Carrot tops - the benefits of the unusual. Carrot tops - medicinal properties and contraindications From dried tops

Who doesn’t remember the riddle from deep childhood: “A beautiful girl is sitting in a dungeon, and she let her scythe out”? And after all, every child knew what to answer! This is how carrots go with us all our lives - from the first two drops in the second month after birth to the dietary salad of the last days on Earth. It is difficult to imagine our table without carrots, and you don’t even need to imagine, because today is the time to bring the harvest of this root crop from summer cottages and vegetable gardens directly to the kitchens with bags and sacks. And open notebooks with family recipes or favorite sites where you can always find something new. And since you are here, it means that you are looking for an answer to the question of what can be done with the carrot crop so as not to lose a single gram of the crop, and all the preparations were as useful, tasty and original as possible. That's right, what's here!

The slogan known to everyone since childhood: “He who drinks carrot juice will be slim and tall,” raises a smile, but hardly anyone will deny the enormous benefits of this sunny root crop. Indispensable for the normalization of digestion and the prevention of acute respiratory viral infections, which reduces the risk of oncology and early skin aging, an excellent antiseptic, carrots contain almost all the substances our body needs. Therefore, the question “to store or not to store for the winter” is not worth it. The question is different - how to make more blanks and as diverse as possible. And don't forget to be original, of course!

We think we will deal with this today - we will try to consider and offer the most diverse and most interesting recipes for winter carrot preparations.

Preparations only from carrots

Depending on what the blanks are planned for, they are made in various ways. Carrots are convenient dried or dried, frozen or canned, so it's best to take advantage of all options based on your ability.

frozen carrots

The easiest way to keep carrots half-cooked for a long time. It is enough to wash and peel the root crops, cut into rings, cubes, straws or put on a coarse grater, and send them to the freezer in plastic bags or containers. In winter, such carrots are easy to use in the preparation of first courses, side dishes and any salads.

Dried carrots

Dried carrots are a tasty and healthy preparation. In winter, it is convenient to add it to soups and borscht, to stewed potatoes and to any cereals. There are several ways to dry carrots.

straws

For this method, the brightest root crops are selected. To properly dry carrots, root crops are washed and boiled for 10-15 minutes. Then they are peeled and cut into strips (no more than 5-7 mm thick). Dry in 1 layer in the oven at a temperature of 75ºС.

Grated on a coarse grater

Boil the washed carrots for 5 minutes, peel, grate on a coarse grater, dry in room conditions, dry in the oven, spread out in 1 layer, at a temperature of 75ºС. Depending on the duration of drying, carrots can be dried (slightly underdone) and dried. It is good not only for adding to dishes - many children (and adults) eat it with pleasure and so. Try it, very tasty)

Preserved in nature

Housewives, in whose homes spices and hot seasonings are not welcome, can prepare natural carrots, which in winter can be used to make salads or as an independent dish. It is also perfect for diet food.

In this video - how to prepare natural canned carrots for the winter

salty

Salted carrots retain most of the nutrients and vitamins. Like all other pickled vegetables, it is used in vinaigrettes and salads, in hot dishes and soups. Best for salting table varieties("Nantes", "Moscow winter", "Gribovchanin F1") juicy orange color, with a small core. Carrots are salted both in unpeeled and peeled form.

You can find a large assortment of different varieties of carrots in our catalog, which combines the offers of various garden online stores. .

Reading 6 min. Views 1.3k. Published on 06.03.2018

There are many different ways to harvest tomatoes for the winter. However, not every housewife knows that you can cook a delicious snack using carrot tops, including tomatoes with carrot tops. This type of preparation for the winter has a unique taste and is quite simple to prepare.

Useful and medicinal properties of carrot tops

Carrot leaves are widely used not only in cooking, but also in providing medicinal qualities to the human body.

Carrot tops contain the chlorophyll component, the action of which is aimed at eliminating the inflammatory process.

In addition, the composition of carrot leaves contains a large amount of furocoumarin, which, when ingested, has an effect aimed at eliminating and reducing the occurrence of tumors of various origins.

In addition, the tops have the following beneficial qualities on the human body:

Blood Purification
Reduces the number of internal inflammatory formations
Boosts immunity to eliminate germs and viruses
Improves the process of blood clotting
Helps strengthen blood vessels
Prevents blood clots from forming in blood vessels
Normalizes blood pressure
Removes bad cholesterol

In addition to qualities that improve the functioning of internal organs, the tops have a large number of various vitamins and minerals, including zinc, selenium, vitamin C. A large number of these elements have a positive effect on potency in men and increase sexual desire.

