The Mystery of Bendy Carrots
I’ve been wanting to do something useful in the Smallest Smallholding for weeks and just feel totally behind with everything. This year seems to have passed me by - I’m amazed I’ve managed to produce a crop of anything. In between visiting Nannie regularly in hospital and working (of which I have a lot to contend with at the moment), I don’t really have a lot of ’spare’ time. And any ’spare’ time I have, I bury my head in a book (usually Potter) for a bit of escapism.
But the thing I wanted to write about was my carrots. Or, to be more precise, my bendy carrots. You see, I can’t understand why supermarket carrots stay relatively crisp and firm in my fridge, yet when I pull my own homegrown (superior tasting and very large, I might add) equivalent, within hours they’re a bit rubbery in texture. .
I know about storing carrots in sand - but I thought this was for long term storage? What am I doing wrong that the supermarkets are getting right? I just don’t understand it. It’s a bit, orange, carroty mystery. Answers on a postcard, or in the comments section below.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
You need to remove the foliage straightaway for the carrots to remain crunchy. Also don’t wash them if you are going to keep them for any length of time. That works for me anyway!
September 27th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Juliette beat me too it! Do you take off the leaves? as that draws moisture out of the carrot as the leaves try to stay alive as long as they can………
September 28th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
If you must take the leaves off, put the carrots in plastic bags and store in the fridge. They stay crispy for much longer than if you leave them out.
September 29th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
You can also revive bendy carrots by putting them in a glass of water in the fridge.
October 6th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Glad you asked - and glad others answered! I learned a lot here
Not sure if I’ll ever get to use these tips though, apparently I’m pretty useless at growing carrots *sulk*
October 8th, 2008 at 12:12 am
I’m glad you asked the question though, because I needed the answer.