How to Cook Carrots

Carrot is a root vegetable that has long become an indispensable part of every cuisine. Although best known for its traditional orange color, carrots also come in many other colors such as purple, white, yellow, and many other shades of orange. Carrots are rich in vitamin A, although processing can affect its content. To prepare the dish, you can use young or old carrots depending on how it is prepared to enhance the natural sweetness of the carrots.

Table of Contents

Prepare the carrot

Clean carrots. Before processing, carrots should be cleaned according to the following instructions:

Small, young carrots: No need to peel or chop. You just need to use a vegetable scrub brush with stiff bristles to scrub away the outside soil. Process the whole tubers.
Large, old carrots: Can be scrubbed in cold water. However, if the peel has a lot of defects or the recipe calls for it, you should peel or shave off the skin. According to the culinary dictionary Larousse Gastronomique, you should not peel or peel carrots if you want to retain the maximum amount of nutrients; Only organic carrots should be scrubbed with a scrub brush; If you think the carrots have been sprayed with pesticides, it’s best to peel or peel them. ^{[1] X Research Source Larousse Gastronomique, Carrots, pp. 188-189, (2009), ISBN 978-0-600-62042-6} Large, old carrots can be cut into circles, diced or sliced for processing.
Grate the carrots if the recipe calls for it. In cooking, grated carrots are often used as fillings for puddings, cakes and savory cakes.

Blanch carrots

Know when to blanch carrots and how to blanch them. Fresh early season carrots, small tubers do not need to be blanched. Old carrots at the end of the season need to be blanched to reduce bitterness. First, you should chew a raw carrot to see if it needs to be blanched.

Cut back. Trim the carrots to suit the recipe’s requirements.

Place the carrots in a pot of cold water. Boil water.

Boil for about 5-6 minutes. Large, old carrots need blanching for 10-12 minutes.

Cut water. Remove carrots and use as directed in the recipe.

Steamed Carrots

Steaming is a great way to prepare root vegetables, including carrots. The steaming method helps to preserve the freshness and vitamins in the tubers. Steamed young carrots are the best.

Scrub the tubers. Cut off the ends of the tubers and decide whether to steam them whole or cut them in circles.

Place the steamer basket in the pot or use a dedicated steamer. If using a separate steaming basket, the water level should be lower than the bottom of the basket and the carrots. Boil water.

If using a dedicated cooker/steamer, follow the instructions.

Boiled carrots

Boiling is ideal for old carrots. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth to boil to enhance the flavor of carrots. This method is especially useful for carrots that don’t taste very appealing.

Peel and cut the carrots into circles.

Fill the pot with salt water 3 cm and bring to a boil.

Add in the sliced carrots. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and cover the pot.

Boil until carrots are soft. This process takes about 10-15 minutes.

Use immediately when hot. You can sprinkle some chopped fresh parsley leaves on top for garnish.

Cooking carrots in the microwave

Place 45 g of washed carrots in a deep dish or microwaveable dish. Add 2 tablespoons of water.

Close the disc.

Microwave on high heat (100% power) until carrots are soft and crispy. You should occasionally stir carrots in the microwave. On average, the microwave cooking time will be as follows:

Thinly sliced carrots take 6-9 minutes.
Shredded carrots take 5-7 minutes.
Young carrots take about 7-9 minutes.

stewed carrots

Carrot stew is delicious and has a sweet taste.

Preheat oven to 140ºC.

Prepare 450 g carrots, cut into circles for large ones or use young carrots.

Place the carrots in a deep pot or cast iron pot. Arrange the carrots neatly in the pot.

Add 1/3 cup scallion, 2 teaspoons grated orange peel, 1-1/4 cup orange juice, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil. Add fresh black pepper powder, salt and a little thyme to taste. You can sprinkle more red chili powder if you like.

Place the pot on the stove. Bring to a boil under medium heat. After that, turn off the stove and cover the pot.

If you don’t have a pot lid, you can use special foil to cover the pot.

Put the pot in the oven. Cook for another 1-1/2 hours or until carrots are tender.

Remove the pot from the oven. Use immediately while hot. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top.

Carrots covered with sauce

Slice carrots into circles. Choose new, large, round carrots when cooking carrots topped with sauce.

Steam carrots 5-8 minutes.

Melt 25g butter in a pan with 1/2 cup brown sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of orange juice.

Put the steamed carrots in the pan. Heat for 1 minute and then turn off the heat.

Use immediately while hot. The carrot sauce can be served with chopped fresh parsley or chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans).

