Hi Phil, Thank you for including the “Moisturizer in Foods” spreadsheet! I thoroughly enjoy your informative videos. Including the technical procedures, instrumentation and results are most useful! Keep up the good work it is appreciated! Our residence, located15 acres, is located in East Tennessee (just North of the “Smoky Mountains NP.,
Thank you for the moisture chart, that's such a great idea! I have a batch of carrots going now but I blanched them for 2 minutes following a county extension chart. They were a large bag of carrots from the grocery produce area that I wanted to be sure not to waste.
Hi Phil, Thanks very much for the Moisture in Food info. This should be a great help. Just getting started with my HR and all help appreciated. Enjoying your videos!
A few comments. 1.) Broadcasting seeds and then thinning is probably going to be more overall work than just planting in rows. Takes a bit of time to have to dig around in there to make sure not to close. Rows easy to see. 2.) Washing, scrubbing, and peeling carrots is a lot of time. Why not just wash well.and be done with it? Many dirt microbes are good for you actually. Like granny used to say "a little dirt, it won't hurt". And she lived to 93. 3.) If you get a food.processor you can slice those carrots in seconds and never chop them again. Nice! Fun stuff!
I learned from a produce manager those carrots are the "baby carrots" you buy at the store. They actually are irregular carrots that get trimmed down to baby size. They get a water bath with chlorine which is why they turn white after a few months in storage. Buy the full sized organic carrots or grow your own and no chlorine bath.
Blanching carrots first is suggested so they retain their color! I’d like to know if I can chop them smaller and would I chop them smaller after I blanch the slices? What about shredding them?
You want to chop the carrots before you blanch them. I just did a load of sliced carrots that were sliced thin because I used my food processor to do the cutting. I did blanch them and when freeze dried they are too thin. They aren't going to hold up long term in the mylar bags because they are so fragile. Eventually I will turn them into carrot powder but you may want to think about how thin you really want your carrots and if you plan long term storage you may want to cut them a little thicker. My next batch which I'm preparing to do this week the slices will be much thicker for stews and soups. They will hold up better in long term storage. Carrots shredded freeze dry beautifully. So if you want to store some shredded carrots for baking don't hesitate.
Our carrots are mostly like the small ones that you thinned out, but we have tons of them. Do you have to peel them or can you just wash them good and freeze dry them? Also, can you freeze dry them while? Thanks.
From my wife: I'm sure a good scrubbing will do just fine, and may even peel them for you. They should freeze dry normally when sliced, diced, or julienned. My favorite carrot is Scarlet Nantes. They do not taper, germinate easily, and grow 12" or more.
