The selection of carrots is a simple matter because they keep well and are not likely to be found in a spoiled condition in the market. When small, summer carrots are purchased, they should be fresh and have their tops on. Winter carrots should be as nearly uniform in size as possible and should not be extremely large. Those which are too large in circumference are likely to have a hollow in the center. Carrots of any kind should be without the green portion sometimes found on the top near the stem, caused by exposure to the light in growing.

INFORMATION FROM 1800s COOKBOOKS

Carrots should be kept in layers of dry sand for winter use, and not be wholly cleared from the earth. They should be placed separately, with their necks upward, and be drawn out regularly as they stand, without disturbing the middle or the sides.

Unless very fresh, let carrots stand in cold water for some time before paring. When they are full grown, or late in the season, parboil them to remove the strong taste.

In preparing carrots for cooking, they should be scraped rather than peeled in order to avoid wasting any of the vegetable. They are always cooked in boiling salted water, after which they can be treated in various ways. The water in which carrots are cooked should not be thrown away as it may be used to flavor soup stock. If any carrots remain after a meal, they may be utilized in vegetable salad or soup.

CARROTS VINAIGRETTE
Cut carrots in half-inch cubes to make four cups. Cook in boiling salted water until tender, then drain. Heat one-half cup vinegar, three-fourths cup brown sugar, and one tablespoon lard to the boiling point. Add carrots and cook slowly half an hour, stirring occasionally.

CARROT PUDDING, STEAMED
Scrape and grate three large raw carrots. Make a batter of three eggs, one-half pint milk, four ounces fine wheatmeal, two tablespoons syrup, and one teaspoon cinnamon. Add the grated carrots, pour the mixture into a buttered mold, and steam the pudding for two and one-half to three hours.

CARROT SOUP
Put a piece of butter as large as a walnut and a lump of sugar into a pint of carrots, and boil until they are tender. Press through a colander and put into a pint of boiling milk, thickened with a tablespoon each of butter and flour. Dilute this with soup stock or chicken broth, and just before taking up, add the yolks of two eggs well beaten and two tablespoons of cream.

CARROT CROQUETTES
Wash six small, fine-grained carrots and boil until tender. Drain, then mash them. To each cupful, add one-half teaspoon salt and one-fourth as much pepper, the yolks of two raw eggs, a grate of nutmeg, and one level teaspoon of butter. Mix thoroughly and set away until cold. Shape into tiny croquettes, dip in slightly beaten egg, roll in fine bread crumbs, and fry in smoking-hot fat.

CARROT SOUFFLE
Mix one and one-half cups mashed, cooked carrots, one cup rich milk, one and one-half cups toasted bread crumbs, one tablespoon braised onion, one teaspoon nutmeg, and three yolks of eggs. Beat the whites of the eggs very stiff and fold into the above mixture. Put into an oiled pan, and bake in a moderate oven.*

*moderate oven – about 350-400 degrees Fahrenheit.

CARROT MARMALADE
Boil carrots with their skins on. When cooked, remove skins and put carrots through a sausage grinder. Take equal amounts by weight of sugar and carrot pulp and boil again. Flavor with sliced lemons and almond extract. Chopped nuts may also be added.

FRIED CARROTS
Clean and parboil the carrots, drain, and cut into thin slices lengthwise. Dip in egg and bread crumbs, and fry in deep fat.

BUTTERED CARROTS
Cook scraped and sliced carrots until tender in boiling salted water. Drain and put into a saucepan with two tablespoons each of butter and sugar for each two cupfuls of carrots. Stir constantly until covered with syrup and colored a little. Sprinkle with lemon-juice and serve immediately.

MASHED CARROTS
When carrots are very old, they are best mashed. Boil them for some time, then cut them up and rub them through a wire sieve. They can be pressed in a basin and made hot by being steamed. A little butter, pepper, and salt should be added to the mixture. A very pretty dish can be made by means of arranging mashed carrots with mashed turnips. They can be shaped in a basin, and with a little ingenuity can be put into red and white stripes. The effect is something like the top of a striped tent.

BROWNED CARROTS
Wash and scrape the desired number of carrots, cut into slices lengthwise, and if large-sized carrots are used, cut the slices into halves. Cook in boiling salted water until tender and then drain. Melt some fat in a frying pan, place the carrots in the hot fat, and brown first on one side and then on the other, turning the slices carefully so as not to break them. A few minutes before removing the carrots from the frying pan, sprinkle sugar over them and allow the sugar to melt. In removing them to a vegetable dish, pour over them the syrup that forms. Serve hot.

ESCALLOPED CARROTS
Take six small fine-grained carrots and two small white onions, and boil in water with just enough water to keep from burning.  Do not scrape them and the flavor will be retained. Do not cover them and the color will be preserved. When the onions are tender, remove them. When the carrots are done, scrape them and slice thin.

Put in a baking dish a layer of carrots, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add dots of butter. Proceed in this way until you have used all the carrots. Moisten with a cup of new milk into which a beaten egg has been carefully stirred, and a good pinch of salt. Spread over the top a layer of bread crumbs and bake until a nice brown.

CARROTS à la WASHINGTON
Combine one quart sliced carrots, one pint sliced onions, one-fourth cup strained tomato, one-half tablespoon browned flour, and one teaspoon salt all together in a small quantity of water. You can also add one tablespoon raw nut butter if desired. Cook until carrots are tender and well dried out. 

PRESERVED CARROTS
Scrape carrots clean, cut into small pieces, and boil with sufficient cold water to cover them. Boil until tender and put through the colander. Weigh the carrots, add white sugar pound for pound and boil five minutes. Take off the fire and cool. When cool, add the juice of two lemons and the grated rind of one, two tablespoons of brandy, and eight or ten bitter almonds* chopped fine, to one pound of carrots. Stir all in well and put in jars.

* bitter almonds were common in old recipes. Bitter almonds have a type of poison in them, so you shouldn’t eat them raw.  Maybe the alcohol and lemon juice in the recipe above neutralizes the poison.

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