Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Quest for Carrots A Great Bargain! Day 2 – Julienne


When I opened my 25-pound bag of carrots, I learned why they are substantially lower in price. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these carrots.  They simply are what might be considered ‘seconds’. 

 The ones we buy in one-pound bags in the produce department are graded. They are standardized in size in thickness and length.  Ideally, they are without blemish.   

  • Economy tip - The commercial market has trained the American public to expect this type of standardization. Many people today assume that there is something wrong with less than aesthetically perfect produce. Clearly, we pay three times the price for such standardization.  It’s merely a device to charge us more for what we eat.
Out of that entire bag, I only found three or four split or damaged carrots.

Sort by Size

First thing in the morning, I decided to grade the carrots myself.  My goal was to use these carrots in as many ways as possible.   I wanted carrots for a variety of uses:
  • Julienne strips
  • Slices
  • Puree
Ready to Julienne

I took the biggest and fattest carrots to make my julienne strips. 


After scrubbing them, I cut off the tips and top ends. 

  • Economy tip - These scraps went to my friend Barbara, who raises rabbits.  She informs me that her bunnies were thrilled! It’s a nice trade. Occasionally, they share their harvested rabbits with us.
 
Next, I cut the thickest ends to fit my julienne machine.


I’ve played with a variety of julienne and slicing machines. But this gadget is very strong and went through those carrots slick as a whistle.  In less than fifteen minutes, I had a huge batch of carrot sticks for dehydrating.

The full sized pieces went into the dehydrator. I ended up with four racks of carrot sticks.


Since carrots are not rectangular in shape, the edges and ends are not standardized.  I decided to set aside the slivers for the puree pot.

12/6/16 Julienne carrots

 Four Racks of Julienne Carrots

  •  These are hard and leathery
What to do with dehydrated Julienne Carrot Sticks:
  • munch as a snack
  • soak in your favorite pickle juice for several days in the fridge to rehydrate

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