The tops of carrots are also widely used to treat various problems on the surface of the skin, namely:

As a component of an ointment for burns, frostbite
Pressure sores and ulcers
From hemorrhoids
To eliminate diseases of the female reproductive system

Note! In addition to medicinal use, this type of product is used for cosmetic purposes for the preparation of various masks and lotions.

Features of preservation with carrot leaves

Each method of preservation for the winter of various kinds of blanks has its own characteristics, which make the taste of the product unique, unlike the others.

Canning with the addition of carrot tops also has a number of advantages that you need to familiarize yourself with before starting conservation:

Before use, it is recommended to sort out all the leaves of the carrot and eliminate the damaged ones, as well as check for the presence of bugs.
Rinse the greens only with salty cold water. To do this, lower the leaves into the water for 15 minutes.
Be sure to rinse the greens with running water after salt water
Dry the tops on a paper towel.

Note! The most vivid taste appears in the workpiece after it has stood for several months in the basement, it is after this that the vegetables will receive all the necessary shades of taste.

Tomatoes with carrot tops - recipes

In winter, it is very useful to have blanks, which caring housewives worry about even in the summer and autumn. One of these preparations are various recipes for tomatoes with the addition of carrot tops.

Prescription without sterilization

Prepare glass containers, liter and two liter jars are best
Steam cans
Wash three kilograms of tomatoes, check for rot
At the bottom of the tanks put a clove of garlic, two bay leaves, 4 peas of allspice
Rinse a bunch of carrot tops, put 3-4 sprigs in each jar
Place tomatoes in boiling water
Drain the water into a container, bring to a boil
Add to each glass container half a tablespoon per liter of salt and granulated sugar, one tablespoon of vinegar. Pour in boiling water.

Turn the jars over, after cooling, send to a cold place.

Tomatoes with carrot tops and citric acid

For cooking you need:

Wash a three-liter jar with soda
Place bay leaf, allspice peas on the bottom of the container
5 sprigs of carrot leaves
Wash two kilograms of tomato, make punctures with a toothpick, put the vegetable in jars
Add one and a half tablespoons of salt, three tablespoons of sugar, half a tablespoon of citric acid
Pour boiling water and cover, sterilize vegetables for 20 minutes

Such preparation is not only tasty, but also useful, especially during the period of exacerbation of colds.

Tomatoes with garlic, dill and carrot tops

To prepare, you need to do the following steps:

Prepare liter jars, pour over boiling water
Wash five kilograms of tomatoes and make punctures with a toothpick
At the bottom of each jar, you need to put three cloves of garlic, a bay leaf, two sprigs of green carrots
Fold the tomatoes, put two dill umbrellas on top
Pour boiling water, then drain the liquid and bring to a boil
In each jar, add half a spoonful of salt, a spoonful of sugar, a spoonful of vinegar. Pour boiling water, roll up

Pickled tomatoes with carrot tops

For harvesting you need:

Prepare three liter jars
At the bottom lay three cloves of garlic, horseradish leaves, half hot pepper, carrot leaves in the amount of three pieces
Stack the tomatoes tightly
Put horseradish leaves on top, two bay leaves, three sprigs of carrot tops
Pour cold water and leave for half an hour, drain into a container, bring to a boil
Add 50 grams of sugar sand, 100 grams of salt per three liters.
Cool the brine to room temperature, pour over the vegetables
Put a small mustard plaster on top, close with a plastic lid

It is necessary to store this type of pickle in a cool place.

Cherry tomatoes with carrot tops

For cooking you need:

Prepare jars liter
Rinse three kilograms of cherry tomatoes, pierce with a toothpick
At the bottom of the container lies a clove of garlic
One hot pepper, cut into rings
Tomatoes, on top of vegetables, it is necessary to lay the tops of carrots in the amount of 2 pieces
Pour boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, drain the liquid, bring to a boil
In a glass container, add three tablespoons of tea salt, three teaspoons of granulated sugar, two teaspoons of vinegar
Pour boiling water, roll up

This recipe can be used to harvest cherry tomatoes with sprigs.

Note! Harvesting vegetables helps not only to diversify the menu in the winter, but also to saturate the body with a lot of vitamins. With proper observance of recipes, each housewife can prepare such interesting dishes and please others.

