# Grated Carrots



## Alix (Dec 12, 2005)

OK, I have a HUGE pile of carrots. I was thinking of grated them and freezing them to make carrot cakes later. Can I do this? I have never heard of anyone freezing carrots before.


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## Andy M. (Dec 12, 2005)

I freeze them whole all the time. Never froze them shredded.


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## Alix (Dec 12, 2005)

You ever grate them after they have been frozen? What is the consistency like? I am just concerned about their water content. Thanks for the help Andy.


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## Piccolina (Dec 12, 2005)

It should be fine Alix, I usually just peel and cut carrots into rounds or cut them into tiny cubes before I freeze them. Since you are planning to put them into cakes, I don't see why grating wouldn't work too (aka, if they don't look as fresh s new when they come out of the freezer no one will notice as they'll be in the cake batter ).


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## Brianschef (Dec 12, 2005)

Give them a quick blanche before freezing and they won't be tough when thawed and baking.


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## amber (Dec 12, 2005)

I've bought a bag of those baby carrotts and froze them, but when they were thawed they were real wet and soft.  Maybe they would turn out ok if they are shredded.


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## Alix (Dec 12, 2005)

Thanks all! Those are very helpful tips. I think I am going to try it out. I need some room in my fridge and these carrots are taking up a LOT of room.


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## marmalady (Dec 12, 2005)

Grate and freeze - they'll be fine!  I did this all the time when making carrot cake for the shop this summer!  If they look like they're a little moist when thawing, you can just put them on a paper towel to drain off a bit.  Otherwise, they're fine.


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## Alix (Dec 12, 2005)

Thanks marmalady, I'll do that. Good tip about draining too, I think by the time my family is done with all these carrot cakes they will be crying uncle!


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## marmalady (Dec 12, 2005)

Carrot cakes, carrot muffins, carrot bread----------and on the savory side, carrot salad, veggie pancakes/tempura, throw some in salads or your 'sketti sauce!


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## Alix (Dec 12, 2005)

Veggie pancakes and tempura? Yummy thoughts! Got recipes to share?

Also, who's stupid idea was grating 10 lbs of carrots anyway? SHEESH!


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## marmalady (Dec 13, 2005)

Lol - look in 'veggies', I'll post the tempura recipe there!


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## Piccolina (Dec 13, 2005)

amber said:
			
		

> I've bought a bag of those baby carrotts and froze them, but when they were thawed they were real wet and soft. Maybe they would turn out ok if they are shredded.


 Next time you could try a technique that I like to use for slices or pieces of fruit (or whole berries). Spread the baby carrots (make sure they are as dry as can be first) in a single layer on a non-stcik baking sheet (or line it with parchment first) and throw them in the frrezer until they are frozen solid. Take them off the baking sheet and transfer right away to freezer-proof bags or containers. I haven't done this with "baby carrots" but it works well with chuncks or regular carrots


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## urmaniac13 (Dec 13, 2005)

Also another important thing to remember when you freeze vegetables... *DO NOT* thaw them, take them out of the freezer and cook them right away still frozen!!  If you try to thaw them you will lose all the juice, texture and freshness!!


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## Constance (Dec 13, 2005)

I try to sneak vitamins in on my family, so I add a few grated carrots to all kinds of things: potato soup, spaghetti sauce, meat loaf, and salads, to name a few.


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## urmaniac13 (Dec 13, 2005)

Constance said:
			
		

> I try to sneak vitamins in on my family, so I add a few grated carrots to all kinds of things: potato soup, spaghetti sauce, meat loaf, and salads, to name a few.


 
This is so true, Connie... Cris's younger ones don't like (or insist that they don't like) carrots and bell peppers and onions, but when I mince them and mix into items like you mentioned, they happily eat them.  It is ovbiously not a problem as long as they don't see them!!


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## sarah (Dec 13, 2005)

marmalady said:
			
		

> Grate and freeze - they'll be fine! I did this all the time when making carrot cake for the shop this summer! If they look like they're a little moist when thawing, you can just put them on a paper towel to drain off a bit. Otherwise, they're fine.


 
 i freeze them all the time,whole and grated and cut,and i do the paper towel trick,and they are just fine this way...


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## Piccolina (Dec 13, 2005)

urmaniac13 said:
			
		

> This is so true, Connie... Cris's younger ones don't like (or insist that they don't like) carrots and bell peppers and onions, but when I mince them and mix into items like you mentioned, they happily eat them. It is ovbiously not a problem as long as they don't see them!!


