8 simple ways to prepare carrots for future use

Carrots can be preserved in different ways - frozen, dried, preserved in their natural form, marinated with spices, prepared from it into complex salads and snacks, and also made into jam and candied fruits.

Frozen carrots

The easiest way to prepare for winter is to freeze root vegetables. Of course, the carrots must first be thoroughly washed and peeled. Vegetables are cut differently. It all depends on how we plan to use it in winter. Circles - for soups, cubes for stews, straws - for pilaf. You can simply grate the carrots or put them through a food processor.

When freezing, it is important to consider two things. Carrots are immediately packaged in portions. And it’s better to pack frozen food in rectangular containers to save space. For example, place portions of carrots in plastic bags in a Tetra Pak milk bag.This way the product will take up less space in the freezer.

Dried carrots

Preparing dried carrots allows you to store them in any convenient place without using the refrigerator. These vegetables are convenient to use for making soups and gravy. Many people, especially children, love to eat dried carrots as snacks. This is a wonderful, vitamin-rich substitute for chips! In addition, dried carrots weigh very little and therefore are often used where “every gram counts” - in tourist travel.

To make it easier to dry the root vegetable, you first need to boil it. Carrot straws - about 10-15 minutes. And if we want to dry grated carrots, five minutes of cooking will be enough. After this, the root vegetables are cut in the desired way, but not thicker than 5-7 mm, or grated.

Then the carrots are dried at room temperature for several hours and then dried in the oven. The temperature in it should not exceed +75°C, and vegetables should always be dried in one layer. Then the product will retain maximum nutrients and will not lose its shape and color.

It is best to store dried carrots in glass jars with tight-fitting lids. Before use, such carrots are pre-soaked.

Canned carrots

This method of harvesting for the winter is used when it is necessary to preserve the root crop in its natural form. Small varieties of carrots - "Chantane" and "Parmex" - are excellent for canning, as well as just medium-sized root vegetables that grew in shaded areas of a summer cottage. Early varieties of carrots that are not intended for long-term storage are also canned. Such, for example, as “Tushon”, “Alenka”, “Vitaminnaya 6”, “Karotel”, “Nantes 4”, “Samson” or “Losinoostrovskaya 13”.

You can preserve carrots with or without spices and seasonings. It all depends on desire. This product is used to prepare many dishes, and it is indispensable in dietary nutrition.

To preserve carrots, they are first washed and peeled. The finished root vegetables are placed in a saucepan, 100-150 ml of water is poured onto the bottom and the carrots are kept on low heat with the lid closed for 15 minutes.

For the brine that will be used for canning, add 1 heaped tablespoon of salt to 1 liter of water. While the brine is boiling, carrots are placed in pre-sterilized jars. Small root vegetables are placed whole, and larger ones are cut into two parts.

Jars of carrots are filled with boiled brine to the very top and the sterilization process begins. Water is poured into a large saucepan, a sponge or cloth is placed on its bottom, and jars are placed on top. The water in the pan should reach the “shoulders” of the cans or even a little higher. The jars are covered with lids and kept in boiling water: half-liter jars for 35-40 minutes, and liter jars for 45-50 minutes. Then the jars are sealed with lids, turned over and, after covering them with a blanket or warm cloth, allowed to cool at room temperature. After a day, jars of carrots can be placed in a permanent storage location.

In this video, experienced gardener and housewife Zinaida Petrovna talks about how to properly preserve carrots at home.

Step by step recipe canned carrots for the winter also available on our website Make it delicious!.

Carrot pickles

The advantage of salted vegetables over canned ones is their much greater preservation of nutrients, especially vitamins. The problem with pickles is always storage conditions.Salted carrots will need to be placed in a cool place. Ideal for cellar conditions. And this needs to be taken care of in advance.

For pickling, choose bright, orange root vegetables with a small core. Good-quality preparations are obtained from the varieties “Nantes”, “Gribovskaya” and “Moskovskaya Zimnyaya”. For pickling, root vegetables are washed. But whether to clean them or not is up to the hostess herself.

If there is a large volume of preparations for the winter, carrots are pickled in tubs in their entirety. To do this, washed root vegetables are placed in a tub. To make brine, add 60-65 g of salt to 1 liter of water and boil the water for 5 minutes. The brine is added to the tub after it has cooled and so that its level is 10-15 cm above the carrots. After this, a wooden circle is placed on top and oppression is installed. The tub should stay in the room for 4-5 days. And then it is taken out to a cool room for long-term storage.

You can also pickle carrots for future use by chopping them. To do this, washed root vegetables are grated on a coarse grater or cut into strips or slices. At the bottom of the container in which the workpiece will be stored, pour a little salt, place chopped carrots there - three-quarters of the volume of the container and fill with cooled brine prepared according to the same recipe. Like whole carrots, the slices are kept in the room for 4-5 days and placed in the cellar.

To be able to store salted carrots in the room, they must be sterilized. In this case, the filling is made at the rate of 30 g of salt per 1 water. The carrots are washed, peeled and cut into slices up to 1 cm thick. Jars with packed carrots are filled with hot, just boiled brine and, covered with lids, sterilized over low heat in boiling water: 0.5 liters - 40 minutes, and liter - 50 minutes.

