What makes one carrot taste all bitter and the next one as
sweet as candy?  Are there any shopping or storage tricks to
increase your chances of getting a sweet one?

21 responses total.

I've long speculated about this.  On the basis of my (*VERY* limited)
gardening experience, my best guess is that something in the growing
conditions (soil, water, that type of thing) is the explanation.  But if
anyone actually *knows* anything, please speak right up!

 Dunk it into a jar of honey.

My theory is that it has to do with freshness.  Unfortunately,
there is a lot of variability in how carrots lose freshness, so 
even though they may have been in your refrigerator for a while,
some will still be good while others will be bitter.

But, who knows?  I could be full of it on this one. :)

Carrot Mysteries.

There is something else whose storage next to carrots tends to make
them bitter, & I don't remember what ...  (onions? apples? or is
this a false memory entirely?)
But some carrots are delectable when they first enter your home,
and some are just carrots or worse.  The ones we have grown are
usually worse.  A former supervisor of mine, back in the work world,
said the secret lay in planting them far enough apart;  I suspect
it also has to do with the general soil content of minerals & stuff.

Um, I have never eaten a bitter carrot. You guys are peeling them first,
aren't you?

Lately, no.  If they're organic I just scrub them hard.
But I've had peeled ones that were bitter.

Definitely a thought that's worth checking out, though.

 I can just picture Valerie scrubbing that carrot...

Would you like me to scrub your carrot, too?

Valerie, we need to talk. ;-)

This is a wonderful item.  First there was Katie's line, "I have
never eaten a bitter carrot," which when I first read it I thought
would make a perfect opening line for a novel.  Then Valerie invents
a brand-new euphemism, "scrubbing the carrot."  Only on Grex.

Tim is most welcome to the credit for inventing that particular euphemism. :)

 I'll take the credit for the euphemism, but YOU must take the credit for
the dirty deed!   Is it part of your Deja Vu routine?

  Re: 11, Are you jealous??!

        I'll be sure to bring a big carrot for Valerie to scrub to the next
Grex event we both attend...

this is a little off track, but...
I got tired of eating carrots canned or thrown in a roast, so
one day i julienned them and sauteed them in a little margarine.
They were wonderful!  the sauteeing brought out the sweetness.

Anyone have any other smiple things you can do with carrots?

Wash and chomp!

  But be safe, & inspect the carrot for diseases before you...consume...it!

Peel them first if you have reason to be concerned about traces
of mold.

Help!  The cooking cf and "Joy of Cooking" have both failed me!

I need a really good carrot cake recipe.  Birthday cake for a friend.  
I'm looking for a traditional one, with the cream cheese icing.  I can't
believe that 6 linear feet of cookbook shelves have not yet yielded a carrot
cake recipe.  That includes every darn one of those little Time-Life recipe
cookbooks.  

Anyone got a well-tried version?

Google can help!

http://www.google.com/search?
hl=en&q=carrot+cake+with+cream+cheese+frosting


this is the number 1 site 

http://cake.allrecipes.com/az/AwsmCrrtCCFrstng.asp

The Grexer formerly known as eeyore (Meg) makes this one- and it's
WONDERFUL!

http://syndicated.livejournal.com/etk_kitchens/12306.html

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