 I do this too (also with zucchini) only it's for DH, not for kids


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## buckytom (Dec 13, 2005)

i give my carrots an "A" for the amount of, well vitamin a.

oops, wait, you said grated, not graded...


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## mish (Dec 13, 2005)

buckytom said:
			
		

> i give my carrots an "A" for the amount of, well vitamin a.
> 
> oops, wait, you said grated, not graded...


 
That depends on how many karats you have.  

Alix, I adore carrots, but much prefer any veg fresh rather than frozen.  If you would like some carrot recipes (wanna use 'em up), I have a couple I would love to share.


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## Alix (Dec 13, 2005)

I would LOVE that mish, please post them for me. I prefer my carrots raw, but as I said, there isn't enough room in my fridge for all these carrots AND all the other food I need to put in there. LOL.


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## mish (Dec 13, 2005)

Alix said:
			
		

> I would LOVE that mish, please post them for me. I prefer my carrots raw, but as I said, there isn't enough room in my fridge for all these carrots AND all the other food I need to put in there. LOL.


 
You got it kiddo. I'll be back.


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## KAYLINDA (Dec 13, 2005)

Another little hint for carrot cake.  I always hated grating carrots.  My recipe calls for 3 cups.  A pound bag of baby carrots works great.  I just throw them in my food processor with the blade rather than grating, processing till fine.  They are done in a a minute....and I can't tell the difference in the cake.


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## JMediger (Dec 13, 2005)

Piccolina said:
			
		

> Spread ... in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet (or line it with parchment first) and throw them in the frrezer until they are frozen solid. Take them off the baking sheet and transfer right away to freezer-proof bags or containers.


We do this with all the left overs from our garden in the summer ... green beans, peas, beets, and carrots etc ... just blanche first, drain then freeze.  I've never had a problem with thawing them.  Someone else also suggested using them frozen and we have done that with casseroles but never baked goods.  We've also never had a problem with the colors being "bleh" so they are still nice and presentable ...


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## urmaniac13 (Dec 14, 2005)

KAYLINDA said:
			
		

> Another little hint for carrot cake. I always hated grating carrots. My recipe calls for 3 cups. A pound bag of baby carrots works great. I just throw them in my food processor with the blade rather than grating, processing till fine. They are done in a a minute....and I can't tell the difference in the cake.


 
I do this too all the time, also when I chop onions...  I don't use baby carrots, but just roughly cut the regular carrots in chunks, put the f/p on the coarsest/slowest setting.  Give it a spin and check it from time to time, just to make sure it will not get all creamed but into fine minces.  Saves a lot of time and hassle!!


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## Alix (Dec 14, 2005)

Ooooooo....good tip on the food processor, thanks guys. I think I might go at the rest of the carrots today. Its kinda blah outside and I don't feel like doing anything too energetic so baking and prepping food sounds like a plan to me.


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## mish (Dec 14, 2005)

If you like potato pancakes, you could probably use any potato pancake recipe you prefer and sub with shredded carrots.  (I also love zuchinni pancakes with sour cream.)

CARROT PANCAKES

8-10 carrots, shredded
1 lg vidalia onion, chopped 
2 lg eggs 
1/4 c flour 
salt & pepper, to taste 
garlic powder, to taste 

Peel, & shred carrots into lg bowl. Add & mix in onion, eggs, flour, salt,pepper & garlic powder. Combine well. Drop by 2 tbls into pan w hot oil, flatten to form a pancake. Brown about 5 min on each side.

Optional: Toss in some raisins &/or finely chopped pecans, orange zest or dash of orange juice.
----------------------
A Wolfie recipe if I recall. More of a party dish. 

Carrot Loaf

2 lb carrots, peeled, & cut into 1/4" slices
5 oz unsalted butter
1/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lb spinach, cleaned, stems removed
5 eggs
4 oz grated Swiss cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper

Saute carrots in 2 oz of butter until tender. Chop coarsely & reserve in mixing bowl. Over HI heat, sauté mushrooms in 1-oz of butter until tender. Chop coarsely & reserve in mixing bowl.

Sauté spinach in 1-oz of butter. Chop coarsely & reserve in lg mixing bowl. Beat together remaining eggs & cheese. Combine thoroughly w carrots & mushrooms. Add salt & pepper. Taste & correct seasonings, if necessary.

