A Surprising Reason to Store Carrots
I get a newsletter from the Lindon Home Storage Center and this month these folks shared a surprising reason to store carrots. Dehydrated or freeze-dried carrots specifically.
The reason? They are a great addition to your dog’s diet. You may have known this, but it was news to me. Let me quote the Lindon Home Storage folks:
“In a world full of artificial foods, it’s nice that we can say, yes, carrots are safe for dogs to eat-and good for them too! (Even the green, leafy part that we humans skip.) According to veterinarians, carrots can be served raw, cooked, dehydrated, (in a moderate portion because drinking water after eating swells the carrots). They can even be given to your pet frozen, as long as they’re not too hard on the teeth and not a choking hazard.
“Carrots are high in vitamins and minerals. Their beta-carotene, which gives the carrot its color and is converted into vitamin A, is especially good for their eyes.”
This is a food that dogs find easy to digest, which makes it a perfect snack or as mentioned above, as an addition to their daily meal.
While the fresh version of carrots is always best, dehydrated and freeze-dried are important to have on hand because they’re so convenient. They’ll store for years, take up little space, and have almost as much nutrition as the fresh variety.
But there’s good reason to store dehydrated or freeze-dried carrots besides being great for your dog. They add color and sweetness to many dishes. You can add them to stews and soups and they make an excellent addition to your stir-fry. Actually, anyplace you’d use fresh carrots is perfect for the dehydrated or freeze-dried version (think casseroles, quick breads and muffins, pizza topping, omelets, and so on).
You can even rehydrate them without cooking them first. Just soak the amount of carrots you need in cold water until desired tenderness.
And if you want to use dehydrated carrots as a substitute for fresh carrots in dishes, simply determine what quantity of fresh carrots your dish calls for. Then use this conversion chart (from www.myspicer.com) above.
Lastly, if you already have dehydrated or freeze-dried carrots on hand, or if you’re interested in stocking up, you might like this yummy recipe as a way to use them when you’re not sharing them with your favorite pooch. I thank Lindon Home Storage for this easy-to-make cookie.
COOKIE
1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup rehydrated carrots mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
GOLDEN GLOW FROSTING
2 tablespoons butter softened
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
juice of 1 orange
zest of rind of 1 orange
Directions:
Add Recipe to Cook'n
The reason? They are a great addition to your dog’s diet. You may have known this, but it was news to me. Let me quote the Lindon Home Storage folks:
“In a world full of artificial foods, it’s nice that we can say, yes, carrots are safe for dogs to eat-and good for them too! (Even the green, leafy part that we humans skip.) According to veterinarians, carrots can be served raw, cooked, dehydrated, (in a moderate portion because drinking water after eating swells the carrots). They can even be given to your pet frozen, as long as they’re not too hard on the teeth and not a choking hazard.
“Carrots are high in vitamins and minerals. Their beta-carotene, which gives the carrot its color and is converted into vitamin A, is especially good for their eyes.”
This is a food that dogs find easy to digest, which makes it a perfect snack or as mentioned above, as an addition to their daily meal.
While the fresh version of carrots is always best, dehydrated and freeze-dried are important to have on hand because they’re so convenient. They’ll store for years, take up little space, and have almost as much nutrition as the fresh variety.
But there’s good reason to store dehydrated or freeze-dried carrots besides being great for your dog. They add color and sweetness to many dishes. You can add them to stews and soups and they make an excellent addition to your stir-fry. Actually, anyplace you’d use fresh carrots is perfect for the dehydrated or freeze-dried version (think casseroles, quick breads and muffins, pizza topping, omelets, and so on).
You can even rehydrate them without cooking them first. Just soak the amount of carrots you need in cold water until desired tenderness.
And if you want to use dehydrated carrots as a substitute for fresh carrots in dishes, simply determine what quantity of fresh carrots your dish calls for. Then use this conversion chart (from www.myspicer.com) above.
Lastly, if you already have dehydrated or freeze-dried carrots on hand, or if you’re interested in stocking up, you might like this yummy recipe as a way to use them when you’re not sharing them with your favorite pooch. I thank Lindon Home Storage for this easy-to-make cookie.
Orange-Carrot Cookie
Yield: 5 dozen coookies
Ingredients:
COOKIE
1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup rehydrated carrots mashed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
GOLDEN GLOW FROSTING
2 tablespoons butter softened
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
juice of 1 orange
zest of rind of 1 orange
Directions:
COOKIE
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add carrots, egg and vanilla; mix well.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to carrot mixture; mix well.
4. Drop batter by teaspoon-full on greased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (watch closely to avoid over-baking)
6. Frost while warm (recipe below)
FROSTING
1. In medium bowl, combine butter and sugar; blend until smooth.
2. Add orange juice and zest; mix thoroughly
1. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add carrots, egg and vanilla; mix well.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; add to carrot mixture; mix well.
4. Drop batter by teaspoon-full on greased baking sheet.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (watch closely to avoid over-baking)
6. Frost while warm (recipe below)
FROSTING
1. In medium bowl, combine butter and sugar; blend until smooth.
2. Add orange juice and zest; mix thoroughly
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
