Carrot
Carrot is a biennial plant in the Umbelliferae family; it is a kind of vegetable that has bright color, with honey-sweet flavored, which is rich in beta-carotene. In China, carrot is a famous while common food that you can easily find it in both main dishes and desserts. Carrots have a variety of colors, such as orange, red, purple or yellow, white and white. And for the tender “mini-carrots” or “baby carrots”, it is the carrots that have been peeled and cut into small cylinders, which are another version of the common carrot and is also available in many markets.
Season:
Carrots are available year-round in the markets.
Purchasing tips:
When choosing fresh carrots, select the one in smooth skin with bright green leaf tops, which indicates tender and fresh while avoid carrots with sprouting tops or wilted spots. If you purchase “baby carrot”, avoid the whitish, slim, or wilted ones.
Storage: Before you store carrots in plastic bag, discard the green tops of them, then refrigerate for up to 10 days. Remember never put carrots with apples, or pears together as these fruits can produce ethylene gas, which can lead to the bitterness of the carrots.
Preparation:
Rinse fresh carrots thoroughly under cold running water to remove any dirt or sand, then cut off the green top and lightly peel its skin with a vegetable peeler, at last cut or slice according to the recipes before use.
Cooking tips:
Carrots can be eaten in various ways, it even can be eaten in raw after washing, or they are chopped, grated, or boiled. And you may find them in soups, stir-fries, or stews in Chinese cuisine. If you have a blender, you can make you own style carrot juice at home, which is refreshing and healthy as well; you can also blend carrots juice with your favorite fruits or vegetable.
Nutritional and Health Benefits:
Many of carrot’s nutrients are within its skin, which is loaded in β-carotene and this is metabolized into vitamin A in humans when bile salts are present in the intestines. Carrots are also rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, and minerals. If you are “blind” at night, we do recommend you to add more carrots in your everyday meal, as the poor vision which are caused by lack of Vitamin A, can be largely restored by adding it back into the diet so that hopefully you could have bright eyesight at night also.
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