2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup green pistachios
2 cups carrot juice
2 cups sugar
one table spoon flour

Combine the milk and sugar and set to boil in a deep pan. Ladle half a cup of the milk into a cup while not yet warm, and dissolve the flour in it. Add the dissolved flour mixture to the pan. The flour will thicken the milk and is a good substitute for eggs. (Eggs in ice cream raise the problems of salmonella from undercooking and an eggy smell. Furthermore, some people don't eat eggs. So, flour is a great substitute. Cornflour may be used, but I find that regular flour works better.) Stir the milk a few times with a spoon. Chop the pistachios and add to the milk. While chopping, some pieces may crumble to a powder. That is good. The powdered nuts will only make the icecream thicker. Add the heavy cream and boil some more. Over all, the milk should be boiled for about 35 minutes. Switch off the flame. Allow milk mixture to cool. Add cold carrot juice and place the entire mixture in the refrigerator to cool.

After it is cooled, pour into the ice cream container and make ice cream as per instructions of your ice cream machine. When ice cream is ready, spoon into a plastic tub and place in freezer for about 15 minutes to firm up some more. Serve scoops in bowls, garnished with additional pistachios if you wish.

Optional ingredients: The icecream can be made more interesting by adding half a tea spoon of saffron strands to the milk mixture at the same time that you add the chopped pistachios. Also, by adding powdered cardomom powder to the milk at the beginning of the recipe. Golden raisins are also optional--may be added into the ice cream machine, or boiled in the milk, depending on your preference.

Now that summer is around the corner, this is a great time to try out this recipe. The carrot juice and milk are very healthy--for children and seniors in particular. Carrots are indeed a dessert food, as fans of carrot cake know well. The creamy orange colour of this dessert is most attractive.

Make Carrot Juice

1. Wash fresh, whole carrots. Trim off the ends. 2. Following instructions for your model, push carrots through juicer, catching juice in cup as directed. 3. Clean pulp from strainer as you go along, if necessary. 4. Drink juice immediately or within a few days. Carrot juice does not keep for long and tastes best when fresh.

Best carrot for juicing or eating raw? - almost any but a variety called Neptun is an excellent long season 'Flakee' type carrot with large conical roots up to 12in/30cm long, with an intense orange colour and are particularly sweet for their type.

Preparing Carrots for Juicing. Wash carrots thoroughly in cold water, using a stiff vegetable brush. Scrape lightly, but do not peel, as valuable vitamins and minerals lies close to the surface. The juice should be taken immediately it is made, if at all possible. If not, let the juice flow directly into glass jars which should then be covered with screw-on lids. After pouring the quantity to be used immediately, keep the remaining juice tightly covered, in the refrigerator to prevent loss of vitamin and mineral content through oxidation.

Carrot juice blends with practically all other juices. It is a delicious nourishing beverage for all members of the family at all times and it should be an important part of the diet in cases of illness. One pound of carrots will make approximately six to eight ounces of carrot juice. The large, firm, dark-yellow carrots should be selected for juicing, rather than the light-yellow ones, because of their greater carotene content.

Black Carrot has been planted in Turkey for over a century and is juiced  for fresh drinking and manufacturing a local sharp summer drink called "Salgam". Tameks Tarim is the Turkish producer and their site is www.tameks.com.

Tips

It is not necessary to peel the carrots, but if they are not organic, you may wish to.
Try running an inch or so of ginger root through the juicer with the carrots for a zesty variation.
Yes, you can freeze carrot juice, but:
1. It will be very thin and separated when thawed (so you can use it for cooking, for an ingredient in salad dressing, etc, but not so great for drinking)
2. It may pick up flavours in the freezer, so be certain to wrap it very tightly.
3. A small amount of nutritional value will be lost.
4. There is no need to blanche the carrots first, just make juice as normal in a juicer.
5. It should last a month, but it's never as good as fresh.

Now try Jamaican Carrot Juice - with a kick!


