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Carrots

Carrots are one of the veggies that most people like.

Even those into their "meat & 2 veg" would often find carrots on their plates.

So here's a bit on the history of carrots, why they're so good for you, how to store them and even how to disguise them, for fussy eaters!

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Carrots


About Carrots

Carrots are a root vegetable that probably originates from Central Asia and was originally purple in colour.

The orange version we know and love today was brought to the West by The Netherlands, around the 1500s and became popular across Europe by the 1700s.

Carrots are a good source of vitamin C and beta-carotene, both of which are important anti-oxidants.

Did you know...
You can also get carrots in white, red and purple???

Do carrots really help you see in the dark?

Yes! The beta-carotene they contain is converted by the liver into Vitamin A, which the retina uses to create rhodopsin, essential for night vision.


How To Choose

Use your carrots while they're still firm, rather than rubbery.

It doesn't matter what shape they are (and we've seen some fascinating ones over the years!), they're all still edible.

Large carrots tend to be more woody and are better in casseroles and soups. Smaller carrots are sweeter and easier to get kids to eat.

They keep for longer if they're still muddy, so there's no need to be tempted by the ultra-clean versions in plastic bags. There's no soil left to protect them and the bags make them sweat and they go rotten quickly...


How To Store

The carrots in your veg box will probably be supplied in their natural, muddy state. This is good news because they keep for longer, with the mud coating.
Store them in a paper bag in a cool dark place (not the fridge) for a week or more.

If your carrots are beatifully cleaned and washed, they'll only keep for a few days before going mouldy and soft.

They're best stored in the fridge and used quickly. Remember to wash them thoroughly before use, as you don't know whether they were washed in chlorine or other chemicals.


How To Use


Organic carrots don't need to be peeled, unless they're looking manky and have been stored for ages.

They just need a good scrub with a vegetable brush and washing in cold water.

This is great because many of the nutrients are either in or just below the skin.

With non-organic carrots, many of the chemicals used in farming are stored in the skin, so it's probably better to peel them.

Carrots can be grated, raw, in salads and coleslaw, sliced and steamed or boiled for 5-8 minutes (depending on thickness) or added to soups and casseroles.

Remember that the vitamin C in carrots is water soluble. So if you boil them, much of the vitamin C will end up in the water, rather than your dinner. To get round this, keep the water for use as a stock.
 
 

Suggested Recipes

 
 
Autumn Pancakes With Blue Cheese Sauce This delicious pancake recipe is a filling meal on a cold evening. The tomato-based filling is quick and the blue cheese topping goes wonderfully creamy in the oven. Enjoy!

Autumn Vegetable Soup This is a great way of using up the end of your veg box. It works well with most vegetables. It's a tasty, but healthy recipe, because you don't even need to use any fat. Just prepare the veggies, chuck them in a pan with the stock and stir occasionally. My kind of after-work cooking!

Breakfast Juice If you have a juicer, this recipe takes just a few minutes to make. And it's a great way to boost your energy levels for the day.

Broad Beans Quinoa This is a delicious recipe for both broad beans and quinoa. It takes less than 15 minutes to make and works well as a delicious lunch or a summer party dish.

Carrot And Celeriac Soup The sweetness of sauted carrots and onions balance the pungence of the celeriac in this carrot and celeriac soup recipe. The coriander leaves give the finished soup a real lift, turning it into a filling autumn or winter treat.

Carrot And Watercress Stir Fry Watercress is farmed most of the year nowadays, but it’s true season is spring. It’s packed with nutrients and is usually served raw in salads. But in this recipe, it’s lightly cooked in a stir fry and served with noodles. Delicious.

Chilli Non Carne Not everyone wants to use minced beef or Quorn for a chilli, so here's a meat-free version that's proved a hit with even dedicated carnivores.

Coleslaw Home-made coleslaw is quick, delicious and easy. It's just a case of grating / slicing the ingredients and mixing them with the dressing.

Fennel And Carrot Coleslaw If you enjoy the slightly aniseed taste of fennel, then you’ll love this coleslaw. If you’re not yet convinced, then rest assured that the carrots and other ingredients temper the aniseed and you might actually find you enjoy fennel!

Leek And Red Onion Canneloni This delicious autumn recipe uses in-season leeks and red onions, to make a change from the usual spinach and ricotta canneloni.

Lentil Dahl This is a warming autumn supper, packed with nutrients from the lentils and veggies, giving your system a real boost.

Lentil Spag Bol Spaghetti Bolognese doesn't have to be reserved for meat-eaters. If you fancy a change, this veggie option is delicious. And it's a good way of using up spare veg box tomatoes and onions. See the variations for ideas of how to use up spare carrots, mushrooms or even runner beans in this dish.

Maple Glazed Carrots Rather than just boiling your carrots, why not roast them with an orange and maple syrup glaze? Great for winter carrots that need a bit of extra sweetness.

Mini Carrot Cakes This carrot cake recipe takes just 1/2 an hour from start to eating and they're really easy to make. Kids love them and the grown-ups don't take much persuading either! So if you've got some carrots to use up, it's time to get baking.

