Sweet & Smoky Roasted Carrots Recipe on Food52 (2024)

FAQs

Why are my roasted carrots tough? ›

Undercook them, and the texture is tough and dense. Overcook them, and they're dry and wrinkled. The secret is to soften the carrots slightly by boiling them briefly before roasting. The texture will be firm-tender with just the right amount of caramelization on the outside.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then add the carrots and parsnips and toss to coat in the oil. Add the thyme, cinnamon, star anise and some seasoning. Cook over a medium heat for 15-20 minutes, turning the vegetables frequently, until golden brown and almost cooked through.

Roasting really brings out carrots' best qualities. To make them, just toss carrots with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake until they're golden on the edges and tender throughout.

Parboiling skin-on carrots and parsnips lets you soften them without them losing too much moisture. Follow up by browning in a 375°F (190°C) oven for about 40 minutes.

Tasters unanimously preferred the peel-free carrots in the glazed and roasted samples. In both cases, the skins on the unpeeled carrots became wrinkled, tough, and gritty. Their flavor was “again earthier, but not in a good way” and they weren't particularly appealing looking.

Cooking carrots also forms lipid droplets, which contain many of the flavour compounds, according to Mike Gordon, professor of food and nutritional sciences at the University of Reading: "As they move from cells into intercellular spaces, this could increase the flavour intensity." On the other hand, the "slightly ...

You don't want to soak them, you want to cook them. The prep and method of cooking will determine how long it will take to soften the carrots. Quickest: slice and boil in salted water; done in a few minutes. Best tasting: clean carrots, toss in oil and a little bit of salt.

Method. Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Toss your carrots with a good lug of olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the garlic cloves. Place in a roasting tray or earthenware dish, cover tightly with tinfoil and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until just tender.

Are roasted carrots still healthy? ›

Your body has an easier time absorbing the carotenoids in carrots if you eat them cooked rather than raw. Cooking breaks down the vegetable's cell walls, making its nutrients more available. Of course, how you cook them matters—boiling vegetables can leach out nutrients, so it's better to steam, sauté, or roast.

Yes, carrots are good for you, as they're chock full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that support immunity; support heart, kidney, and liver health; and provide other health benefits, making them an excellent addition to your diet. They're low-calorie and versatile snacks, too.

Great for Your Gut

Carrots have 2 grams of fiber per half-cup serving, and that's a mix of soluble fiber (in the form of pectin) and insoluble fiber. Shapiro explains that soluble fiber can slow down how quickly our stomachs empty, which increases feelings of fullness after meals.

The fiber in carrots (and any high-fiber vegetables, actually) acts like a natural vacuum cleaner in your gastrointestinal tract, picking up debris as it runs through your body. Carrots can also help keep gut cells healthy, supporting a decreased risk of illness and improving your health overall.

For example, carrots are said to pair exceptionally well with butter, ginger, lemon, maple syrup, orange, parsley, and sugar. Other ingredients that are said to pair well with carrots include cinnamon, coriander, dill, lime, spearmint, olive oil, parsnips, salt, tarragon, thyme, etc.

You're Using Too Much (Or Too Little) Oil

But skimp on that oil and those vegetables will be too dry. Luckily, it's easy to find Goldilocks' just right amount. The solution: Before hitting the sheet pan, place the vegetables in a large bowl and add a tablespoon of oil.

Left to grow too long, especially to the stage of bolting to seed, any carrot will become tough, woody, and bitter tasting. However, this problem is made worse by inconsistent watering with periods of dryness.

Specifically, if carrots lose too much water, they tend to turn from crisp and crunchy to limp and rubbery. This moisture loss can result from the carrot tops absorbing too much water, which leaves the root dehydrated, or simply from storing them in too dry an environment.