We had an abundant yield of multi-hued carrots from our previous experiment with companion planting. I gave a lot of them away, and still had more than I could possibly eat. Carrots like most other vegetables have a shelf life, and to preserve the vast quantity we had accrued I had to find ways to extend thier life span. Pickling and fermentation are age old methods of preservation, and I used two simple recipes for our carrots.
This recipe is simple to make and requires very few ingredients. The art of pickling is a little more complex however as it takes time for the flavour to develop. It takes some trial to find a flavour profile that tastes good and matures well. Any number of spice combinations can be used in creating a pickle you like. I decided to use ginger and garlic as they're a well known combination used in a lot of Indian food. The garlic flavour got more intense with time and had to be countered with more ginger and carrot pieces. The pickle turned out a little tangier than I'd liked but still tasted good and kept the carrots fresh months after they were pickled.
After I'd made a few sample pickles and identified the best tasting batches, I left a jar in a local shop to display what is possible and generate interest in uncommon vegetables like our purple carrots. I felt a certain measure of pride and happiness seeing our jar of pickled carrots nestled amongst the produce of other local farmers.
This recipe utiles fermentation to provide a product where the brine used to preserve
the carrots is also delicious to consume. Fermentation also has a lot of health benfits associated with it due to the probiotics in the pickle. It takes a while for the fermentation to happen depending on the climate. It can happen in a few days in warmer weather and take a couple of weeks in colder climates. Referigeration stops the fermentation process from happening but keeps the micro-organisms intact.Again, any number of combinations can be used to create a flavour profile that suits your pallette. I'd left a sack of carrots behind when I visited home and my mom turned them into this pickle using the described method.
These method kept our carrots edible for months after they were harvested.I'm still a novice at pickling and it will take a lot more practice to identify and implement the best flavour combinations. I was still happy with our initial results and will definitely be tinkering with pickles again for our next harvest.