This carrot juice drink, made mostly on Sundays, is the crowned king of Jamaican dinner juices. This is one of the methods used to make this juice.
Ingredients:
2lbs. Carrot
1 can Condensed Milk
¼ lb Sugar
2 tablespoon nutmeg
2 tablespoon vanilla flavoring
3 cups water
Tools:
Electric Blender
Fine grain strainer
Wash the carrots to remove any dirt or foreign matter, then cut the carrots into tiny pieces, let us say 1/8 inch (please, do not measure the pieces just estimate).
Put carrots into the Electric Blender one handful at a time until the Blender is ¾ ways full, each time. Add about ½ cup of water to the carrots in the Blender. Turn the Blender switch to puree and allow carrots to process until they are ground to a pulp.
Remove pulp and place into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup water to pulp. Using your clean hand, squeeze the pulp in your palm, allowing the juice to flow through the strainer.
Put the squeezed pulp on a plate to the side. Repeat this process until all the pulp is squeezed.
Add water to the squeezed pulp that you put on a plate earlier, in a mixing bowl.
Squeeze this pulp again. Drain carrot juice into another container through the strainer so as to stop any remaining pulp from getting into the final product.
Mix in the condensed milk with the carrot juice, add sugar to taste. Add nutmeg and vanilla flavoring.
You can add more water or more ingredients if you like, to bring about the taste you desire.
Add a capful of white rum to the mixture to enhance the flavour!
 

10 Great Uses For Carrot Juice

I guess most people think of carrot juice as a health-food store item for "cranks". In fact it has been available on supermarket shelves for years. You will find cans of carrot juice where other canned fruit and vegetable juices are. And although a freshly "squeezed" glass of carrot juice made in a juicer may seem like it's better for you, the canned juice has no preservatives, no added ingredients, and every bit as much beta-carotene as the fresh stuff.

So why not give it a go and discover these inventive uses for this "wonder drug":

1.  In Breads & Muffins:

Substitute carrot juice for some or all of the liquid in a bread recipe. It works for yeast breads as well as for quick breads and muffins. The carrot juice gives the bread an incredibly rich, golden colour and a hint of sweetness

2 .In Risottos & Pilau:

Instead of cooking rice or barley or couscous in water or broth (canned broth, after all, doesn't add much to food except salt), try simmering or steeping it in carrot juice. You'll wind up with golden grains that look like they've been cooked with saffron (at a tiny, tiny fraction of the price, and a huge health benefit that saffron does not have

3. In Soups & Stews:

Don't even think about making soup with water when you can use carrot juice instead. Savoury soups and stews, minestrone, chilli, tomato, cream of carrot (naturally), winter squash, split pea, you name it--benefit from the added richness. And if you're a fan of fruit soups, you can sneak some carrot juice in there, too.

4. In Sauces:

Another place this "liquid gold" fits in: sauces. Carrot juice can be incorporated into pasta (tomato) sauce, meat or poultry gravies, and savoury cream sauces, and to thin vegetable purees to pouring consistency.

5. In Mashed Potatoes:

Add carrot juice to mashed white potatoes or sweet potatoes. The mash will look like it's dripping with butter whether you add any or not. And that goes for other mashable vegetables like turnips, parsnips or celery root.

6. In Cakes & Biscuits:

If you're baking a cake, try subbing carrot juice for half the milk in the recipe to enrich the golden-ness of a gold cake or a fruit or nut cake. Carrot juice makes a wonderful addition to chocolate cakes and brownies, too.

7 As a Poultry Glaze:

In Broiled Carrot-Glazed Chicken, brushed a sweet-tart glaze (made of carrot juice, honey, and vinegar) over chicken breasts and then broil them. Some of the same mixture is used as a sauce. You could use carrot juice as the foundation for other glazes too: for chicken, meat, or fish.

8. In Homemade Pasta:

If you go to the trouble of making pasta from scratch, you might as well use carrot juice instead water and enjoy some jazzy orange pasta. The flavour will be subtle, so don't worry about coming up with a "taste-matching" sauce. But the colour suggests some complementary ingredients: slivers of smoked salmon, winter-squash puree, a curried-chicken topping, for instance.

