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To prepare purple carrots, simply wash them, peel them (or scrub them well if you prefer), and cook them however you’d like.
If you’ve been wondering how to prepare purple carrots, you’ll be happy to know they’re just as easy to handle as regular orange carrots.
They can be roasted, boiled, steamed, grated raw, or blended into soups, and they bring a slightly sweeter taste and a gorgeous deep violet color to every dish they touch.
In this post, I’ll walk you through how to prepare purple carrots step by step, share the best cooking methods, and give you a few tips so they look and taste amazing every time.
Let’s get to it.
How to Prepare Purple Carrots
Learning how to prepare purple carrots is straightforward, and the process starts with a few simple steps:
1. Wash Them Thoroughly
Purple carrots grow in soil, so give them a good rinse under cool running water.
Use a vegetable brush to scrub away dirt, especially if you plan to leave the skins on.
Their color can hide bits of soil, so take an extra moment to check the crevices.
2. Peel or Scrub
When preparing purple carrots, you can either peel them or keep the skin on.
Peeling gives a smoother texture and removes any bitterness from the skin, but you’ll lose a little of the color-packed outer layer.
If the carrots are fresh and tender, simply scrubbing them is a great way to keep the nutrient-rich skin intact.
3. Trim the Ends
Slice off both the top and the tip of each purple carrot.
If the carrots came with green tops attached, cut those off about an inch from the top of the root.
Don’t toss the greens, though, because they can be used in pesto or salads.
4. Cut Them Evenly
Once the carrots are clean and trimmed, cut them into uniform pieces.
Prepare purple carrots as sticks, rounds, or chunks depending on the recipe, but make sure the sizes are similar so they cook at the same rate.
This is especially important when roasting or steaming them.
Best Ways to Cook Prepared Purple Carrots
Once you’ve washed, peeled, and cut them, how you cook your purple carrots makes a big difference:
1. Roasting Brings Out Sweetness
Roasting is one of the best ways to prepare purple carrots.
Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer.
Roast at 400°F for about 20 to 25 minutes until they’re tender and slightly caramelized at the edges.
2. Steaming Preserves Color
Steaming is a gentle cooking method that helps purple carrots keep their vivid color and nutrients.
Place the prepared purple carrots in a steamer basket over boiling water and cover them for 8 to 10 minutes.
They’re ready when you can pierce them easily with a fork.
3. Boiling and Blanching Work Quickly
Boiling works, but keep an eye on the clock because overcooking can dull the color.
Drop the carrots into boiling water for 5 to 8 minutes, then drain and serve.
Blanching for a couple of minutes is perfect if you’re prepping purple carrots for freezing or adding to stir-fries later.
4. Enjoy Them Raw
You can also prepare purple carrots raw by grating or thinly slicing them for salads and slaws.
Raw purple carrots add a crisp bite and a stunning pop of color to any plate.
Tips for Preparing Purple Carrots
Here are a few things to keep in mind when you prepare purple carrots at home:
– **Mind the staining:** The pigments in purple carrots can dye your hands, cutting boards, and dish towels, so rinse everything quickly after handling them.
– **Add acid to keep the color:** A splash of lemon juice or vinegar in the cooking water helps lock in the violet hue.
– **Avoid overcooking:** Purple carrots lose their brilliant color and turn mushy when cooked too long, so taste-test as you go.
– **Cook them separately:** If you’re mixing purple and orange carrots in one dish, cook the purple ones separately to keep their colors from bleeding together.
– **Roast low and slow:** High heat can fade the color, so roast your purple carrots a little more gently than you would orange ones.
So, How Do You Prepare Purple Carrots?
Preparing purple carrots is easy and comes down to washing, peeling or scrubbing, trimming, and cutting them into even pieces.
From there, you can roast, steam, boil, or enjoy them raw.
Now that you know how to prepare purple carrots, you can add this colorful and slightly sweet root vegetable to your weekly menu with confidence.
Happy cooking.