Oven-roasted carrots

Cut the carrots in half. Then cut in half again or cut into 4 lengths.

Spread melted butter or oil over the carrots.

Place the carrots in a baking dish that has been buttered or oiled. You can use a baking tray instead.

Place the baking dish in the oven at 200ºC. Bake until carrots are tender and golden brown, about 20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the carrot pieces. You should flip the carrots 1-2 times so that the carrots are evenly coated with caramel color.

Serve immediately while hot with other baked goods.

Stir-Fried Carrots

Cut carrots into long strips. Cut carrots into long strands like “matchsticks” or “short sticks”). The yarn must be very thin for the carrots to ripen quickly.

Pour some oil into a deep frying pan or large frying pan.

Pour the shredded carrots into the pan. Stir-fry until the carrots are soft but still intact.

Turn off the stove. Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh mint leaves and serve immediately when hot.

Carrots cooked with raisins

Cut young carrots into circles. Cut enough carrots for 4-6 people to eat (one for each person).

Saute carrots in melted butter. Sprinkle a little more flour and just enough water to cover. Add 1 tablespoon brandy.

Close the pot lid. Cook for another 15 minutes under low heat. Then add 1 handful of raisins. Continue cooking until the carrots are soft.

Use immediately when hot.

BBQ Grilled Carrots

Cut carrots into lengthwise slices.

Brush melted butter or oil along the carrot slices.

Bake on BBQ grill until carrots are caramelized.

Grated carrot

Cook 500 g of young carrots in salted water. Add 1 teaspoon of white sugar and 15 grams of butter or oil to the pot of water.

Remove the boiled carrots. Save some of the boiling water for later use.

Press the carrots through a fine sieve or grate them.

Heat the grated carrots. Add a few tablespoons of carrot broth to the grated carrots and stir well; This step is only necessary if the grated carrot is too thick.

Add 50g of butter or oil to the pot just before turning off the heat. Mix.

Enjoy. Mashed carrots are a delicious accompaniment to meals that include vegetables and grilled meats.

To make the mashed carrots taste richer, you can add 4 tablespoons of whipped cream and mix well before serving.

Carrot soup

Cook carrot soup. There are many types of carrot soup, from simple to complex. Here are some carrot soups you can try:

Carrot soup
Carrot and curry soup
Carrot, chili and coriander soup

Cooking carrot and ginger soup:

Grate 4 carrots.
Fry 1 onion with 2 cm of grated fresh ginger and 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic. A little butter or oil can be used to fry the onions.
Add the grated carrots to the butter or oil mixture. Toss the carrots for another 10 minutes.
Add 1 liter of vegetable stock or hot chicken broth. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Wait for the soup to cool. Blend until the soup is smooth.
Enjoy while hot. Sprinkle with some finely chopped parsley. If you like ice cream, you can drizzle some more cream over the soup.

Carrots with radish

The sweetness of carrots can be mixed with the taste of radishes.

Wash the carrots. Peel the old tubers.

Cut carrots into thin circles.

Peel the beets. Cut into pieces the size of a carrot.

Boil in boiling salted water until carrots and radishes are just soft enough to mash. Cook in vegetable broth for extra flavor.

Take out the carrots and radishes, mash them and continue to drain the water again because mashing will cause the carrots and radishes to release water. Add butter and black pepper powder.

Enjoy while hot. Carrot cooked with radish is a very delicious side dish.

Sweets from carrots

The natural sweetness of carrots is perfect for making many sweet dishes. Here are some carrot sweets you can try:

Carrot halwa
Carrot cake, vegan carrot cake, carrot cake
Carrot Donut

Advice

Carrots are usually best around late spring to late summer.
When buying carrots, you should buy bulbs that are light in color and have few defects.

Avoid buying carrots that have wrinkled or overly bent skins.

Carrots are related to parsley, radishes and celery.
Carrots go well with a number of dishes. Specifically, carrots go well with apples, mint, oranges, parsley, raisins, shallots, and dill. ^{[2] X Research Source Food: The Essential AZ, p. 71, (2001), ISBN 1-74045-031-0} In addition, carrots go well with tarragon.
Water usually helps absorb the sweetness of the carrots. To retain as much of the natural sweetness of carrots, you should use a little water while cooking. ^{[3] X Research Source James Peterson, Vegetables, p. 34, (1998), ISBN 0-688-16658-9}

Warning

Store carrots away from potatoes, apples or pears; The ethylene gas released from these fruits and vegetables can give carrots a bitter taste.

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