Food And Nutrition: The Year Of The Carrot
By MARY ANN LIENHART CROSS
County Extension Director, Extension Educator Health and Human Sciences, Purdue Extension Elkhart County
GOSHEN — Each year the National Garden Bureau selects a vegetable to highlight and last year it was the sweet pepper. I was late getting out the publicity last year, so this year I know the vegetable ahead of time and am starting early. This year it is carrots.
One of the special contests in the Home & Family Arts building at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair will be any recipe you can prepare with carrots, the one exception is no carrot cake. The recipe you prepare and submit should be all about carrots and be made with lots of them. In other words, when the recipe is tasted it should scream carrots.
A root vegetable, carrots have feathery green tops; the most commonly cultivated varieties are deep orange in color and average about 7 to 8 inches long and 3/4-inch in diameter. As carrots continue to grow and get larger they become woody and lose some of their sweetness. Second to beets, carrots have the highest sugar content of any vegetable. They are delicious raw, whole in sticks or grated in salads.
Carrot sticks are a nutritious addition to any meal or snack. When you are creating a vegetable tray or basket, mix all of the vegetables together and make sure to add lots of carrots for color as well as nutrition. The bagged small carrots are an easy snack and sometimes cutting them in two length-wise makes them easier to eat.
Steamed and buttered carrots or glazed carrots are common side dishes. Carrots may be creamed or pickled, added to stews, baked in a pudding, and made into or added to soup; because of their natural sweetness, they are an essential ingredient in a good basic stock. As you know fresh carrots are sold all year, in bulk or in plastic bags and containers. Keep in mind that carrots can be boiled, braised, grilled and steamed.
When selecting carrots choose small slender carrots that are rigid not rubbery. If tops are attached, they should be fresh-looking and bright green. Avoid carrots that are split, pale, or deeply discolored around the stem, which indicates age. Unless you plan to use the tops for garnish or in soups don’t buy carrots with tops.
Store fresh carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator crisper. They will stay fresh for several weeks but will gradually lose sweetness and rigidity. A common question is to peel or not to peel. Most of the time just use the vegetable brush, or scrape with a paring knife or use a peeler.
However you choose to make your carrot dish be sure to enter it in the Year of the Carrot contest. Bring your entry to the Home and Family Arts Building for check in at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23. Open judging begins at 5 p.m. sponsored by CrossHart Farm, Elkhart. Complete contest rules will be available in the 2016 Open Class Home & Family Arts Department booklet.