Ginger Carrots

In my yard I have two 4' x 4' "square foot" gardens, and in two of the 32 squares I planted carrots.  I like carrots, who doesn't, but the whole reason I planted them is because they're red carrots!

Who knew such a thing existed?  Delicious too!  They are a little less sweet than the typical orange carrots, and they have a more carroty flavor to them if that makes any sense.  My daughter liked them so much she at them straight out of the garden (a little dirt never hurt anybody....I hope).

After using half of them to dip in hummus, I needed to do something with the rest.  Instead of just putting them in the fridge and hoping I used them in salads or stir-frys before they went bad, I decided I would be better off turning them into Ginger Carrots!

This way they could still be used in salads and stir-frys, but now they would taste even better (because everything fermented does), be a little healthier (hello probiotics), and preserve for much longer than they would have if I left them fresh.

Most fermented ginger carrot recipes use shredded carrots, but I loved the idea of trying to replicate the sliced ginger carrots that a local sandwich shop does here in Rochester (Open Face in the South Wedge, if you have never been), and I thought leaving the carrots a little more intact would better show off that they were red carrots.  So after a good washing, I slided the larger ones lengthwise into strips and left the small ones whole.

For the brine, I used a full sour amount of 1 1/2 tbs per 2 cups water, and for the ginger I used all that I had in the fridge, which came out to a couple of tablespoons.

After about two weeks, I decided the flavor was where I wanted it and put them in the fridge.  They have a great ginger flavor, but still retain that carroty goodness and crunch that I wanted.  As far as the red color, I learned that fermenting them seems to peel it off like paint, turning the carrots the orange color of the inside while leaving the brine a rosy red.  Not what I expected but cool non the less.

After eating them on my salads every day this week, and even sharing them with my daughter who loves them even more than fresh (shes a pickle girl), I can confidently say I made the right choice with these carrots!