This TikTok-Approved Hack Will Save Your Bendy Carrots
For many, maintaining produce can be a challenge. It's easy to purchase too much, and it's just as easy to become uninspired when preparing to cook your vegetables. However, some veggies can be brought back from the brink of death, as long as you know some tips and tricks. Such is the case for carrots, which can be resuscitated rather easily, as TikTok users recently discovered.
TikTok is the home to 2021's best life hacks. In fact, hacks range from lifestyle to food and makeup, all of which end up going viral for their ingenuity. We just hope they all work in the end! On the food front, some users have recommended using a certain vegetable on your face on TikTok, but other TikTok hacks include tips for falling asleep fast, which we can all use nowadays.
What's interesting about carrots more so than some other vegetables is that they simply require water to last a while in your refrigerator. According to Brooklyn Farm Girl, carrots can be stored for more than a month if they're submerged in water in the refrigerator. She recommends using a plastic bag or a sealable container. Once submerged, they'll remain crisp. However, if your carrots have already become bendy, there's still something you can do to save them.
Carrots can be perked up with a water soak
Carrots are freshest and best when you first purchase them from the grocery store or farmer's market, so placing them in water as soon as you get them is your best shot at extending their shelf life. At the same time, placing your carrots in water if they've already become bendy may revive them.
This tip comes courtesy of TikTok user, Hedley & Bennett (@hedleyandbennett). In their video, they show that placing limp carrots in a jar of water and placing them back in the refrigerator can bring them back to life. They exemplify their results by showing that the revived carrots shave well with a vegetable peeler, a task that bendy carrots wouldn't be able to endure.
Carrots can also be frozen to last longer. According to Glad, just wash your carrots, chop off their tops, cut your carrots into specific shapes if you so desire, and then blanch them in boiling water. Full carrots should be blanched for 5 minutes, while cut carrots should be blanched for 2-3 minutes. Once blanched and dried, they can be frozen in a container or bag for optimal shelf life. Once thawed, they can be reheated to your liking.
Ultimately, the key to long-lasting carrots lies simply in tap water from your kitchen sink!