Recipe for assorted cucumbers and tomatoes for the winter with carrot tops. You probably know that some housewives prefer to pickle cucumbers or tomatoes with carrot tops. Now on the expanses of Internet resources you can find many recipes for how to pickle cucumbers or tomatoes with tops separately, and the composition of the ingredients is different everywhere. This recipe can be called universal, according to it you can pickle vegetables both together (assorted) and separately: either only cucumbers or tomatoes. But a special taste is obtained when different vegetables are in one jar, they harmoniously complement each other, for example, tomatoes give a delicate aftertaste to cucumbers.

For pickling assorted, you can take any cucumbers and tomatoes, but it is more convenient to preserve, and small fruits will look neater on the table, and colorful tomatoes will add even more mood to the winter season.

Required ingredients two 2-liter jars:

1 kg. cucumbers (small);
1 kg. tomatoes (small);
tops of two carrots;
2 dill umbrellas;
4 cloves of garlic;
2 bay leaves;
1 chili pepper (halved)
8 black peppercorns;
3/4 st. spoons of vinegar essence.

Marinade for 2 liters of water:

2 tbsp. tablespoons of salt (pickling);
5 st. spoons of sugar.

How to cook:

First of all, sterilize jars with metal lids in any convenient way. In the meantime, put the water to boil, two two-liter jars are enough for two liters of water.

Be sure to pre-soak cucumbers for pickling in cold water for at least an hour, otherwise they will absorb (cool down) the marinade and an air “cushion” will appear at the top, under the lid. Dry the soaked cucumbers and cut off the "butt". Just rinse the tomatoes in warm water. Wash the tops of two carrots (according to the number of cans) in warm water and shake off. Peel the garlic cloves. Split the chili pepper in half and remove the seeds. So, all the ingredients are prepared, you can collect jars.

At the bottom of the sterilized jars, put one bay leaf, dill umbrella, two cloves of garlic and one half of the pepper.
Then lay a bunch of carrot tops. Solid ponytails can be trimmed so that they do not stick out.
Next, fill the jars with prepared tomatoes and cucumbers to the top, periodically shake the jars and add more. You can put vegetables in any order.
In the meantime, the water in the pan has already boiled, pour jars with boiling water to the very top. If there is water left in the pan, drain it, it is no longer needed.
Cover the blanks with lids and leave to warm up for 10 - 13 minutes. Then pour the water into the pan, as a result, I drained just about 2 liters of water from both jars.

Add salt, sugar to the water and put the marinade to boil, as soon as it boils, boil for a couple more minutes.
Pour the jars to the top with the finished marinade, pour in one incomplete teaspoon of vinegar essence (3/4 tbsp. Divide into two jars)
Immediately roll up the blanks with lids using a seaming machine. Turn the rolls upside down to make sure they are sealed and leave to cool completely. It is not necessary to wrap pickled cucumbers with tomatoes; on the contrary, as soon as the blanks have cooled down, immediately put them in a cool cellar for further storage.

Not many people know that both tops and roots are useful in carrots, thanks to which the vegetable is deservedly called a pantry of vitamins. Most of us throw away the tops and do not even suspect what we are refusing. For example, carrot tops tea has general strengthening and healing properties.

Our grandmothers also knew about the benefits of garden carrot tops and used it to maintain beauty and health. They were aware of its beneficial properties that improve vision and have a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin, nails and hair. The chemical composition of the tops of carrots in many respects even exceeds the concentration of vitamins, micro- and macroelements contained in the root crop itself.

Due to the presence of vitamin C (several times more than in carrots), it strengthens the immune system.
The content of potassium and vitamin K - improves metabolic processes, normalizes blood pressure, prevents heart disease.
Chlorophyll is a kind of sorbent that cleanses the blood and lymph nodes of toxins.
The tiny leaves of this plant contain selenium, a powerful natural antioxidant. Among its wide spectrum of action: the ability to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, a positive effect on the state of the thyroid gland and reproductive function, and the suspension of premature aging.
Carrot greens have a weak diuretic effect, which is used to treat kidneys and get rid of edema.

The bitter taste of carrot leaves explains the presence of harmful alkaloids in it, but according to their characteristics, these substances are less toxic than, for example, caffeine. At the same time, for the use of such tea for medicinal or restorative purposes, a doctor's consultation is required.

As the leaves grow, they absorb nitrates from the soil. In this connection, contraindications for taking this greenery, in addition to individual intolerance, include pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childhood. The properties of carrot tops can adversely affect the presence of hypotension and stomach diseases.

