Boas Comidas

Glossário Culinário

Carrot

Ingrediente

Origem
from Central Asia

Carrot is a bright-orange root with a mildly sweet flavor and a crunchy texture when raw. Cheap and easy to find all year, it goes from salads and juices to cakes, sautes, and stews. It brings color and natural sweetness to dishes, pairs with mild and bold seasonings, and is a constant in Brazilian home cooking.

Characteristics

The most used carrots have an elongated shape, smooth skin, and even color, a sign of freshness. Raw, they are firm and crunchy; cooked, they soften and turn even sweeter. They come in smaller versions, like baby carrots, and in other colors, like purple and yellow, less common in Brazil. Finely grated, carrot blends into dough; in rounds or cubes, it holds its shape in stews; blended, it gives color and body to doughs and creams.

Kitchen uses

Raw and grated, it goes into salads, sandwiches, and carrot farofa. Steamed or boiled, it sides meats and joins mixed vegetables and potato salad. It stars in carrot cake with chocolate topping, a party classic. In sautes, soups, and sauces, it cooks along with onion as a flavor base. Blended with orange, it makes refreshing juices. It pairs with honey, ginger, curry, cumin, parsley, scallions, and chocolate in cakes.

Substitutions

In sautes and soups, carrot can be swapped for pumpkin, which brings similar sweetness and color, or for beets in dishes that accept a more earthy flavor. In grated salads, raw chayote and cabbage add crunch, with a different flavor. In carrot cake, cooked blended pumpkin is the closest match in texture. As a saute base, extra onion and bell pepper make up for its absence.

Trivia

Brazilian carrot cake, fluffy with chocolate glaze, differs from American carrot cake, which uses spices and cream-cheese frosting. For even cooking, cut into same-size pieces. Sauting before adding water boosts sweetness in soups. Stored in the fridge in a sealed bag, it keeps well; if wilted, it still works perfectly in cakes, soups, and juices.

Recipes with carrot

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