Preserving carrots every fall is something that we look forward to. Having fresh, organic and flavorful carrots ready for any recipe at any given time is not only convenient, but also a money saver.
How many times have you purchased carrots at the store, only to use a few, and the rest spoil in that produce drawer in the bottom of your fridge? There are so many ways you can grow carrots. In ground, raised beds, buckets. It really is all about how many you are looking to grow.
As a family of 7, we have an in ground garden that is approximately 100 feet by 100 feet. As of this coming spring the plan is to add a full garden of raised beds to fill our side yard, with the hopes of nearly doubling our production of a wide variety of vegetables for the next harvest season.
Every late fall, I order all of our seeds so we are prepared when spring rolls around. I look for organic seeds, but sometimes depending on the year they may already be sold out so I may opt for a non-GMO seed if need be. Though organic is always my first choice.
Planting Seeds
Here in northern Michigan, we can’t plant seeds outside until the threat of last frost is gone. Often times that means we can’t plant until Memorial Day weekend. Some years, if its a colder spring, that means we can’t plant until the first week or two of June.
Some seeds we can start weeks ahead indoors. But carrots, we direct sow in our in-ground garden. The nice thing about this method, is there really isn’t a strict deadline of when you need to harvest. Sure they will probably be ready for harvest in late September here. But if they stay in the ground until October, it will be just fine. And better yet, if they stay in until it gets cold we like them even better.
There has been years where we get so busy harvesting and canning everything else. Then life gets busy and carrots are put on the back burner, and then it starts snowing. We’ve found that digging up carrots after the cold makes them even sweeter in flavor. So it really depends on the flavor profile you are looking for in your harvest. I will warn though, if you leave carrots in the ground until there is snow, you may loose some of your harvest.
Expectations Of The Harvest
We lost almost half of a row of carrots one year. When we dug them up, they were half eaten. Those pesky mice! The mice start looking for food when it gets cold, and the carrots sometimes pay the price. One of the reasons we try to grow a little extra than needed, so we will still get what we need with the expectation we will lose some.
Once they all are dug, it’s time to preserve! I highly recommend making sure you have all the materials needed before you harvest. otherwise your carrots will wilt while you wait to get your materials… unless you have a root cellar to slow that process. We do not have that option available, so for us, harvesting means it’s go time.
Preserving Methods
There are a few different ways you can preserve carrots.
- canning– shelf stable and ready to eat. Some people even pickle them!
- dehydrating– which is a good option if you don’t have many carrots and looking to make a snack of carrot chips.
- and, freezing– which is the method we choose
The reason we choose to freeze is frankly because we don’t care for the flavor of canned carrots. They tend to be overly soft with a strong flavor. By freezing, they still have the mild sweet flavor profile of a fresh carrot. And we also get to choose the size package we want for future use. For instance canning in jars you get a pint or a quart. Freezing, you can package the equivalent amounts of a half a pint, or a pint and a half. Whatever amount you think you’ll use in a typical recipe is the size you can prepare.
Preparing For Freezing
There are some basic needs for preventing freezer burn, as well as for preserving the carrots texture so they don’t get rubbery. First, you’ll need to wash, peel and slice your carrots. Once they are all sliced, you need to blanch them. Blanching involves dipping them in boiling water for about two minutes, then quickly cooling them in cold water which will stop the cooking process.
Blanching:
- Use a blanching pot, and blanch for 2 minutes
- Have sink or other large bowl, clean and ready full of ice water to rapidly cool the carrots
- Scoop onto clean towel to dry (doesn’t have to be super dry, just not dripping wet. You don’t want excess moisture in vacuum sealer)
- package with appropriate bags and vacuum seal
Vacuum Sealing
Something to know at the time of planting your seeds, is how many carrots you plan to be expecting. I share this with a word of caution. Residential vacuum sealers overheat, quickly. They are only designed to seal a couple bags and then be put away. I know this because one year we burned up THREE separate vacuum sealer motors. This was a very costly mistake.
The following year was also expensive, because we invested in a commercial grade vacuum sealer, however it has lasted us about 5 years so far and still going strong. If we would have listened to others at the beginning, we would have been money ahead by investing in one that will last.
So, all the steps for preserving carrots:
- washing, peeling, slicing
- blanching
- drip drying and bagging
- vacuum sealing
- put bags of carrots in freezer, and enjoy all year
How We Use Our Carrots
There are several ways we use our carrots. Of course, we don’t expect fresh crunchy carrots as if they were just picked. But I do love the texture and flavor. We use them in a wide variety of soups, casseroles, or any dish that may call for carrots. I’ve even blended them to use their juice as a coloring agent in different sauces and spreads.
Another nice thing about vacuum sealing is that it sucks all of the air out of the bag. This prevents freezer burn and makes the carrots last all year plus some. I’m currently finishing up carrots that are from two seasons ago that got forgotten about in our chest freezer, and they are still fine.
Other produce that we use a vacuum sealer for are green beans, summer squash and zucchini, chopped spinach, and peaches. It was definitely worth the investment for our family.
I hope that you find encouragement here in your preserving journey.
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