The daily dose of the drink should not exceed 1 cup. In case of an overdose, unpleasant consequences are possible in the form of nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure.

For harvesting and eating, carrot tops must be grown in an ecologically clean area, away from roads and industrial facilities. In addition, in areas where no recent nitrogen fertilization or pesticide treatment has been carried out. It is better if it is a young carrot grown personally in your garden.

A few simple recipes

From fresh leaves

Throughout the summer, you can brew tea from freshly cut carrot tops. The ground part of this vegetable is usually quite thick. Therefore, even when the root crop is still small, you can pick 1-2 young stems without harm to the bush.

First, the leaves are sorted out, breaking off the yellowed and blackened. Then thoroughly washed and finely chopped.

Pour a teaspoon of chopped greens into the teapot, pour a glass of boiling water (250 ml) and cover with a lid. Herbal drink should be infused for 10 minutes. Then it is poured into cups. If desired, sweeten with honey or sugar.

Pre-scalding the product with boiling water or soaking in cold water will help get rid of bitterness.

From dried leaves

Harvesting raw materials for the future will make it possible to make tea from carrot tops in winter.

Brew a teaspoon of dried carrot tops with a glass of boiling water, let it brew for 10 minutes. Add honey or sugar, milk, cream to taste.

To enhance the taste, it is often mixed with black loose leaf tea.

For greater benefit, carrot tops can be used in blends with various herbs, pieces of dried berries and fruits. For example, rose hips, currants and other berries, nettle leaves.

carrot mix

The recipe includes only carrot ingredients:

Pour 2 teaspoons of dried leaves and 3 teaspoons of dried chopped carrots into a warm teapot.
Pour the mixture with a glass of boiling water.
Insist 20-30 minutes, strain. The drink is ready, pour into cups.

You can also prepare tasty and healthy tea from using it as a monocomponent or in combination with other ingredients.

Harvesting tops for future use

It is undoubtedly more useful to brew fresh carrot tops. But in the conditions of our climate, it is necessary to harvest it for the future. There are two ways to make a blank:

Drying way. Cut bunches of tops for convenience, it is desirable to divide into separate stems. Wash them well, dry them slightly, cut them and spread them out on a surface in the shade in a well-ventilated room at room temperature, leave to dry completely. Put the tea leaves prepared for the winter in a hermetically sealed glass jar or canvas bag. Store in a dark place for no more than a year.
By freezing. First, the tops need to be washed, allowed to dry (1-2 hours) and prepared in the same way as before drying. Then the raw materials are laid out in containers or bags for freezing and put in the freezer.

Carrot tops for harvesting for future use should be collected in the middle of summer at the moment of maximum concentration of useful substances in it, the main thing is to do this before the foliage begins to turn yellow.

From frozen carrot tops, you can prepare not only teas and decoctions, but also add it to soups, borscht, main dishes, salads.

Brewing tea based on carrot tops is a great opportunity to strengthen the body and get rid of many ailments. The main thing is to take into account all contraindications, listen to your body, stop taking the drink at the slightest indisposition, and not self-medicate.

The old confrontation between lovers of tops and admirers of roots is now leveled by an instructive story with sowing carrots. Once upon a time, this plant was eaten exclusively by its aerial green part and seeds. Then it turned out that in gastronomic terms, the underground part of the carrot clearly wins, and the dispute between benefit and pleasure was resolved by the victory of the latter. Perhaps this can be explained by the lack of awareness of the population in the true healing values of the parts of the carrot. But today, when science has reached unprecedented heights, and it has become clear that many times more vitamins and other useful substances are hidden in the tops of a vegetable than in the root crop itself, the situation began to change dramatically.

As unbelievable as it sounds, but carrot tops there are five thousand times more vitamins than in the orange carrot itself. The green part of the vegetable is literally saturated with the B vitamin group, retinol, that is, vitamin A, and ascorbic acid, no less known as vitamin C. It also contains more rare vitamins K, E and PP.

Solidly represented in the tops and minerals in the form of macro- and microelements:

potassium;
gland;
cobalt;
calcium;
lithium;
sodium;
phosphorus;
Selene;
aluminum;
fluorine;
sulfur;
iodine.

There are also other valuable ingredients in carrot tops in the form of coumarins, chlorophyll, essential oils, lysine, tannins and even caffeine.

Did you know? In the European Union, carrots are considered a fruit, because the Portuguese make jam from them, and according to European standards, jam is made only from fruits.

