Preparing a Whole Lot of Carrots

So you were at the market and picked up a whole 5 pound or maybe even a 10 pound bag of carrots because they looked really good and were on sale. Now you are trying to figure out what to do with it all.

I’ve got just the suggestion for you.

Wash. Peel. Cut. Store. Use.

Wash and Peel

Yes, this is a no brainer. You must totally wash these carrots well whatever method you choose. I personally like to dunk them in a large basin of vinegar water before dunking them in another basin of plain clean water and thoroughly scrub them to get them clean. Then, of course, these things need to be peeled. A great peeler is a must. This is how my batch looked like one time after a good wash and peeling.

Cut

Next you want to cut them and have them ready to use. And this is where you can get creative and cut them in several different styles of your choosing. Since I have a great food processor, I chose the following different ways to cut them: dice cut, large shred, fine shred and snack sticks.

Store

Now that you have done the hard part, all you have to decide is which varieties you will use within the next few days and how much of it you are going to freeze for future use.

I decided to keep just the snack sticks in the fridge for immediate use and put the rest in the freezer in easy to use storage portions.

Here is a picture of my large shred carrots mixed with some fresh celery I had bought also on this same grocery trip. These will be perfect to pull out and throw into my soup pot the next time I make some.

Use

The only thing left is to use them.

I have now lost track of the amount of times the pre-prepared veggies have come useful when I am in a hurry to make something and here they are all clean, cut and ready to go. Most times, I do not even bother trying to thaw them. I just toss them in frozen into the cooking pot of whatever I am making whether it is a quick stir fry or a long simmered soup.

Here’s to more easy days in the kitchen.