Preheat oven to 400°. Line bottom of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2" loaf pan w parchment paper. Butter pan & parchment w remaining 1-oz of butter. Fill pan w half the carrot mixture, cover w spinach, & top w remaining carrot mixture. Top w another piece of buttered parchment paper.

Place in a bain-marie, & bake 1 hour & 15 min, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Invert onto warm serving platter & remove foil. Slice & serve immediately. Can be prepared in advance & baked when needed.

-----------------------------

If you like mashed potatoes... This is a very old recipe. Basically, I don't measure - mash cooked potatoes and carrots w seasonings of choice. I saute chunks of onions in butter (or whatever) and add them to the carrot/potato mixture.

CARROT POTATO WHIP

4 lg potatoes
4 lg carrots
1 onion
salt & pepper to taste
half & half
butter

Peel potatoes, carrots & onion & cut into large chunks. Cover w water & boil till tender; drain & let stand a few minutes.

Mash potatoes & carrots w a potato masher, adding salt & pepper to taste & half & half as required to make the desired consistency & mixture is fluffy & pale orange in color. Stir in chunks of onions & place in serving dish with a pat or two of butter.


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## Alix (Dec 14, 2005)

Copied out the first two. Thanks mish! Can't stand mashed stuff though, texture bugs me. The carrot loaf looks interesting. I wonder if that would be a good Christmas side dish?


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## mish (Dec 14, 2005)

Alix said:
			
		

> Copied out the first two. Thanks mish! Can't stand mashed stuff though, texture bugs me. The carrot loaf looks interesting. I wonder if that would be a good Christmas side dish?


 
Sounds like another great idea, Alix. Really, you don't like mashed taters? Another thought is a ginger carrot soup perhaps. Okay... I came back & poked thru my files again and this one is a little different, that's on my to do list. (I have a few carrot souffle dishes that I must give a try as well. One, as I recall, has an orange liquer (sp?) and sprinkled with gingersnap cookies... will have to look it up again.)

A variation of a traditional Finnish recipe, the pancake is on the sweet side and has a texture almost like rice pudding, with a crunchy bread crumb topping. 

1 cup milk 
1/2 cup half and half 
3 large eggs, at room temperature 
1 tbsp light brown sugar 
3 cups peeled and grated carrots 
1/2 cup cooked rice 
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger 
2 tbsp butter 
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously grease a large heavy ovenproof skillet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, half and half, eggs, and brown sugar until well blended and smooth. Stir in the carrots, rice, and ginger. Pour the mixture into the prepared skillet.

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the bread crumbs and cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the carrot batter.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the pancake is set and a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. remove the skillet from the oven, cut the pancake into wedges, and serve immediately.

6-8 pancakes

Another quick idea, party maybe?

Carrot Rollups

2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened 
2 Tbsp. Ranch Dressing 
2 flour tortillas (8 inch) 
1 cup finely shredded carrots 
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Paprika, to taste

Mix cream cheese, dressing & black pepper until blended. Spread on tortillas; sprinkle with carrots and onions. Roll up tortillas, wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Unwrap & cut each roll into pieces. Place on serving plate; sprinkle with paprika.


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## Alix (Dec 14, 2005)

mish said:
			
		

> Sounds like another great idea, Alix. Really, you don't like mashed taters?


 
Can't stand them. Whenever I HAVE to eat them I take about a tablespoon to be polite. I have a few stories about them I would share but they are not "board friendly" PM me if you want the gory details.

I think a carrot - ginger soup sounds interesting. Is it a hot soup or cold? Serve as a first course maybe?


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## mish (Dec 14, 2005)

Alix said:
			
		

> Can't stand them. Whenever I HAVE to eat them I take about a tablespoon to be polite. I have a few stories about them I would share but they are not "board friendly" PM me if you want the gory details.
> 
> I think a carrot - ginger soup sounds interesting. Is it a hot soup or cold? Serve as a first course maybe?


 
Cold as a first course sounds like a lovely holiday menu dish.  That's why you're my fav recipe trouble shooter.   Wonder if we could ask the great cooks/chefs out there for a fav. hot/cold carrot soup... a little ginger maybe and topped with a dollup of sour cream and sprinkled with some fresh basil leaves, etc.  So glad you brought up the topic, Alix.


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