h o w t o b u y Look fo r straight, rigid, brightly

colored carrots without cracks or dry spots. If tops

are attached, they should be green and fresh-looking.

(To order colorful baby carrots such as these, go to

diamondorganics.com

.)

h o w t o s t o r e R e m o ve g reen to p s a fte r

buying since th ey pull vitam ins and m oisture

from th e carrot; use the greens within a few

days. Refrigerate carrots in plastic bags fo r up to

tw o weeks. Avoid storing near apples, w hich em it

ethylene gas and m ake carrots bitter.

h o w t o e a t T h e leafy to p s have a strong

parsley-like flavop add to stir-fries, soups, o r salads.

Add one or tw o chopped carrots to tom ato

sauces fo r natural sweetness. Sauté small baby

varieties in butter with a bit of honey and salt.

c o l o r c l u e s T h e bold pigm ents in carrots

indicate they’re chock-full of antioxidants and

vitam ins like beta-carotene (the fam iliar orange

ones) and lycopene (less com m on reddish-purple

varieties). T here’s no difference in taste.

FRESH-PICKED

carrots

TOOLS' ' '&' ' TIPS ' FOR ' EVERYONE ' WHO ' LOVES ' TO' ' EAT

produced by M AGGIE M EYER, ERIN SIM PSO N , and M AD ISO N M AYBERRY

1 8 8 MAY 2010 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

PHOTO: ANDY LYONS