I was able to use the whey that I made yesterday to make ginger carrots today! What are ginger carrots, you say? Well they are the very first fermented vegetable that I ever made! And they are very good… mild sweet tangy flavor that complement many dishes. The carrots are meant to be used as a condiment of sorts (like sauerkraut), and contain a lot of beneficial bacteria that aids in digestion. That is why these are great to eat with meat. I have even made a quick snack of ginger carrots and a piece of cheese and maybe a cracker or two… tasty! The ultimate ‘fast’ food!
Ginger Carrots
Rating: 2 forks (key)
I thought this would only be a one fork rating (me) but Zoie liked them too, cool!!
Difficulty:
Easy
Page in NT: 95
Yield:
1 quart
Ingredients:
4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed (grate these fresh, from REAL carrots, not the little carved ‘baby’ ones)
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger [TNC: please note that it says 1 Tablespoon in NT]
2 teaspoons sea salt (not iodized) [TNC: please note that it says 1 Tablespoon in NT]
4 T Whey – this is optional, omit and use TWICE the salt (4 teaspoons) if you don’t want to use whey
Preparation:
In a bowl, mix all ingredients and pound with a wooden pounder or a meat hammer to release juices. Place in a quart-sized, wide mouth mason jar and press down firmly with a pounder or meat hammer until juices cover the carrots. The top of the carrots should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.
Photo courtesy of color line on Flickr
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
I really like this recipe -so easy too! The only thing I’ll do differently for my next batch is use a little less ginger, I found it a bit too strong…
Looks easy…and delicious. I think half the fun is going to be making the whey
hey Mike! nice to see you on here! Yes it is so easy, I just love recipes like that! Let us know how it goes…
This recipe is really yummy on roast chicken and goes well with Asian stir-fries, too. I even sprinkle it on salads. I go through lots of ginger carrots!
So, how do I make whey? E
Is there a trick to packing down the carrot/ginger mix? I am having a heck of a time to get it to stay packed at the bottom of the jar. Every time I pull the tool out from packing it, all the carrots come back to the top of the liquid
Hi Briana… are you adding water? Usually my carrots don’t have a ton of liquid in them. Are you using the big, regular carrots or the baby carrots to make the recipe? I have noticed that some carrots are packaged with some water or soaked in it, so that could be causing the problem. I’m sure someone on here has had the same problem though…
No, not adding water. Just using the juice that comes from the carrots after they are pounded. The carrots are local and organic and the large size. I did talk to AnnMarie and she had told me to use another jar that fit inside and held the carrots down under the liquid. I did that and it seemed to work after that. There was a nice bubbly transition going on that wasn’t happening when the carrots were at the top. I did find that the ginger was far too overpowering. They were almost sour when they were all said and done. We will probably end up throwing these away as none of the family (myself included) want to eat them. Any suggestions would be gratefully welcome.
Briana, thanks for writing another comment and giving an update. I’ve been thinking about your problem. I think I’m having the same problem with my ginger carrots!! They were good at first, but now they have an off taste. I think I know why. I’m not sure how you prepared your ginger, but I grated mine with a very fine grater. It was more like the consistency of garlic when you put it through a press. Maybe the tiny pieces of ginger ferment too much with time, and produce alcohol? I remember reading about this with the beet kvass. Sally said not to grate the beets in that recipe but cut them into chunks so that the beets didn’t produce alcohol, which is the wrong kind of fermentation. So I think I will make these again, but will maybe put in less ginger and cut into small pieces, more like chopped garlic. Or maybe it’s the grated carrot causing the fermentation problem. Maybe I will try to do ginger carrot sticks. If you figure it out let me know! It sounds like you’re getting great carrots so that definitely isn’t the problem.
I always add a little water to my carrots and even sauerkraut after packing them. I find that otherwise I get an off flavor because the veggies don’t stay covered. Plus, I like the extra brine!
Our local raw milk supplier sent us the link to your blog. I love it! Thanks for doing this; it’s very inspiring.
I really like the clever titles to your posts also.
I’ve had a batch of these sitting in the fridge for a while and I threw a bunch in with some arugula and parmesean cheese to make an omelette this morning. The sweet tart carrots were AWESOME in an omelette!
Hi
i love reading your blog! I am new to the NT way and just received my book in the mail this week after spending many hours reading online articles such as yours. I have been eating my ginger carrots the last two days and was wondering if it is possible to make them using less salt or if this amont of salt is necessary for the fermentation to occur? Also, how do you know if your fermentated vegetable recipes have produced the correct type of probiotics as opposed to other bacteria, as it all tastes kind of weird to begin with!! Thanks for you help and support through your website!
I just tried my first batch… not too impressed. Not sweet, more salty! Perhaps the type of salt is important?? I used Real Salt. I also used a ginger grater (ginger turns to mush). Any thoughts?