9. In Ice Creams & Puddings:

Use carrot juice in place of about one-third to one-half of the milk in puddings, custards, or ice creams. It works well with chocolate (the sweetness of the carrot juice complements and heightens the chocolate flavours)

10. In Drinks:

Last but not least. Add carrot juice to orange juice, tomato juice, pineapple juice, apricot nectar, beet juice. It's not just the flavours that will surprise you, but the vivid colours you can mix up. Or make a smoothie: Consider a blend of peaches, vanilla yoghurt, carrot juice, a pinch of nutmeg and a splash of almond extract. Or orange juice, carrot juice, banana yoghurt, and a few drops of vanilla...you get the idea?. (Feeling wicked? Add a splash of vodka, a squirt of grenadine and a dash of lime juice to your cupful of carrot juice and top with a mint sprig.)

1. liver, 3.5 oz, braised (10,602 µg)	6. cantaloupe, 1 cup (515 µg)
2. sweet potato, 4 oz, baked (2,487 µg)	7. apricots, dried, 10 halves (253 µg)
3. CARROT, 1 raw (2,025 µg)	8. milk, 1 cup (149 µg)
4. mango, 1 medium (805 µg)	9. egg yolk (84 µg)
5. spinach, 1/2 cup, boiled (737 µg)	10. mozzarella cheese, part skim, 1 ounce (50 µg)

Visit the Vitamin A page. Click here.

Shopping and Storage (Freezing, Microwaving, Canning, Pickling and how to dry carrots)

Purchase carrots with a smooth and firm surface. They should not look wilted. If buying carrots with their greenery, make sure the leaves are moist and bright green; the carrots should be firm and smooth. Remove carrot greenery as soon as possible because it robs the roots of moisture and vitamins. Avoid those which are dry with cracks or any that have begun to soften and wither. The best carrots are young and slender. Carrots should feel heavy, not bend at all and when grated should be quite juicy. The more orange they look, the more beta-carotene they contain.

When buying them, look for vibrantly coloured bunches of firm, well-shaped carrots with bright-green tops. If the tops are shrivelled, then you know the carrots are old. Of course, carrots are often sold with the tops removed. To judge the freshness in this case, inspect the stem end for darkening, a sure sign it's been around awhile.

Tiny baby carrots are very tender and sweeter but, because of their lack of maturity, not as flavourful as their full-grown siblings. Store carrots in a plastic bag in the refrigerator's vegetable bin. Avoid storing them near fruit, particularly apples and pears, which emit ethylene gas as they ripen that can give carrots a bitter taste and decrease the storage life of carrots and other vegetables.  Also keep away from peaches. A light rinsing is all that's necessary for young carrots and tiny baby carrots; older carrots can be peeled if necessary but remember much of the goodness is in the skin.

If carrots have become limp or dehydrated, re-crisp them in a bowl of ice water for about half an hour. The coarse core of older carrots should be removed.  Carrots which an excessive amount of new sprouts or leaves could have large or woody cores.

To store the carrots -  The trick to preserving the freshness of carrot roots is to minimize the amount of moisture they lose.

First remove the greens, since they draw away moisture from the root. Tightly seal unwashed carrots in a plastic bag in the coolest part refrigerator. Wash just before using, since the added moisture in the bag could cause spoilage. Carrots begin to go limp once exposed to air.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy freshly picked carrots is to eat them raw, or simply steam or boil them. For tender, young carrots,  just scrub them well before taking either approach. Larger carrots, can have a tough skin and have too strong a flavour.  Try to resist peeling as much of the goodness is in the skin.

Depending on how fresh your carrots are they should last a couple of weeks and probably longer. Ideally growing your own is the way to go as they are very easy with many varieties suiting patio tubs and the traditional large garden variety. This means you can simply pick all you need and leave the rest in the ground.  If you are limited on space or motivation buy the freshest you can find.

Carrots should also be stored away from apples, pears, potatoes and other fruits and vegetables that produce ethylene gas since it will cause them to become bitter.