Miso-Style Soup In Japan, Miso soup is often eaten daily and is believed to help the digestive system. This variation on the original adds in a few vegetables, with optional tofu, to make a soup substantial enough for a lunch or light supper.

Monastery Soup There are many variations on “monastery soup”, but here is one that works well with spring and summertime vegetables.

Peanut Butter Coleslaw This coleslaw recipe gets an extra zing with the addition of peanut butter to the sauce. It’s packed with delicious fresh vegetables and fruits, but misses out the traditional onion, which makes it a bit more “lunch-time-friendly”, if you know what I mean!

Puy Lentil Rice Salad This rice salad looks lovely if moulded in a bowl and served turned out onto a large plate. It’s easy to make and the raw carrot and spring onion provide an interesting texture contrast to the cooked lentils and rice.

Red Onion Risotto You can use red onions in place of white onions in most recipes. But here's one that we've developed specially for in-season red onions. It's great with added spinach, black nero cabbage or even kale.

Roast Parsnip Roast Parsnip is a delicious and simple way of serving this autumnal vegetable. The roasting cooks the parsnip slowly, making them even sweeter than they already are. Throw in a few spare carrots and double the veggie quota.

Root Veg And Bean Stew This ragout (stew) is great because, after the initial cooking, you just bung it in the oven and get on with something else.

Root Vegetable 'Crumble' with Cheesy Topping This is a delicious recipe for baby or Chantenay carrots and other roots veggies. The secret ingredient gives it a warming kick. Make the most of your turnips, swedes, parsnips and sweet potatoes. You can also use celeriac or kohlrabi.

Spring Pasta Cooking spring / early summer vegetables lightly and serving them with pasta is a delicious way to enjoy the first signs of summer. This recipe is quick and easy and only uses one pan – always a bonus...

Spring Vegetable Fricassee This dish is easy to make and browning the finished dish under a grill turns it into something special. You can use a variety of seasonal veggies, so try out whatever’s around. The vegetables suggested here are just a starting point!

Spring Vegetable Quinoa Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wa”) is a South American “grain” – actually a seed. It’s considered by many to be a super-food, because of the balance of proteins it contains. It's easy to cook and delicious.

Sprouting Broccoli Stir Fry This is a great way of using in-season sprouting broccoli and end-of-season, stored carrots. My favourite way of eating this is with Thai-style bean curd, but firm tofu or Halloumi cheese both work well, too. It’s a really quick meal – just 10 minutes – yet is filling and tasty.

Squash and Carrot Soup This delicious squash soup is vibrant orange and warms up any autumn or winter's day. It works equally well with pumpkin or an orange-fleshed squash and is really easy to make - as well as tasty.

Swede And Parsnip Soup This simple soup makes a hearty meal on a winter's day. You can experiment by adding herbs and spices of your choice.

Swede, Carrot And Potato Mash I've never been a huge fan of swede (rutabaga), but this swede mash recipe actually had us all coming back for more. It's sweet, deliciously creamy and the pepper gives it a real kick. We're all looking forward to the arrival of our next swede!

Thai Style Squash Curry This curry is easy to make and pretty quick. Just make the paste, chop the veggies and cook it all in a wok (or large frying pan) with the coconut milk. Works well with pumpkin, too.

Three Bean Summer Soup This is a delicious summer soup. Lighter than those of winter, it makes the most of the new season’s vegetables, whilst still filling you up and being wonderfully warming. You can use haricot beans or butter beans for this recipe, depending which you prefer. The main thing is to stick to what’s in season with the vegetables. That way they’ll be packed with flavour – and good for you too!

Vegetable Tempura Although it's deep-fried, as long as the oil is hot enough and you drain the tempura after cooking, it's not that bad...! Quick, delicious and a nice change from sticking your veg in a curry!

Warm Mange Tout Salad This recipe uses mange tout (snow peas) in a warm salad. Light cooking can bring out the sweetness of the mange tout and new-season carrots, and the radishes give things a little kick. This side dish takes literally a few minutes to throw together.

Winter Stir Fry Stir fries are a real fast food, yet they’re healthy. The trick is to prepare all the ingredients before you start cooking. The sauce with this stir fry is delicious, but feel free to miss out the egg if it doesn’t suit your diet.

Winter Vegetable Minestrone Soup Minestrone is a traditional, chunky soup, served with soup pasta. We often think of it as a summer dish, but with a little lateral thinking, you can create a soup that brightens up any winter’s day.

Winter Vegetable Pancakes This is a great way to use up spare pancakes – or it’s easy to make them fresh. By rolling them into cannelloni shapes, filled with the vegetables, you can bake them and turn this into a treat of a dinner.

Winter Vegetable Soup This soup is a family favourite. It’s a great way of using left-over winter vegetables and also sneaking a few more vitamins past the kids.

Yellow Courgette And Mange Tout Bring out the buttery flavour of these delicious spring and summer vegetables with this simple recipe.

 

Got one? Send us your carrot recipe!

 
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