Do you have to peel carrots?

lostinrates

I don't often peel them. I understand with the pesticide concerns (brocolli, however is another one people get concerned about, the florets, and there isn't much any one can do about that).

I would sometimes peel for fancy dining, but usually, for home eating personally I don't. I'm anther who mashes potato with the skin on.

Though I don't peel parsnips I do scrape them. which, come to think of it, is what I'd be more likely to do to carrots when ''being fancy''.

Time is precious, I;d rather use it to dress/cook the carrots interestingly than peeling them.

katkins78

I may be wrong, but i have always peeled non-organic carrots because I was taught they accumulated lead (from the soil, from years of car exhaust fumes) in the skin- more so than other crops?

Dave101t

only peel them if they have a fluffy green mould on them.

sparrer

Dave101t wrote: »

only peel them if they have a fluffy green mould on them.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

sparrer

katkins78 wrote: »

I may be wrong, but i have always peeled non-organic carrots because I was taught they accumulated lead (from the soil, from years of car exhaust fumes) in the skin- more so than other crops?

Explains why I have so much trouble losing weight, I eat too many carrots

elsien

katkins78 wrote: »

I may be wrong, but i have always peeled non-organic carrots because I was taught they accumulated lead (from the soil, from years of car exhaust fumes) in the skin- more so than other crops?

Yes, you used to hear the same about picking blackberries from the side of the road due to the fumes. But as petrol's now unleaded, that's not an issue any more.

GettingItRight

sparrer wrote: »

Absolutely not, life's too short to peel a carrot . Or a parsnip or potato, unless it's for mash. And I can't believe there are people who actually peel mushrooms!

I have only recently started to peel mushrooms. Unlike carrots and other vegetables, I really enjoy peeling mushrooms every time. I am not sure why this is though.

Mojisola

purpleivy wrote: »

But most of the carrot is underground!

Farmers use translocated pesticides which are taken up by the green parts of the plant and moved around inside it. Root vegetables do tend to store pesticides just under the skin.

There are withdrawal periods between spraying and harvesting to allow the pesticide to leave the plant and most farmers do abide by these.

pigpen

I always peel carrots, I find they are bitter if not peeled.. get a decent peeler it takes seconds to do each one!

babyshoes

I don't bother, I find a good scrub with a clean dish brush (I keep a separate one for cleaning veg) works well enough for me. If there are any manky bits they get scraped with a knife or cut out while I am preparing them.