Carrots have lots of health benefits given their nutrient content. Carrots are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, amongst several others. You have probably commonly heard how carrots are good for your eyes. Another interesting thing to note is that carrots are more beneficial health-wise cooked rather than raw. Did you know that? It has been found that when you cook them you unlock 40 or even more per cent of their nutrient content. When you eat them raw, you just appropriate 3 or even less per cent. Did you know that also? Anyways, in this article, I am discussing how you can preserve and process carrots.
PRESERVATION
Freezing
You harvest them and you wash them clean first. This is followed by cutting into shapes and sizes of your choice. The next step is to briefly cook them by dipping them into boiling water then directly into cold water. Once they have cooled off you put them in airtight bags or containers. You then store them in your freezer.
Refrigeration
You harvest them and you trim down the green part – you do not completely remove it. Bear in mind that you must not wash them for this method. This is followed by putting them in airtight bags – plastic, for example. Then you store them inside a refrigerator. With this method, you can preserve carrots for 2 or so months.
Drying
You can do this naturally or you can use mechanical methods. For the latter, you can use a dehydrator or a solar dryer if you have one. As for the former, you can just place them in direct sunlight till they are sufficiently dry. First off, you peel them and then you chop them up as you want. You then brief cook them in boiling water and immediately cooling them in cold water. After that, you can dry them using a method suitable for your context.
Leaving Them In Situ
You probably might have never heard of this but you can preserve carrots by simply leaving them in situ. You will just have to add a considerable amount of mulch on top of them. You can also place plastic on top of that mulch and then put more mulch on top. This will act as an insulating buffer against areas that tend to be very cold. Thus this is essential for areas like that.
Boxing Them
For this one, you can either use boxes or any other appropriate containers. You harvest them and trim the green part of course – no washing is also involved here. Then you place them in the boxes or containers and put them in a very humid location. The key to note here is that where you will place the carrots must be stashed with things like straw (dry grass for example), wood shavings, sawdust, or damp sand. All these are meant to maintain and encourage a consistently humid environment. Once this is done you expect to have your carrots preserved for as long as half a year.
Mashing Them
You start by thoroughly washing them then you peel them. You cook by boiling them in water until they are sufficiently soft and tender. You proceed to mash them using any appropriate method. Once you have achieved the thickness you want you can serve, refrigerate, or freeze the mashed carrots.
PROCESSING
DIY Beauty Formulas
Some people are big on using facial masks to tone their skin. There are plenty of products on the market but you can make your own at home using carrots. You start by chopping the carrots and extracting the juice – for example, you can grind (manually) or you can blend. You proceed to mix the juice with honey and some flour; you add optionally add an egg if you want. Once the mixture has sufficiently thickened you can apply it to your face. You can leave it like that for 30 or fewer minutes and wash it off.
You can also use carrots to clean or detoxify your hair. Just wash your carrots and proceed to cut them into finer pieces. You can grate to achieve such fine pieces. After that, you then apply them and mix them up into your hair. Once you have you have mixed them into your hair you leave it like that for about a quarter of an hour. Then you completely wash your hair to remove the carrot pieces.
Carrot Powder
You can make powder from carrots which can be used mainly as a seasoning. You start by doing the usual i.e. washing and peeling. This is followed by cutting them up into smaller pieces. You then dehydrate, oven, or solar dry till sufficiently dry. This will be followed by grinding them into powder which you will place in airtight containers. As always the powder will need to be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
Carrot Juice
To make this you can either use a juicer or a blender. You start by washing them thoroughly; you then peel (or not) – it is up to you. You then cut them up into smaller pieces and place them in the juicer or blender. Once they have been broken down you can extract the juice and drink or refrigerate. If you choose to refrigerate just know it will be good to drink it within 2 or fewer days. Bear in mind that the pulp that remains after juice extraction can still be used for other things. You can freeze it for later usage. The pulp can be used as an addition to making other juices or even smoothies. It can also be added as an ingredient during cooking or baking.
So these are some of the things you can do to preserve and process carrots. These are things you can do yourself at home and can be scaled to an industrial level. Let me add that of course carrots are healthy but they should not be consumed in excess. If eaten excessively they can end up adversely compromising your skin tone and colour.