Home Freezing - To freeze carrots they must be blanched. Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. Blanching slows or stops enzyme action which can cause loss of flavour, colour and texture. For home freezing, the best way to blanch carrots is in boiling water. Use a blancher with a basket and cover, or fit a wire basket into a large kettle with a lid. The youngest and most tender carrots freeze the best.

Use one gallon of water per pound of prepared vegetable. Using these proportions, the water should continue to boil when vegetables are lowered into the water. Put the carrots in the blanching basket and lower into vigorously boiling water. Place a lid on the blancher. Start counting blanching time as soon as the water returns to a boil. Time for whole Carrots is minimum of 5 minutes.

Keep the heat high so that water continues to boil throughout the blanching process. Select young, tender, coreless, medium length carrots. Remove tops, wash and peel. Leave small carrots whole. Cut others into thin slices, ¼-inch cubes or lengthwise strips.

Water blanch small whole carrots for 5 minutes, diced or sliced 2 minutes and lengthwise strips take 2 minutes.

Cool promptly drain and place in plastic containers, leaving ½-inch head space. Seal and freeze as soon as possible.

Microwaving - Research has shown that microwave blanching is not always an effective method, as some enzymes may not be inactivated. This could result in low-quality frozen vegetables with off-colors, off-flavours and poor texture. If blanching is done in a microwave oven, follow individual manufacturer's instructions. Microwave blanching does not save time or energy.
How to successfully microwave carrots. Here is how we do it. Take a suitable dish which has a removeable cover, we use a pirex dish and lid (which is microwave, heat proof glassware). Take about a pound of carrots (half kilo) and put them in the dish. These can be whole carrots or sliced it makes no difference. Boil some water in a kettle and pour the boiling water over the carrots to cover them, then immediately pour off the water leaving the carrots still wet and the merest hint of water in the bottom of the dish. Put the lid on then Microwave at full power for about 8 minutes. This works every time.

Canning - Canned carrots must be processed in a pressure canner. Do not can in a water bath canner. To can carrots safely follow these simple instructions;
1. Select small carrots, preferably 1 to 1 1/4 inch in diameter. Large carrots are often too fibrous. Wash, peel and rewash carrots. Slice or dice.
2. Hot Pack -- Cover carrots with water and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes. Pack into hot jars, leaving 1-inch head space. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to pints; 1 teaspoon to quarts, if desired.
3. Fill jars to 1 inch from top with boiling water.
4. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims. Adjust two piece lids and process.
5. Process in a Dial Gauge Pressure Canner at 11 pounds pressure or in a Weighted Gauge Pressure Canner at 10 pounds pressure: pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes.

Pickling - Another great way of preserving excess carrots is to pickle them. try this recipe. These pickled carrots make a wonderful condiment with curry, and add a tangy, sweet and sour note to salads.

Ingredients

8 oz. carrots, peeled and cut into match sticks about 2" long
1 tbsp. coarse salt
1 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
crushed red chili pepper flakes, to taste

Place the carrots in a bowl and toss with the salt. Allow to sit for 1 hour. Drain well.
Meanwhile, combine the vinegar, brown sugar, and chili flakes in a small saucepan. Heat over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Add the vinegar mixture to the carrots and toss well. Allow to marinate for 1-2 hours before serving, or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1-1/2 cups.

How to Dry Carrots

Carrots are incredibly easy to dry! Simply top & tail the carrots & then wash & peel. Chop the carrots into 2-4mm slices and then place on the trays of your Ezidri, making sure the pieces aren't touching. Dehydrate at 55 deg C (Snackmaker - Medium) for 10 hours.

You can also choose to grate your carrots & create your own dehydrated carrot flakes. These should take between 6 & 10 hours to dry, and should be placed on Mesh Sheets.

Carrots are 88% water so they will reduce in size considerably. You may want to condense the trays a few hours into the drying process. When ready, the carrots should be crisp to the touch with no visible signs of moisture.

