Carrot roots are delicious, but what about the gorgeous green carrot tops? I received a batch of fresh carrots in my CSA share this week, and I didn’t want to waste the greens.
I thought about throwing them into the blender and mixing up a batch of greens for the dogs, but then I decided to google, to discover what others online are suggesting.
Carrot greens have a very bad reputation for being poisonous to humans but they are not actually toxic. Yes, some people can have a very bad allergic reaction to them! Some can’t even brush up against carrot greens without causing a bad rash, and others have reactions when eating the greens.
But it looks like in smaller amounts, most of us can enjoy carrot greens. They can be used in similar ways as parsley or other herbs and can make a tasty addition to soups and sauces. I took a bite of a raw green the other day, and it tasted similar to a carrot. I didn’t find much bitterness, as others have complained about, but perhaps I just ate a lucky leaf! LOL
Freezing Raw Carrot Greens
I removed all the younger greens from the stalks and thoroughly washed/rinsed them. After they dried for a few minutes in a colander, I tossed them in smaller quantities in freezer bags, and stuck them all in the freezer. It will be interesting to add them to chicken soup next time!
It’s also possible to blanch them for a minute or two before freezing, but I assume that I’ll use the greens pretty quickly, before the enzymes have a chance to wreak havoc on the nutrients.
I bet it’s even a good idea to dry them in a low temp oven for a few hours and use like dried celery leaves.
Helpful Links:
http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/archive/index.php/t-964649.html
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/harvest/msg1210074232050.html
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/422562
Hi Dave….blessed with an abundance of carrot tops here and found your site. How did the freezing work out for them? I want to use them in soups in the winter so I would prefer them to be as unprocessed as possible. Did they turn black or mushy?
Hello Mimi,
No mush, no black. They worked well if i remember correctly (that was a few years back). I haven’t particularly frozen them separately but I do add them to my frozen scraps for homemade veggie stock. Never any problems.
Thanks for the insight! I have a bunch of carrot tops that I am enjoying using similar to parsley. I think I will try freezing or drying them. Any more thoughts on either would be welcome.
Thanks for the inspiration. I used to throw them away, now I am going to use them starting tomorrow God willing.