SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS
A colorful and delicious preserve that’s very easy to make, prepared with a humble yet excellent ingredient: SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS, a dinner saver when you don’t know what side dish to pair with your meals due to lack of time or vegetables in the fridge.
Moreover, you can make this preserve any time of the year, although with carrots during the summer, which is their season, it will be even tastier, perfect to add to vegetable salads, pasta, or rice salads, ideal to pair with a platter of cold cuts and cheese or as an accompaniment to meat or fish dishes.
Preparing the recipe for SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS is very simple, and you’ll only need a few basic ingredients that you likely already have at home: carrots, oil, white wine vinegar, salt, sugar, and a few herbs.
To make them, simply clean the carrots, cut them into slices, scald them for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then season them in acidulated water with white wine vinegar, sugar, and a pinch of salt, and after just 2 minutes transfer them into sterilized glass jars with some herbs. Once fully covered with the cooking liquid and sealed, all you have to do is pasteurize the jars in a pot with cold water.
Practical, quick, and economical, these SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS are a simple and delicious preserve, perfect also to flavor bruschetta and canapés. You’ll appreciate how the sweetness of the carrots is perfectly balanced by the pungent and aromatic taste of the vinegar, and if you prefer, for a spicy note, you can add some fresh chili pepper.
Now all that remains is to find out how to prepare this SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS preserve with me, following the steps and tips. If you love carrot recipes, also check out:

Difficulty: Very easy
Cost: Very economical
Preparation time: 10 Minutes
Portions: 2 jars
Cooking methods: Stovetop
Cuisine: Italian

172.15 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 172.15 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 4.45 (g) of which sugars 2.56 (g)
Proteins 0.48 (g)
Fat 17.59 (g) of which saturated 2.51 (g)of which unsaturated 0.05 (g)
Fibers 1.07 (g)
Sodium 98.59 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 50 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

21.16 oz carrots (or baby carrots)
1.27 cups apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sugar
1.27 cups extra virgin olive oil
0.53 tsp fine salt
herbs (parsley, thyme, or marjoram)
1 clove garlic (optional)

Tools

2 Jars
Pot
Pan
Pot

PROCEDURE

BEFORE STARTING
To successfully make the recipe for SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS in a jar, don’t forget to correctly perform the vacuum sealing procedure and previously sanitize lids and jars. If you have doubts, read the GUIDELINES indicated by the Ministry of Health on food safety (link HERE) so you can enjoy the preserve in complete safety.

First, peel the carrots and wash them under running water, remove the tip, and cut them into not too thin slices. Bring water to a boil in a small pot, then blanch the carrots for 1 minute. Drain them and immediately immerse in ice water to preserve the color (only 3 minutes needed).
Pour oil, vinegar, sugar, and salt into a pan and bring to a boil, then add the carrots and let them flavor for about 2 minutes. Do not exceed the time; otherwise, they may burn and/or become mushy; they should remain crunchy to the bite. Transfer them with a slotted spoon into a colander to drain and cool.
At this point, you can transfer the carrots into the jars you previously sanitized. Do it gently so as not to break them and not press them too much. Add herbs (thyme, marjoram, parsley) or sliced garlic to taste. Pour the cooking liquid over the carrots up to about 1 cm from the rim of the jar. Wait for the liquid to settle and top off if necessary. Seal the jars tightly with the lid.
Now that you have sealed the jars, place them inside a pot and pour enough cold water until they are completely covered. Bring to a boil, and from that moment, count another 15 – 20 minutes. At the end, drain the jar, dry it, and let it cool. This way, a vacuum should be created. If you use jars with screw lids, to ensure the vacuum has been successfully created, after pasteurizing, press with a finger in the center of the lid: if it doesn’t make the typical click-clack sound and remains slightly concave in the center, it means the air has been expelled and the process has been executed correctly.

STORAGE

Once sealed and pasteurized, SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS can be stored in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months. Once opened, you can store the carrots in oil in the fridge for up to 3 days. Always ensure they are completely covered with extra virgin olive oil.

VARIATIONS AND TIPS

CARROTS: To prepare sweet and sour carrots, use fresh carrots, as less fresh or soft ones will compromise the final result of the recipe. Instead of carrots, you can also prepare other vegetables like green beans or zucchini using the same procedure, although they will have different cooking times.

VINEGAR: For this preparation, I recommend using a delicate vinegar such as apple cider vinegar or at most white wine vinegar; red wine or, worse, balsamic vinegar would ruin the preparation.

OIL: For any oil-based preserve, I recommend, even though it costs more, using only extra virgin olive oil and avoiding seed oil, as it would leave an unpleasant aftertaste on your vegetables.

HOW TO STERILIZE JARS BEFORE USE

If you don’t have new jars available, you can easily reuse the ones you already have, but the lid must be new to ensure perfect pasteurization. To sterilize “old” jars, simply put them in a pot completely immersed in cold water and bring them to a boil. From this point, they should boil for at least 20 minutes. Once ready, you can wait for the water to cool before removing them or, being careful, take them out using a pot holder or tongs and let them dry on a clean cloth.

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SWEET AND SOUR CARROTS