Horrible Ragged Carrot Cores - What are they

busymumof3

My husband has been a veggie since the age of 18 so I have been chopping veggies for ever it seems! I have recently noticed that some carrots have a horrid jagged core inside. I normally cut lengthways and then in strips before cutting into kid size pieces. I usually discard these carrots if I find this as I am convinced it's some sort of nasty carrot lurgy. I've no evidence at all for this! I have heard of carrot fly but don't know if there is any connection.

Would be grateful if anyone else has found this and knows what it is. Or am I just mad?

jenniferpa

I think what you have here is not carrot fly (you'd have larva) but the result of uneven growing conditions (insufficient/excessive water or fertilization). I suppose there may be a virus, but I don't think so (we're talking about fractures in the core, yes?).

Unless the fracture is dirty/soggy I just use these as normal.

Jennifer

busymumof3

Hi Jennifer

Yes, if it were to come out whole it would not be unlike dog's teeth for want of a better description. Definitely not larva like - eek

thriftlady_2

I've had this too,my kids love it when the core of the carrot comes away like this.They seem to taste fine.I assumed it was something to do with the age of the carrots.We've not come to any harm yet

PoshPaws_3

My Mum always said it occurred when the carrots were coming to the end of their growing season and the farmers were lifting the ones that had been in the ground the longest. "Old and hoary" was her description - and I think she meant the carrots, not the farmers. :laugh:

Parsnips do the same thing - we've stopped buying them because the core is too fibrous and woody. Even the frozen parsnips ready to roast are in the same condition.

There's certainly no reason, other than preference, to throw them away - they're still a carrot, just an OAP of a carrot instead of a young voluptuous bunny-tempting version!

kittiwoz

Aren't they sort of ofshoots that allow the exchange of water and nutrients deeper into the flesh of the carrot? Xylem and phloem? Sort of the equivalent of our smaller blood vessels branching off from the more major veins and arteries.