Carrot Peel Powder

Carrot peel powder is made from well-washed carrot peelings that have been dehydrated and then ground up finely.

If you are pressure canning carrots (which requires the carrots to be peeled for safety), or dehydrating carrots (which requires them to be peeled for quality), and worry about the fibre and nutrition in the peel being wasted, then worry no more: carrot peel powder turns that waste into a kitchen treasure.

You can use it as you would a spice in cooking, or in herb and spice blends you make up, or as you would use a flavour and nutrition-enhancing powder in breads and cakes, etc.

Sample uses:

• Mirepoix Powder.

See also: Carrot powder

Yields and Equivalents

13 kg (30 lbs) well-scrubbed carrots = 16 cups fresh peel, packed = 7 Excalibur trays = 16 cups dried peel, slightly packed = 2 cups coarsely ground = 1 3/4 cups finely ground = 135 g (4.7 oz)

Directions

Use only peel from carrots that were well-scrubbed first before peeling. You don’t want to be drying dirt. Don’t include any green or manky bits that you cut out of the carrots.

You can refrigerate peel overnight in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge if you wish before drying.

Even though peel is being used from carrots that were washed, wash peel again in a clean sink or basin of water. This is just a taste quality step, to get rid of any residual dirt that may still be present. Drain well after washing.

Spread peel out on dryer trays.

Use drying times for dehydrating carrots.

When dried and cooled, store the dried peel for a few days in a sealed container to ensure there will be no condensation starting. If there is, dehydrate a bit more, as that excess moisture would affect your powder.

When are you sure that your carrot peel is safely dried, you can grind it into powder.

It’s ideal if you can grind in two steps but just one step is fine if that is all you can do or wish to do:

1. Put in food processor and grind to a coarse powder (you can stop here if you wish);
2. Take the coarse powder, and in small batches, process through an electric coffee bean mill to reduce to a fine powder. (Note: it will probably still be somewhat granular.)

Storage

Store in an air-tight jar. Label jar with name of product and date. Store away from heat and direct light.

Usage notes

No need to rehydrate first when using.

Add carrot peel powder to breads, cakes, cream cheese cake frostings, dips, pancakes, soups, etc.

Add a tablespoon of carrot peel powder to 1 cup (250 ml / 8 oz) of vegetable juice or smoothie for an extra nutrient boost.