Dried carrots can be used directly in recipes where they will absorb a lot of water. Another great idea is to place the dried carrot pieces into a food processor and make into a fine powder which is delicious in soups, casseroles, drinks & more. Included in this section is several recipes which make use of Carrot powder - make sure you check them out!

To store your carrot pieces, flakes or powder, place in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place.

10 excellent ways to use up Carrot pulp

1. Feed your carrot pulp to rabbits, dogs, cats, and horses, among other members of the animal kingdom.

2. Use this pulp for making healthy muesli bars for children. Children love them so much. Here is the recipe:

Soak rolled oats in the water (do not make them soggy) and add to them carrot and apple pulp. Then add chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, linen seeds, and sultanas . Add honey to taste. Mix thoroughly together and then put and flatten into a baking tray. Bake at 180-190 C until nice and dry.

3. Make Golden Macaroons - I'm sure there can be lots of variations with this recipe so I hope everyone enjoys it.
1 cup grated raw carrots, packed;1/2 cup water ;1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 cup coconut ; 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of oats
1/2 tsp salt (optional) 1 tsp vanilla
Blend dry, quick or rolled oats to make a flour. Mix well all ingredients. Let sit 10 min. firmly pack dough into a tablespoon then drop on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 325f for 30 min.

4. Mix carrot pulp in with spaghetti sauce along with the fresh onions and garlic.

5. Save the pulp and make delicious muffins with whole wheat flour and honey.

6. Carrot cake and patties. Patties can be made of half cooked brown rice, half carrot pulp, and chopped onions, garlic, and green peppers. Use an egg to bind it together, but I'm sure flour would work just as well.

7. You can also add to the apple and carrot pulp some grated horseradish for a good winter salad. If you use celeriac bulb for juicing, then that pulp is excellent with crushed garlic and makes a healthy type of mayonnaise to spread on toast.

8. Freeze the pulp in freezer bags pressing them flat so they are easy to break off a piece. This is good to drop into soups, sauces, mixes of various sorts. It works in anything.

9. Gather pulp in the refrigerator until there is plenty then dry it out. You have dried carrot pulp flakes. This keeps indefinitely. Sprinkle it on or in just about anything including on top of salad as "sprinkles." It also works well in whole grain quick breads such as muffins, pancakes, etc. Depending on what you plan to put it in, if you need moisture added, use the moist pulp either fresh or frozen. If you want it dry, as on salad, use the dehydrated.

10. If all else fails use in the compost bin. It adds moisture to the dry layer above and below it and cuts composting time significantly.

The Hallelujah Diet

Have you heard of the Baptist pastor who at the age of 42 was pastoring a large church in Glenfalls New York and was stricken with colon cancer? He heard about a different way to eat so he started on raw vegetables, fruit, barley green, distilled water and for the first couple of months 8 to 10 glasses of pure carrot juice a day. Not only did his cancer disappear but every other ailment as well. That was about 18 years ago and now Dr George Malkmus gives seminars across the US and Canada and recently in Australia. He says "Eat the Hallelujah Diet and you do not have illness". Quite a claim!

Check out the website of Hallelujah Acres for yourself. Forget the religious hype and see the diet then read the testimonies from people of all ages who have had their serious cancers, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease and other serious illnesses disappear as a result of the diet.

Polish Christmas Eve Dinner

In Polish tradition Christmas Eve is celebrated with a thirteen course dinner. One condition covers this event - there must be no meat dish. This inevitably involves the introduction of at least one carrot dish.

If you want to go the whole way with the thirteen course Christmas Eve Dinner then tradition dictates three different soups; three fish entrees; and there must be an odd number of appetizers, garnishes, accompaniments, and desserts to complete the meal.

In "The Best Of Polish Cooking" Karen West suggests:

Christmas Eve Barszcz (beetroot soup), Christmas Almond Soup, Beer Soup with Eggs; Smoked Salmon Omelettes, Poached Pike, Carp with Horseradish Sauce; Baby Carrots Polonaise, Hot Polish Chicory, Mushroom Stuffed Tomatoes; Christmas Eve Bread, Poppyseed Roll, and Fruit Compote.

