Happy Accidents {Recipe: Jelly Glazed Baby Carrots} (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to steam or boil baby carrots? ›

While you can boil carrot sticks, steaming is a better method, as it helps to keep more of the antioxidants and vitamins in the carrot. Peel carrot and cut into batons. Add the carrot sticks to a steamer and steam for 5-10 minutes until soft and tender.

Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.

Here's a general timeline of when carrots go bad: Whole carrots: After 2 weeks. Baby carrots: After 2-3 weeks. Cut carrots: After 3 weeks.

To make "baby-cut" carrots, large carrots are put into a machine and cut into two-inch (51 mm) sections, then abraded (scraped) down to size, their ends rounded by the same process. In the field, two-story carrot harvesters use long metal prongs to open up the soil, while rubber belts grab the green tops and pull.

Cover the pot with a lid, such that most of the steam gets trapped inside. Cook for 5-6 minutes and then check. Toss the veggies and close the lid again. On an average, vegetables usually take 8-10 minutes to steam, but it also depends on the type of vegetable and can take lesser time as well.

Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout. Serve these simple roasted carrots with traditional or heavy main dishes, like standard Thanksgiving fare, lasagna or mac and cheese.

Cook 1 pound carrots, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender. Here's how long to cook carrots on the stove top depending on how they're cut: 7 to 9 minutes for ¼-inch slices. 4 to 6 minutes for strips.

Boil Until Tender

Make sure the water level is high enough so the carrots are completely submerged. Add sliced carrots to the pot of water and bring the water back to a boil over high heat. Boil sliced carrots for 4-5 minutes, baby carrots for 6-7 minutes, and whole carrots for 10-15 minutes.

So when do you use which? This rule is simple to remember: Vegetables that grow underground (potatoes, carrots, beets, turnips), should start off in cold water. Vegetables that grow above ground (greens, peas, corn) should be placed into already boiling water.

I usually toss them out when they get that white, dry coating on them. In addition, there should be a 'best buy' date on the bag; use this as a general guideline, but most of the time, they are good past then. Fresh, whole carrots should last about 4-5 weeks in the fridge. Baby carrots last for about 3-4 weeks.

What is the white stuff on baby carrots? ›

Yes, the white blush that forms on some baby carrots—call it carrot dandruff if you like—is safe to eat. The scuzz of which we speak is the result of the carrots' surface drying out. Regular, mature carrots have a natural protective coating (as do most fruits and vegetables) that helps them retain moisture.

This happens when the carrots are exposed to air for long periods of time when they're not tightly sealed in a bag or container. Luckily, this white film is perfectly safe. If you can't mentally stomach them at this point, cook them!

They're not actually “baby.” The package might claim otherwise, but most carrots sold as “baby carrots” are just regular carrots that have been cut into two-inch pieces, shaved, and polished down to that snackable size.

But here's the big secret about baby carrots: They're actually pieces of carrots. "Cut into two-inch pieces and peeled, and put in a bag," explained Jeff Huckaby, the CEO of Grimmway Farms, the biggest carrot grower on Earth. One regular carrot might be cut into two, three, even four baby carrots.

At least, that is, if they're boiled or steamed. A January 2008 report in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry said that boiling and steaming better preserves antioxidants, particularly carotenoid, in carrots, zucchini and broccoli, than frying, though boiling was deemed the best.

Steaming carrots is also a low-fat cooking method, as no additional oil is required to transform the carrot into a softened bite. Like boiled carrots, steamed carrots are just a little boring. They have a livelier color and more of a tender-crisp bite, but they need to be spruced up to make them enjoyable.

Background: Steaming retains vitamins and phytochemicals in vegetables better than boiling; thus, it is important to promote this cooking method.

Your body has an easier time absorbing the carotenoids in carrots if you eat them cooked rather than raw. Cooking breaks down the vegetable's cell walls, making its nutrients more available. Of course, how you cook them matters—boiling vegetables can leach out nutrients, so it's better to steam, sauté, or roast.