Vegetable
Carrot
ZanahoriaPastanagaDaucus carota
It's around most of the year, but winter carrots, from cold ground, are the sweetest. If one still has its tuft of leaves, you know it hasn't spent months in cold storage.
When
Around: Sept–May · At its best: Nov–Feb
Around: Sept–May · At its best: Nov–Feb
Around: Mar–Nov · At its best: May–Aug
Around here
In Catalan it's pastanaga, and markets sell it loose or in bunches with the leaves on. It's always in the broth for escudella, with cabbage, leek, celery and turnip, and in plenty of sofregits for stews.
At the market
- Firm and smooth, snapping cleanly; no bending like rubber.
- Deep, even colour, with no green shoulders or cracks.
- If they have leaves, they should be green and fresh: that's the best clue.
- Medium ones tend to be sweeter than huge ones, which have woody cores.
At home
- Once home, cut the leaves off straight away: they draw water out of the root.
- In the fridge, in a bag or a tub with kitchen paper: two or three weeks.
- If they go bendy, a soak in cold water firms them up for cooking.
If you have too much
- Blanched for three minutes, cooled and frozen in rounds or sticks.
- Pickled in vinegar with garlic and cumin, in a jar in the fridge.
- Grated into carrot cake: the best fate for a forgotten kilo.
- The leaves, in a pesto with garlic, nuts and oil.
In the kitchen
- Raw, grated into a salad with orange and a little cumin.
- Roasted with honey or cumin, whole if they're small.
- Carrot and leek soup with a little ginger.
- In the broth for escudella, with cabbage, leek and turnip.
- Raw sticks for dipping in hummus or romesco.
- Andalusian-style marinated carrots: boiled, then dressed with garlic, cumin, vinegar and oregano.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 41 kcal
- Water
- 88% water
- Carbs
- 9.6 g
- Sugars
- 4.7 g
- Fibre
- 2.8 g
- Protein
- 0.9 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin A835 µg · 104% of what you need in a day
- Source of vitamin K13.2 µg · 18% of what you need in a day
- Source of potassium320 mg · 16% of what you need in a day
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- LeekOct–MarAn onion that never forms a bulb and tastes milder. The white part comes from earthing it up as it grows: the higher the soil, the longer the white.
- CabbageOct–MarA vegetable that gets better in the cold: after a few frosts cabbage turns sweeter. One head will feed you all week without repeating a dish.
- OrangeNov–MayOranges don't ripen once picked: what you buy is what you get. So it pays to know how to choose them.
- BeetrootOct–AprIt stains everything it touches, chopping board and pride included. But roasted, it turns sweeter than almost any vegetable.