In winter, salted carrots can be added to salads, vinaigrettes, soups, as well as hot dishes with meat, poultry or fish. If the carrots taste too salty, you need to soak them in water in advance, and the excess salt will go away.

Pickling carrots

Marinating is a great way to prepare food in winter. Marinades of different compositions give dishes a completely unique taste. And almost no one remains indifferent to the crispy texture and sweet and sour notes of pickled vegetables.

In order to prepare the marinade, take 1 tbsp per 1 liter of water. a heaped spoonful of salt and 2 tbsp. spoons of granulated sugar. In addition, for this volume of liquid, use 100 g of apple or regular vinegar, or 1 tbsp. a spoonful of vinegar essence. Add 6-7 pcs to a 1 liter jar. peppercorns, 4 cloves and allspice, 1-2 pcs. bay leaf, herbs and 2 cloves of garlic. Dill, parsley, cherry, horseradish or apple leaves are used as greens.

The carrots are thoroughly washed, peeled and placed in boiling water for 5 minutes before slicing. Root vegetables can be cut into cubes, circles or strips. Seasonings and herbs are placed at the bottom of the jars, carrots are placed on top of them, and the boiled marinade is poured over everything. After this, the jars are covered with lids and sterilized in a saucepan with water: half-liter jars - 12-15 minutes, and liter jars - 20-25 minutes.

Tips for pickling carrots:

• The greens that will be added to the jars are thoroughly washed under running water.
• Whole cloves of garlic are placed in jars. Then the liquid in the jars does not become cloudy.
• The contents of the jars are filled with hot brine to the very top.
• After all work is completed, the jars are turned over and allowed to cool, covered, for about a day.

Pickled carrots go great as a juicy, spicy appetizer.It is good to add to winter salads, vinaigrettes, and also to use when stewing meat dishes or as a side dish.

With step-by-step cooking recipe pickled carrots with apples can be found on our website Make it delicious!.

Vitamin winter snacks and salads

Compound dishes to which carrots are added are made from various vegetables - sweet peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, onions and garlic. The taste of such salads is also well complemented by sour apples. And if vitamin C is destroyed during heat treatment, carotene, for which we value carrots so much, remains intact.

Vegetables and spices for salads and appetizers can also be arranged in different ways. In addition, you can diversify your dishes by changing the shape of the cut. Carrots and vegetables are usually stewed under a lid for about 20 minutes, then refined vegetable oil is added to them. Approximately 150 ml per 1 kg of vegetables. And a minute before it’s ready, add a little vinegar.

Jars with hot carrot-vegetable mixture are covered with lids and sterilized. They can be stored at room temperature. Before serving, this preparation is usually placed in the refrigerator for an hour. Such salads and appetizers are an excellent independent dish. They are also used for making sandwiches and as an additive for borscht or soups.

Orange jam

Everything about this winter preparation is captivating - the bright festive color, the pleasant delicate texture and, of course, the unusual taste. Therefore, carrot jam often becomes a favorite delicacy of everyone who tries it. The recipe for such jam is not much different from sweet preparations that are made from fruits or berries.

For 1 kg of root vegetables, take up to 1 kg of granulated sugar and 2 g of citric acid (or juice from half a lemon).First, the carrots are washed, peeled, cut into small slices or circles, sprinkled with sugar and left for a day at room temperature so that they produce juice.

The next day, add a little water to the pan with the candied carrots, put it on low heat and cook until tender. Usually about 30-40 minutes. Then add citric acid or freshly squeezed lemon juice to the jam and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Hot jam must be poured into jars. You can diversify the taste of this carrot delicacy by adding vanillin, cinnamon or mint leaves when cooking.

Candied carrots

Everyone loves candied fruits! This is a desirable delicacy and a wonderful decoration for baked goods and cakes. And making candied carrots is not at all difficult.

First you need to wash the carrots, peel them and cut them into circles or cubes. Then all this is placed in a saucepan and brought to a boil twice. After the first and second boil, the water is drained. Then add granulated sugar to the carrots (1.5 cups per 1 kg of root vegetables) and place the pan on low heat. When exposed to high temperatures, the carrots will begin to release juice and the sugar will melt. At the same time, you must remember to carefully stir the contents of the pan so that the carrots and sugar do not burn.

Boil the candied fruits for 20-25 minutes, drain in a colander and allow excess liquid to drain. The resulting syrup can be poured into a jar and used in everyday cooking. For example, such aromatic syrup is a good addition to morning coffee.

Then they begin to dry the candied fruits on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. If the room is sufficiently well ventilated, drying can be done in the room. However, this process will take some time. You can easily speed up drying in the oven.45-50 minutes of blowing at a temperature of +45°C is enough, and the candied fruits are ready. While they are still quite soft, they are rolled in granulated sugar and removed for permanent storage.

In this video, Klavdiya Korneva talks about a step-by-step recipe for making candied carrots.