When it comes to carrots, there are plenty of pre-peeled options in the produce department. But if you have a bag of unpeeled carrots stashed in your produce drawer, you may wonder, "Do you have to peel carrots?" We asked experts to clarify if you need to peel carrots to enjoy them and get all the nutritional benefits. It's well-known that we could use more veggies in our diets. There are enough hurdles to getting the minimum recommendation into our meal plans and produce prep shouldn't be another.
Do You Have to Peel Carrots?
“There is no need to peel carrots before eating—many people enjoy eating them with the skin on,” says Alan Hilowitz, former communications director at Bolthouse Farms. “However, since carrots are grown in the ground, washing/scrubbing is important if you do choose not to peel,” he adds. Of course, you should always wash your produce to reduce your risk of illness and pesticides, so hopefully, that’s nothing new.
If we can just skip the carrot peeler, why do you have to peel carrots? There are some good culinary reasons to peel. “The peel does have a slightly different texture from the rest of the carrot, so it may stand out in a recipe, depending on the application,” Hilowitz says. “Some varieties have skin that may be tougher, grittier, or more bitter than the rest of the carrot,” he adds.
“Steaming or certain raw applications may be better peeled,” says Hilowitz. “If you are going for a uniform visual look and texture, we suggest peeling.”
Lynn Blanchard, the Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen director, agrees that scrubbing is sufficient, but there are cases when peeled carrots are best. If you want a smooth puree for a soup or baby food, then peeling would be the way to go, Blanchard says.
“Juicing and roasting carrots are good times to avoid peeling,” says Hilowitz. “If you are making a rustic dish, then leaving the peel on could potentially enhance the look and experience of the dish. If you are using the carrots for a stock, broth, or sauce that will require straining in the end, this is another instance in which it may be better to leave the peel on.”
Blanchard sometimes determines whether she'll leave the peel on based on the carrot's exterior. "If [the carrot] is smooth and can easily be scrubbed, then I don't bother to peel if using in a soup or stir fry," she says. Blanchard points out another benefit of not peeling carrots: less food waste.
To answer the question, "Do you have to peel carrots?" it's mostly a matter of preference. Don't put carrot peels in the garbage disposal if you decide to peel your carrots. They can cause clogs. Peel into a trash can or add to your compost.
Whatever your choice, you'll enjoy the health benefits of carrots. Both peeled and unpeeled carrots have many benefits. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A—which is essential for vision, your immune system, and reproduction.
What to Make With Carrots
Peeled or unpeeled carrots are used in many recipes, including salads, stews, side dishes, and desserts. These roasted carrots made with maple and blood orange are a delicious alternative to classic glazed carrots. Simmer carrots and cabbage for a hearty vegetable dish to go with your next steak dinner. For a springtime side, Carrot Ribbon Salad is a colorful recipe with peas and vinegar. And don't miss our Best Loved Carrot Cake for the traditional favorite, complete with cream cheese frosting.
"If you prefer the taste, texture or look of peeled carrots (or the convenience of baby carrots), you can certainly incorporate them into a healthy dietary pattern. But, this root vegetable is perfectly safe to eat unpeeled, as long as it is adequately washed."
“There is no need to peel carrots before eating—many people enjoy eating them with the skin on,” says Alan Hilowitz, former communications director at Bolthouse Farms. “However, since carrots are grown in the ground, washing/scrubbing is important if you do choose not to peel,” he adds.
Before you can even start heating your pressure canner, you need to get your carrots ready for canning. You'll need to cut the stem end off each carrot, peel, and rinse each one, and then cut them into the size and shape you want to have as a finished product after canning.
"If [the carrot] is smooth and can easily be scrubbed, then I don't bother to peel, if using in a soup or stir fry," she says. Blanchard points out another benefit of not peeling carrots: less food waste. Whether you leave carrots unpeeled or choose to peel them is mostly a matter of preference.
Furthermore, some ingredients like pears, carrots, and ginger have thin skins that the juicer can easily remove without getting clogged. With these facts in mind, you can save time and preparation by juicing your ingredients with the peels on.
Tasters unanimously preferred the peel-free carrots in the glazed and roasted samples. In both cases, the skins on the unpeeled carrots became wrinkled, tough, and gritty. Their flavor was “again earthier, but not in a good way” and they weren't particularly appealing looking.
Leaving the skin on a carrot helps preserve the carrot, but if you're doing meal prep for lunch or big meals, you might want to prepare carrots ahead of time by peeling and cutting them.
"From a health point of view, and I think from a taste and texture point of view, it's much better to leave the skin on," Simon says. "The skin of the potato is very high in fibre, potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B — all of those good, healthy things are in high concentration in the skin."
Start by dusting off large specks of caked-on soil. Then, under lukewarm running water, use a vegetable brush and some elbow grease to firmly scrub off any stray root hairs or dirt lodged deep in the carrot's crevices. Make sure to clean all around the carrot, applying enough pressure so as not to scrape it to bits.
According to Emily S. Mohn and Elizabeth J. Johnson, scientists at Tufts University's Antioxidants Research Laboratory, “this root vegetable is perfectly safe to eat unpeeled.” In fact, the peels are very healthy for us, containing the highest concentrations of vitamin C and niacin in the carrot.
This staple is packed with potassium and makes smoothies deliciously creamy. But bananas lack the right structure to yield much liquid when pressed and pulverized. The main reason you can't effectively juice bananas is their low liquid and high starch content.
Although some pesticides enter fruit and vegetable flesh, many remain confined in the outer peel ( 20 ). Washing is a good way to get rid of pesticide residues that are loosely attached to the peel's surface. However, peeling is the best way to remove pesticides that have seeped into fruit and vegetable skin ( 21 ).
If you're peeling your carrots for a recipe, all you need to do is peel the skin off and rinse the carrots under cold running water. If you're using unpeeled carrots, cleaning takes a little more effort.
How to Clean. Wait to clean carrots until ready to serve or cook. Peel and then rinse under running water. If you decide to use them unpeeled, clean well with a firm scrub brush under lukewarm, running water.
Carrots are a versatile vegetable. People can eat them raw, steamed, boiled, roasted, or as an ingredient in soups and stews. Boiling vegetables can reduce or eliminate some of the vitamin content. Raw or steamed carrots provide the most nutritional value.
Introduction: My name is Barbera Armstrong, I am a lovely, delightful, cooperative, funny, enchanting, vivacious, tender person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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:strip_icc()/peeled-carrots-with-peeler-e859f70eba684c3290e8826fc4d84aea.jpg "Do You Have to Peel Carrots to Eat Them? Here’s What Experts Say (1)")
