Carrots
Did you know that...
Baby carrots are either immature or pieces of larger, thin carrots that are cut to shape. The idea started with Mike Yurosek, a farmer who wanted to give his “ugly” carrots a second chance instead of wasting them. Be like Mike and learn how to buy, store, and cook carrots to avoid waste.
Buy
- Get solid, crisp carrots or red carrots.
- It is okay to get carrots with some cracks or dried. Revive them by cutting a thin slice off the bottoms and submerging them in a bowl of cold water. Use them immediately.
Store
- Do not wash the carrots before storing them in the fridge.
- Remove tops before storing them and keep them in a silicone bag in the coolest part of the fridge for up to two weeks.
- For more extended storage, clean, peel and cut the carrots. Once they have air-dried and cooled, place them in freezer bags.
Cook
Scrappy vegetable broth
Makes up to 1-2 litres of stock
You’ll be surprised at the volume of vegetable scraps you can accumulate if you keep them instead of putting them in the bin! You’ll probably rarely buy whole vegetables solely to make stock again. Classic stocks have a base of celery, carrot, any type of onion (spring onion, leek, eschallots), garlic and neutral herbs like parsley. Keep any ends and peels of carrots, onions and potatoes. Woody ends (like asparagus bottoms), stems of chard and herb stems like parsley, coriander, rosemary and thyme. If you’re using any stems of greens like asparagus or chard, don’t let them boil heavily or for too long, otherwise they can become bitter. The finished stock is excellent added to stews, soups, risottos, pasta dishes or any meals that need a flavour boost.
Steps
Step 1: Gather 8 cups of mixed vegetable trimmings. These could be ends and peels of carrots, onions and potatoes, woody asparagus bottoms, stems of chard or neutral herbs such as parsley.
Step 2: Combine the vegetable trimmings, 2 tablespoons of salt and 3 litres of water in a large stockpot over high heat and bring to a boil.
Step 3: Reduce the heat just low enough so the stock is barely bubbling.
Step 4: Cook uncovered for 30 minutes, until the trimmings are tender, and the stock has taken on a nice flavour and golden colour.
Step 5: Strain and discard the solids, then cool the stock and use or store as needed.
Storage
The stock can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
Zero waste tip
If you’re short on space, boil and reduce your stock to concentrate it further (like a homemade stock cube). You can freeze it in ice cube trays too.