Carrots

wyndra, Feb 10, 10:34pm
What to do with a garden full of carrots, have tried freezing them in the past but they are rubbery, what else can I do !

samanya, Feb 10, 11:35pm
They'll stay in the garden for a while yet, without going to seed, so do you need to preserve them already!
I sow carrots in succession & that works for me.
Do you like pickles!
I have several carrot recipes (untried, but they sound good) for both sweet & savourypickles/ jams

samanya, Feb 11, 2:15pm
I'm happy to give you recipes if you wish!

cookessentials, Feb 11, 2:39pm
juice them with a little apple and some ginger.

wyndra, Feb 11, 8:14pm
Recipes will be great,thanks for the idea's.

ani4abuy, Feb 11, 8:22pm
There's 2 things Ive done with surplus carrots. 1 is to cook & mash or puree them - I also do some with parsnip - and freeze some in ice cube trays for adding to soups & casseroles or freeze in containers for winter. The other thing Ive done is make carrot cakes & freeze them, they come back well & i just ice when thawed.

lodgelocum, Feb 11, 10:39pm
Carrot cake, carrot and sultana loaf, I use grated carrot in my sausage roll mixture as well;just a few suggestions.I only pick my carrots as I need them, but don't have a surplus as you may have.

samanya, Feb 11, 10:42pm
OK wyndra, here we go

Spiced carrots
1 kg carrots
600ml white vinegar
600ml water 1 tab whole cloves
2tspns ground cinnamon
2 tspns sea salt (non iodised)
Put vinegar, water spices & salt into a stainless steel pan & boil for 5 mins, cover & leave to cool.
Wash peel & cut the carrots into halves or quarters lengthwise & cook in just enough water to cover until just tender. Drain- leave to cool & then pack into jars, strain the vinegar & pour it over the carrots to cover completely. seal
Leave at least 2 weeks before using, very good as hors d'ouevres.
Makes about 3 jam jars.

Sunset Marmalade
1 kg carrots
1 kg cooking apples
500g peaches
4 limes or lemons
1kg sugar (seems a lot)
675 g runny honey (still seems a lot)
Was scrape & dice the carrots. Peel core & dice the apples & peaches.
Grate the rind & extract the juice from the lemon/limes.
Put all of the ingredients into a large pan & stir well.
Heat gently & stir until the sugar has dissolved - bring to the boil & simmer, stirring frequently to prevent burning. When When the mixture is thick & translucent it's ready for potting up.
Extra sugar may be substituted for the honey (1750g .all up).
I have a few more recipes but will post them later .dinner preparation calls.

nauru, Feb 11, 10:54pm
Great cooked up and mashed with swede.This also freezes well for a quickveg to use later on.I also juice excess carrots same as cookessentials with apple & ginger.We had that at lunchtime today.

samanya, Feb 11, 11:51pm
The apple/carrot/ginger mix sounds lovely to me.

wyndra, Feb 13, 9:36pm
Many thanks for those idea's and recipes.

tinkagirl, Feb 13, 10:01pm
I really like this idea

samanya, Feb 13, 11:51pm
I like that idea, too.
I've thought of making Courgette cakes & freezing them for the same reason . to cope with the surplus that I haven't been able to give away or use .haven't got around to it yet though *rolls eyes* .still thinking about it because I don't eat a lot of cake.
I sow carrots in succession because I prefer them raw & try to have them fresh all year around, but I also can't bear wasting anything I grow . the compost is the last resort.

uli, Feb 14, 2:16am
Juice, pickle, cook and freeze (do not just blanch and freeze - fully COOK!) and may I say it - ferment :)

nik12, Feb 14, 4:52am
My Dad used to pull them, cut the tops off (I think!) put them in a sack, and bury it in the garden, so you could just get into the top without moving to much soil.Also did the same with potato's and parsnip :-)Although parsip do actually freeze quite well.

samanya, Feb 14, 2:53pm
That's one method of 'clamping'.from pre freezer days .
http://www.1900s.org.uk/1900s-storing-root-veg.htm

guest, Apr 2, 3:51am
MMMMMMGood!!! This look soooooooo deiuclois!You're so informative, I learn something new in all of your videos! I agree I don't peel my carrots either, or my potatoes I love the skin! But where would I happen to find a potato scrubber, I definitely need one of those ! Thank you for sharing? your knowledge and your deiuclois recipes!P.S would you happen to have a recipe for broccoli soup, my mom and I have been craving it, but we can't find any healthy recipes to fit our diet, please help!