Save the Carrots

As I sit here typing, my husband Mark is out in the garden pulling up yet another 30 foot long, 3 foot wide row of carrots for us to store for winter.

Mark digging carrots.

Two days ago he harvested the same size row and I was able to put 140 pounds of carrots into our walk-in cooler to await the winter months.

Yes I know that is an insane amount of carrots.  Yes I realize that adding another 140 pounds will mean enough carrots to potentially feed all our friends through the winter months.

What am I to do with all these carrots?!

Washed carrots drying in the sun.

Fortunately, we have built a walk-in cooler that stays at 35 degrees all year long.  Most of our carrots we wash, dry, and store in large bags and they will stay fresh until spring.  We will use these for fresh eating, chop them for soups, stews, shredded carrot salad (I will post this recipe soon), juicing, smoothies and anything else we can think to use them in.

Though I love having these whole carrots to use, there are times where I simply feel too pressed for time to chop.  Anyone else ever feel this way?  I mean I want to eat my veggies but there are moments after a long day at work and chasing around kids that the idea of washing and chopping some carrots for dinner feels like too much work.  So, I decided to do two things during this harvest time.

First, I washed about 7 pounds of carrots (because I have the time and energy now), and prepped them for quick and easy use this winter.

 About half of the carrots I sent through the largest shredding blade on my KitchenAid food processor.  I used our Cabela's vacuum sealer, and sealed and froze these in 2 cup batches and will use them in soups and casseroles.

Carrots grated on the large blade. 

The second batch I put through the smallest shredding blade on my food processor and vacuum sealed and froze these in 1 cup batches.  These will be for use in muffins and baked goods during the winter months.

Carrots grated on the small blade.

There are other ways to save your harvest abundance in addition to the brief ways I have already mentioned.

Before we had a walk-in cooler, we had a root cellar.  We would layer carrots between thin layers of sand and store them in 5 gallon buckets for use throughout the winter.

You can also blanch, chop, and freeze your carrots for your dinner dishes later in the colder months.

Two other methods for storing carrots are canning and dehydrating.  The Ball Blue Book of Preserving has great recipes and instructions for canning any vegetable you can think of.  Some of their suggestions for carrots are Glazed Carrots and Savory Carrot-Fennel Soup.

I sliced, blanched and dehydrated 5 trays worth in my dehydrator this week as well.  I am thinking of drying some other veggies and adding herbs to make soup or dip mixes.  I will let you know how that all comes out.

As I head outside to help Mark prep these next 140 or so pounds of carrots, my head will be thinking of new recipes and ideas for preserving.  What is your favorite way to preserve carrots for the winter months?

Shelley Allen

Health Coach, MS OTR/L

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