Orange You Glad There are Pickled Carrots in the Fridge?
To say I have a close and loving relationship with the color orange is a slight understatement.
Where some people use beige, navy or ivory as a go-to neutral, tangerine, pumpkin and marigold usually sneak their way into that slot, overtaking my wardrobe and home.
“How many orange things do you have in your kitchen?” marveled a recent dinner guest overwhelmed by the mixing bowls, spatulas, towels, sugar bowls, scrubbies, cutting boards, stand mixers, and blenders color-matching the four (orange) walls.
I even tried to turn myself orange long before Snooki brought her A-game to the self-tanning booth.
It’s family legend that my discerning toddler palate refused vegetables in any other shade, so my mom fed me carrots and sweet potatoes by the pound until she realized the beta carotene overload was turning her daughter the color of an Oompa Loompa.
My relationship with carrots since then hasn’t been quite so sympatico. At some point, my taste for their gentle sweetness went sour.
Carrots became not much more than a boring and bland amateur add-on to a salad or the necessary flavoring agent for many a stock.
I threw some into risotto for color and shredded a bunch into spaghetti sauce, but probably ate more raw carrots at Buffalo Wild Wings than I did in my own home over the past decade.
Last summer, having planted a bigger crop of carrots than the husband could eat on his own, I pickled a pound on a whim.
Suddenly I noticed how much sprightlier my tuna salad tasted with a few coins minced and folded in, how much peppier a panzanella became when a handful of slices were thrown on top.
I decided that all carrots I consumed henceforth would be in pickle form, except for those which were allowed to remain nude and un-vinegared alongside a big old basket of buffalo wings.
And so this summer’s entire crop of carrots was planted for the express purpose of pickling.
A carrot fresh from the ground really does have a whole ‘nother level of flavor that’s lacking in the plastic-bagged brothers at the grocery store, and growing your own carrots gives you the added bonus of choosing what size, shape and color you’d like your pickled veg to be.
Round Thumbelinas? Little finger carrots? Purple or yellow versions?
Lazy gardeners like myself who don’t thin out the herd after transplanting will end up with a few wiggly little carrots that grew around the straighter, larger roots, and which bear an uncanny resemblance to the poor unfortunate souls transformed by Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid.
So, unless you’re Tracy over at Sugarcrafter and inexplicably immune to the charms of a pickled carrot, grab a bunch at the farmer’s market this week and throw them in this 10-minute brine.
The jars can be water bath canned for non-refrigerated storage, but I simply keep mine in the fridge year-round with no ill side effects.
Those of us lucky enough to have dill in the garden that’s probably gone to seed can also benefit from a tip courtesy of Jessie Knadler, co-author of Tart and Sweet, and use the flowering heads of dill for a more intense flavor.
See? Once again, lazy gardening saves the day.
Pickled Carrots
Pickled carrots pep up tuna salad sandwiches, boring salads or sandwiches, and can be quick-brined in 10 minutes. Whatcha waiting for?
Ingredients
- 1 quart (4 cups) distilled white vinegar
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns or grains of paradise
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 4 large garlic cloves
- 4 sprigs of dill
- 4 sprigs of tarragon
- 2 pounds carrots, cut into bite-size pieces or slices if desired
Instructions
- Wash and rinse 4 pint-sized Mason jars (or other glass jars that will fit your carrots).
- In a stockpot, bring the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, peppercorns/grains of paradise, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the salt and sugar.
- Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- Place 1 garlic clove, 1 sprig of dill and 1 sprig of tarragon in each jar, then fill with carrots.
- Pour the warm brine into the jars to fill completely; you may have extra brine left over.
- Keep the jars refrigerated, or water bath can the jars.
- Though technically refrigerator pickles will keep pickling slowly as they sit in a chilled environment, I've kept my batches for 6-8 months without any terrible oversalted results. A larger-sized carrot chunk will pickle more slowly than a slice, but will also keep longer than a smaller chunk, so keep that in mind.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 54Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 862mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 1g
The nutritional information above is computer-generated and only an estimate.
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I have never had a pickled carrot. Now I want one. Bad.
so I think I’ll use this to do a whole variety of veggies in this brine. Do I need to blanch anything like celery, cauliflower?
Carol, no need to blanch – just make sure the jars and the veggies are well-cleaned before stuffing them in. You can add slices of hot peppers or Calabrian chili flakes to add a little spice too…
LOL! I don’t know what it is, but I just don’t like them. I’m very glad that you do though, and if I ever have any reason to pickle carrots in the future, I’ll be sure to send them your way. ;-)
Orange is indeed a cool color and you made those gnarly looking root veggies turn out just perfectly in your pickled carrot presentation. Good enough to eat.
I would be ALL over these! Love them, Casey.
I love lazy gardening AND anything pickled. And my daughter loves carrots. We’ve had these before, but I’ve never made them. I might have to this year.
My wife just pickled her first pickles and they were great! I think I would love these also. Of course, I also love orange.
I discovered I am badly allergic to raw carrots, which I used to love (raw carrots, I mean). Is that weird? Do you think pickled carrots could kill me?
@Isabelle, I’m NOT a doctor or allergist, so please don’t take this as gospel, but you pose an interesting question. It sounds like you have an oral allergy – many people also have this problem with apples, pears, peaches, and melons. According to Allergy Associates of Utah, “Usually, if the fruit or vegetable has been cooked or processed (making tomatoes into salsa, or cucumbers into pickles), they will not cause a reaction in people with OAS, or will cause a milder reaction than fresh fruits and vegetables.”
However, DON’T test this pickle hypothesis out without checking with your allergist first! They can test you very easily and painlessly and will keep you from going into anaphylactic shock. Though I think pickled carrots are absolutely delicious, they’re definitely not worth dying over.
These look absolutely fantastic and I must say, “I even tried to turn myself orange long before Snooki brought her A-game to the self-tanning booth.” made my morning! :)
HMM, I don’t know if my husband would even eat carrots if they were pickled.
You know, these might also make a fun gift. They look really good.
Merr, I would never turn down a gift of pickled carrots (especially with an orange or green gingham ribbon around the jar). In fact, I might gift my tummy with a few as a snack tonight.
I love your crazy carrots!