Vegetables
Carrots
Roast them dry and hot. Water on the tray is what stops a carrot from browning.
3 recipes on this site
Ingredient reference image: AI-generated. Recipe photography is my own.
In the kitchen
Under heat
Dry heat concentrates their sugars through browning; a wet pan just steams them and nothing caramelizes.
Against air
Peeled or cut carrots dry out at the surface within a day in open air — that chalky white bloom is dehydration, not mold.
In storage
Trim the green tops before they go in the fridge. Left on, the leaves keep pulling moisture from the root.
At the shop
Bend one gently before you buy the bag — if it snaps clean, it's fresh; if it bends without breaking, it's already going soft.
Which variety, for what
- Thin / young carrots
- Tender enough to skip peeling entirely — just scrub.
- Mature carrots
- Develop a woodier core with age, worth trimming out if it's tough enough to notice.