Hi, I would like to make this recipe. However, I don’t have any mason jars nor access to any. They don’t sell them in the country that I live in. I do have a quart sized olive jar that has been emptied and cleaned. Do you think it would work? I also could get a hold of an old honey jar that has a rubber ring at the top and clamps closed with a wire contraption on the outside.
What do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Laila… yes any jars where you could seal the lid securely in the fridge would work… I actually reuse other jars too. thanks! Kim
If you like fermenting, you gotta try this…
http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/2041-lacto-fermentation-made-easy-with-the-pickl-it-system.html
I just found your blog today, and you inspired me to make this recipe! I’ve had the Nourishing Traditions cookbook for a few months now, and though I’ve made several recipes, I knew there was something I was meaning to try and had forgotten! The cookbook is so big, sometimes I spend half an hour flipping through it, reading the margin notes and thinking, “I’ll have to remember this recipe for later.” I should get some post-it notes, but in the meantime – thanks for the reminder! I really enjoy reading your posts.
thanks Becky!! Yeah it is so big, I was amazed that it had 773 recipes! thanks for following along and glad to have you join us…
I chopped (instead of grated) the ginger and reduced the salt the second time I made this and I found it tasted much better to me. I even ate the whole batch myself which I was proud of since sometimes I’m a little too intimidated by my results. My favorite way to eat these is topping a sprouted wheat bagel with cream cheese and a generous portion of ginger carrots. Fabulous, not just tolerable but really good!
When we went WAPF the whole idea of fermented anything was off-putting, but I started with carrots as per Sally’s recommendation and my husband went ape! LOVED them! My son and I (who were the reasons we went WAPF) thought they were just ok… then sauerkraut next I attempted and my husband went through a jar in a week! Well, 2 years later, my 12mo daughter demands the carrots if they’re in sight so we’ve gotten used to dishing it out and putting it back in the fridge otherwise that’s all she’ll eat!
I made these several months ago, and found that they started turning white from the top of the batch down into the jar. I don’t know if there is something wrong with them, or if they have just dried out. (At first, the liquid was covering them, but then it disappeared, and the jar was tightly sealed.) Have you ever experienced this? Do you think they are safe to try as long as they don’t smell bad? In the book, Sally said you’d know if they were bad. Thanks for your input!
If there’s any doubt at all, I wouldn’t use it. But if you find the white stuff early you can lift it off and use it. If the water is low, just add a bit more to cover and make sure they’re pressed down. It won’t hurt to add a bit of water as you use it and should prevent some of the white stuff from happening…
I just learned about Nourishing Traditions yesterday.
Am draining yogurt as we speak.
When the recipe says carrots must be one inch from the top of the jar does that mean the juice and/or carrots 1 inch from the top?
I just retired and am excited about trying these recipes.
Thanks,
Joan
Hi Joan… welcome! This means that the juice should be 1 inch from the top. You’ll need a bit of air space in case there’s some expansion…
Hello! i tried these a while back but they were WAY too salty and WAY too ginger-y. I still have them in my fridge, cause I can’t bear to toss them…going to try them again, then toss if still not good. (I made the apricot butter from NT and it has mellowed over time, to a nice smooth flavor) I will definitely try according to your adjustments. Thanks!!
Do you peel the carrots before grating them?
Hey Jeff! I was just looking for that answer too and this is the reply I found on another site:
Hi there. Good question! If the carrots are organic, I typically leave the skins on. I scrub the carrots with my veggie brush first, just to get most of the dirt off, but if there’s a little on there, it’s not going to hurt. It might actually help!
Great blog! I’m starting out with the NT recipes, and it will inspire me.
I just tried the Ginger-carrot fermentation recipe from the book, and it failed. I just opened the jar, and it’s all gooey. It doesn’t smell terrible, but not so good. So I guess I’ll have to throw it out… I wonder what went wrong?!!
I’ll try your adjustments. Thanks a lot.
Hi Everybody!
I’m having the same problem a few others have had: my ginger-carrots turned out WAY too salty. I made Kim Chee (with the same proportion of salt) the same day and it turned out fine, so I’m wondering what’s up! I think my carrots weren’t very sweet this time (but I’m also wondering if I can halve the salt in the recipe).
Thoughts?
you definitely can halve the salt in the recipe and have good results. Did you pack the carrots down pretty firm when measuring? This recipe does better when they are packed. But yes you are right the sweetness of your carrots will affect how salty it tastes for sure.
I’ve just made this recipe and had plenty of juice for my carrots. I’ve even thought about removing some of it.
The trick is going to be leaving it for 3 days to get fermenting.
Gavin
My new favorite lunch is a generous scoop of ginger carrots inside half an avocado. So so good!