Carrot Tops?
 

So today at the farmers market I bought about 15 lbs of carrots with the tops on for $2. What a steal!

Anyway, I was thinking that it would be a major waste if I couldn't use those carrot tops for something.

So are they edible, have you ever eaten them? If so how do you cook them?

Thanks!

Carrot tops can be eaten like a green. Unfortunately they do not retain that elusive carrot fragrance when cooked and are stringy. You can use them like parsley raw in a salad and they do have a bit of carrot flavor. The main problem raw or cooked is that they are fibrous and do not taste as one would think. On the other hand - please do not take away my beet tops, turnip tops, etc :)

I've heard people say that carrot tops are mildly toxic (I've found this usually means they taste bad or they can cause diarrhea if you eat too much), but other people say they're fine to eat, just not very tasty.

My one experience with carrot tops was quite unpleasant (tasting, no diarrhea).

This website may explain why (it gives recipes too).

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/carrotops.html


The website said that carrot tops can be bitter because they're so high in potassium.

I know from experience and reading that some people are more sensitive to potassium than others. For example potassium chloride is a salt substitute that many people don't find bitter, it tastes pretty much like regular salt to them. Some people though are very sensitive to it, and find the taste extremely bitter and unpleasant (I'm in that category). I once used a small can (only about a cup) of low sodium tomato juice in a huge pot of soup. I didn't notice the potassium chloride in the ingredient list, and it ruined the soup. Even in a huge pot of maybe two gallons of soup, that little bit of potassium chloride was still extremely noticeable to me.

I can see why some people would think it "toxic," because it tastes not only bitter, but metallic. Apparently some people don't taste the potassium, or don't perceive it as unpleasant.

I save scraps from cutting up veggies (like insides of pepers, ends of zucchini, tops of tomatoes, peels, etc.) and stash them in my freezer. Once I have a bag full, I make my own veggie stock. I made some by putting my scraps in my crock pot and cooking it all afternoon and all night long... and then strained out the bits in the morning. It came out SO flavorful (also added lots of spices - dill, peper, etc.)

But after kaplods post, I don't know how carrot tops might affect the flavor of veggie stock? (I guess there is only one way to find out!)

Thanks for the info. I was concerned about the toxicity of them because I have always heard they were toxic. I mean we eat some things that are toxic like some spices but in the quantity we eat it is not going to hurt us. Like nutmeg for example is one of them.

No kidding! I never knew that...

Yep, nutmeg can cause hallucinations if you ingest a lot of it and many people say it has similar effects to smoking marijuana. But it can really hurt your liver so I wouldn't try it.
;)