However she generously admits that, "even the most diligent chef finds it difficult to incorporate all the above dishes in one meal"!

How to successfully microwave carrots.

Here is how we do it. Take a suitable dish which has a removeable cover, we use a pirex dish and lid (which is microwave, heat proof glassware). Take about a pound of carrots (half kilo) and put them in the dish.  These can be whole carrots or sliced it makes no difference. Boil some water in a kettle and pour the boiling water over the carrots to cover them, then immediately pour off the water leaving the carrots still wet and the merest hint of water in the bottom of the dish. Put the lid on then Microwave at full power for about 8 minutes. This works every time. Back to start.

Eat your Carrot Green Tops (the leaves)

There is some debate about whether you can eat the green leaves. 

Despite the presence of celery and carrots in the carrot family of Apiaceae ("umbellifers"), many other members of the family are highly poisonous, but not carrot.

They ARE edible and are highly nutritive, rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. The tops of the carrots are loaded with potassium which can make them bitter, so the use of them in food is limited. However, it is edible, so you may mix some in with a mixed lettuce salad. You may also use it for garnish. Combine your common sense and your creative skills, and invent something! That's what makes cooking fun. It is a form of art.  Carrot greens are high in vitamin K, which is lacking in the carrot itself.

The leaves do contain furocoumarins that may cause allergic contact dermatitis from the leaves, especially when wet. Later exposure to the sun may cause mild photodermatitis. (This is NOT the same as 'poisonous' - it will only affect susceptible people with allergies to the plant. Some people have the same reaction to yarrow, ragwort, chamomile etc.)

There is a distinct difference between toxins and allergens. Carrots (Daucus carota), whether wild or domesticated, are not toxic, they are allergenic. This is like peanuts, which are not toxic but can kill those who are allergic to them.
It is however  important that any wild plant be positively identified before it is used for food.

Carrot greens have antiseptic qualities, so they have been added to mouthwashes and, mixed with honey, to disinfect sores. They are also diuretic (increase urine flow), and can help treat kidney disease and edema.

Here is a suggestion. The carrot leaves are pretty, but bitter, so what about using it on something that is robust in flavour, but boring in appearance? Decorate a pate with it, and glace it with aspic.

What about a "carrot top pesto vinaigrette"? You can hide the bitterness under the tangy vinegar, and sweeten it slightly with some honey.

Try sauteeing the chopped carrot tops lightly in olive oil with garlic and onion. Then add other garden-grown veggies (the carrots themselves, zucchini, tomato, peppers, fresh herbs), sautee some more, then fold the entire garden mish-mash inside a whole wheat tortilla, brown it, and call it a quesadilla. Truly a great vegan treat, and the carrot tops gave a nice crunchy texture. It is a delightful garden feast. I recommend adding your carrot tops to other things you may already have simmering on the stove.

As a matter of interest it was Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides (c. 40-c. 90) who catalogued over 600 medicinal plant species and said that the Greeks used carrot leaves against cancerous tumours. So you could always try that too!

Carrot leaves were included in the 'potherbs' of old, but originally, of course, only Queen Anne's Lace was used (QAL is Wild Carrot). They are also an ancient source for yellow dye. (read more below)

Carrot Top Soup Recipe

6 small to medium carrots with tops and roots
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons white rice
2 large leeks, white parts only
2 thyme or lemon thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons chopped dill, parsley, or celery leaves
salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups vegetable stock, chicken stock, or water
Pull or pluck the lacy leaves of the carrot greens off their stems. You should have between 2-3 cups, loosely packed. Wash, then chop finely. Grate the carrots or, if you want a more refined-looking soup, finely chop them. Melt the butter in a soup pot. Add the carrot tops and carrots, rice, leeks, thyme, and dill. Cook for several minutes, turning everything a few times, then season with 1 1/2 teaspoons slat and add the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer until the rice is cooked, 16-18 minutes. Taste for salt, season with pepper, and serve.