Carrots, I think, are quite an underrated vegetable. They’re always seen as a low-value addition to salads; they’re thoughtlessly tossed into the oven for a bake. They’re rarely looked at as a well-loved favourite.
But done the right way, these little veggies are magic – my friends. And if we want to start enjoying these guys a little more, we have to shift the way we cook with them. Starting with our obsession with peeling.
I recall, very clearly, that a few years back, Jamie Oliver publicly advised that we should stop peeling the majority of our vegetables. Carrots were in that mix.
As Nine Honey shared, he once said in a cooking video:
“After so many years of cooking I realised that the tastiest part of lovely veggies is the skin.
“I’ve spent a whole career peeling vegetables and then we slow roasted and confited this whole celeriac and I got to the skin and I’m like ‘oh my god this is ridiculous, this is insane it’s so good’, and I wondered if it’s the same with carrot or beetroot or leeks…”
That’s when I stopped peeling carrots, and I’ve never looked back.
The rules of no longer peeling carrots
All you need to do is ensure you give your carrots a good wash before cooking with them, and you’re sorted. So, you’re going to be saving yourself time in the long run, too.
Not only is the skin edible, but it’s quite good for you. Livestrong reported that according to the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, carrot skin is packed with nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin B3 (niacin) and phytonutrients.
So, by peeling this layer off – you’re robbing yourself of a whole lot of goodness.
With that said, there may be some of you who really can’t stand the taste or texture of the skin. If that’s the case, peel away, but be sure to use those bad boys in stocks or soups, or blend them into your next fruit and veggie juice.
Want to hear another cooking hack? We also don’t think you should mince your garlic.
This article has been updated since its original publish date.
Lead image credit: iStock
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