keep for weeks in the fridge, so freezing them is only for spares you won't drink by the date.

Can you freeze turmeric shots made at home?

Yes, and single portions are the way to do it.

The FSA's advice is that freezing food in individual portions helps you defrost only what you need, in air-tight containers, labelled with what's inside and the date. For shots, that means an ice cube tray, small freezer-safe pots, or little bottles with a screw lid. Liquids expand as they freeze, so leave a small gap at the top of anything with a lid.

Freezing is defined, in food safety terms, as keeping food at around -18°C, cold enough to stop bacteria growing, though not cold enough to kill them. The FSA is clear on that second part: the bacteria haven't been killed, and they may be revived as the food defrosts. So freeze shots on the day you make them, from clean equipment, rather than freezing whatever's left at the end of the week.

How do you freeze turmeric shots?

Make them, chill them, portion them, and freeze them the same day.

1. Make your shots as usual, and let the juice chill in the fridge first if you can.
2. Pour into an ice cube tray, small pots, or bottles, leaving a little space at the top.
3. Seal or cover them, and label them with the date.
4. Once cubes are solid, tip them into a sealed freezer bag so they don't pick up other smells.
5. Take out one portion the night before you want it.

If you make shots in bulk, our guide to batch making turmeric shots covers the method, and how to make a turmeric shot covers a single batch.

How do you defrost a turmeric shot?

In the fridge overnight, then drink it within a day.

The FSA says the safest way to defrost food is in the fridge overnight, and to use it within 24 hours once it's fully defrosted. Give the shot a good shake before drinking, because the juice separates as it thaws, and the turmeric settles at the bottom.

The freezer time is the FSA's guide for fruit and vegetables, which is the closest match for a fresh juice. After that, a shot isn't unsafe, but freezer burn, the dry patches that form when frozen food loses moisture, affects the quality of food rather than its safety.

Does freezing keep the goodness in a turmeric shot?

Nobody has tested frozen turmeric shots, so the honest answer is that fresher is better.

What's known is that curcumin, the compound most studied in turmeric, is happier in acidic conditions. A study of curcumin stability found it held up far better under acidic conditions than neutral or alkaline ones over a month, and lemon juice keeps a shot on the acidic side.

Vitamin C is more delicate. In a study of fresh lemon juice in sealed bottles, vitamin C fell from about 38mg to 22mg per 100ml in the first three weeks of storage, in the fridge and at room temperature alike. That wasn't a freezing study, but it's a reminder that time costs a fresh juice some of what you made it for. Treat the freezer as a way to cover a busy week or two, rather than a stockpile.

Can you freeze shots you've bought?

You can freeze spares, though most people never need to, because ours keep for weeks in the fridge.

Our shots are cold-crushed and then high pressure processed rather than heat-treated, which keeps them fresh for longer with no added preservatives. Our article on the UK's biggest HPP machine explains how it works. Each bottle has a shelf life of at least 42 days from production, with the use by date printed on it. Put them in the fridge as soon as they arrive, and once a bottle is open, drink it within 24 hours.

If you have more than you'll drink before the date, our guide to how to take a turmeric shot covers freezing the spares and moving tomorrow's to the fridge the night before.

Which shot saves you the freezer?

One that's ready to drink straight from the fridge.

Raw Turmeric Original carries raw turmeric root at 30%, more than any other shot we make, cold-crushed with whole watermelon, pineapple, and lemon, plus magnesium and vitamin C. It has our trade-secret BioMax Uptake Blend®, which includes black pepper, at a 0.1% inclusion. It's the shot independent researchers at Nottingham Trent University gave professional footballers in the first clinical trial of our blends, which found less soreness after matches. We're clearly not a neutral party.

The takeaway

Can you freeze turmeric shots? Homemade ones, yes. Freeze them in single portions on the day you make them, label them, defrost one in the fridge overnight, and drink it within 24 hours. Aim to use them within three to four months, and remember that freezing pauses a shot rather than improving it.

If you'd rather skip the juicer and the ice cube trays altogether, a Raw Turmeric Original is ready from the fridge every morning.

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