rubbery carrots

[Urban Ayisha]

i picked some of my carrots on friday and by the next day they were 'orrible and rubbery! is this cos ive left them in the ground too long? i take it carrots cannot jsut be left in the ground until needed like potatoes. or is something else asunder.... thanks in advance! x

[Millymollymandy]

They go rubbery when they are young and they are OUT of the ground! Best to pick them and eat them the same day, or alternatively store in the fridge in a plastic bag, but then you need to watch out for condensation. Young ones don't have the fridge storage life of older ones.

Yes you can leave carrots in the ground as long as you want, but they will carry on growing!

[snapdragon]

rubbery ones I generally plunge in cold water for a while and they often perk up


have no idea on storage - most of my veg have fed the slug and snail population

[grahamhobbs]

Any know when you should pick carrots ie. when are they at their best. I am often dissapointed in our carrots, sometimes I think the shop ones seem 'fresher' than the ones I've just pulled out of the soil and certainly they don't seem to last, once lifted, like the shop ones - this of course might be the varieties being used - but I would like to know how you tell when to pick them for maximum freshness and flavour.

[Urban Ayisha]

yeah how do u tell? its not obvious like other veg is it? asked a couple of people at the lottie the other day and they said rubberiness was due to lack of water, then did a bit of research and am now storing them in a tupperware box with lid filled with water in the fridge and they have firmed up beautifully!

[Millymollymandy]

I disagree about the rubberiness and lack of water as my carrots always lacked water in the veg patch and were never rubbery!

You can tell when they are big enough to pull up because they usually show the tops of the carrot root above the soil, which often then goes green, so I earth mine up. As to when they taste best, I don't really know. You can eat them young or wait for them to mature or do a bit of both!

[Millymollymandy]

Oops sorry you probably meant lack of water once they had been pulled - I always leave mine in a bowl of water after harvesting them until it is time to prep them for cooking.

[Urban Ayisha]

no i didnt actually but maybe thats what the folk at my lottie meant after all! keeping them in water seems to have done the trick though, and thanks for the advice re earthing up!

[Millymollymandy]

Goodo, rubbery carrots are not nice so it's good to hear they can firm up again!

[Tony Giroux]

I have a question about rubbery carrots. My wife throws them away and i think thats wasting food. Are they not still good for cooking in a stew? She says they dont taste as good. I don't think that's a reason to trash them. Opinions please....

[Millymollymandy]

I think stew or soup was made for using up rubbery old veg! I usually use our rubbery spuds for mash. I haven't done a taste test on rubbery carrots exactly but I reckon when stewed you wouldn't be able to taste any difference.