The pronounced antioxidant qualities of carrot tops are mainly due to the solid presence of the mineral selenium in them. As a result, the use of tops contributes to the optimization of the activity of the cardiovascular system, inhibition of the emerging process of early aging, and improvement of reproductive qualities. Selenium is so well represented in the tops that just a couple of stems are enough to get its daily dose.
And chlorophyll, paired with calcium, is responsible for such a valuable quality of tops as the ability to cleanse the body's circulatory system of toxins and poisons.

Potassium and vitamin K optimize the activity of the heart, successfully lower blood pressure in hypertensive patients and normalize metabolic processes.

The retinol present in carrot greens really helps to improve vision, increases its sharpness and prevents eye diseases, both among nearsighted and farsighted people.

Carrot tops should be especially in demand among those who want to lose weight. Infusions from it stimulate the digestion process, activate intestinal motility, which, with a properly structured diet, leads to weight loss.

Such a wide range of medicinal qualities of carrot tops, of course, could not be left without the attention of traditional healers. For example, the presence of phytoncides in it makes it possible to effectively use it in the form of compresses during the treatment of wounds, ulcers, frostbite and other similar problems.
The same ability of carrot tops as a mixture of its juice and honey to fight pathogenic microflora is used in the treatment of throat or stomatitis.

The antioxidant properties of this remedy, which help to cleanse the blood vessels of bad cholesterol and return their walls to flexibility and elasticity, help prevent stroke and heart attack.

A significant presence of potassium and vitamin K contributes to a decrease in blood pressure in hypertensive patients, and the presence of calcium in the remedy prevents the occurrence of osteoporosis.

One of the most valuable qualities of carrot tops is its unique ability to effectively deal with such an ancient human scourge as hemorrhoids, even in the most advanced cases and at any stage of this problem.

This remarkable quality is explained by the ability of the elements contained in greens to act in the body at the cellular level, stimulating redox processes and activating the ability of cells to recover, which leads to recovery.

These qualities of the remedy plus its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, anesthetic, analgesic properties also help to cope with problems in the gastrointestinal tract, the genitourinary system in general and in the female reproductive system in particular.

Carrot tops are also able to improve potency in men, strengthen teeth and gums in children when changing teeth, eliminate swelling, treat severe coughs, calm the nervous system after stress, eliminate insomnia, and even really help with alcohol intoxication, cleansing the liver and blood from poisons.

With diabetic problems, carrot tops can make the process of sugar absorption into the blood smoother. Containing 10 grams of sucrose per 100 grams of product, carrot greens can fully compensate for sugar in the body.
And the dietary fibers present in it, enriching the vessels with microelements that prevent the breakdown of sugars, contribute to the fact that glucose, which breaks down with the help of enzymes, does not affect blood sugar saturation in any way. As a result, everyone is fine: both the vessels, the body, and the person himself.

While the townspeople at the word "carrot" immediately imagined an orange root crop, in the villages the aerial part of this vegetable was no less widely used. And here, not only the traditional frugality of the villagers was manifested, but also the old recipes inherited from their ancestors.

For example, the once very popular botvini. In addition, carrot tops were certainly used in the manufacture of various kinds of pickles, for example, when pickling tomatoes or sauerkraut, which gave the products a spicy spicy flavor.

Today, culinary specialists use this product most actively in the preparation of salads and soups. Many housewives are happy to make fillings for pies and pancakes, vegetable cutlets and casseroles from it.

In summer, you need to cook not only sleds, but also carrot tops, more precisely, in the middle of summer, when orange root crops are pulled out of the beds. Greens should be separated from them, and it is greens. Yellowed and twisted stems are categorically not suitable for harvesting and storage.

Then the tops are thoroughly washed and laid out in a thin layer (preferably on cotton fabric) and sent for drying, which is best done in a dry and shady place.

Important! In no case should carrot greens be dried in the sun, because as a result, many useful substances can be missed in it.

It is best to store the product in a glass container or in cotton bags in a dry and dark place.

Freezing greens has become very popular recently. To do this, well-washed tops should be dried for a couple of hours, finely chopped and, placed in a container or plastic bag, sent to the freezer.

Possible harm and contraindications

Carrot tops are not able to cause any harm to a healthy person. However, if someone has temporary or permanent health problems, then there are natural contraindications that regulate the intake of this product:

first of all, this applies to persons who have an individual intolerance to the product;
people who are exposed to allergens should also be wary of this product;
it is not recommended to use tops for people who have problems with the gastrointestinal tract during an exacerbation of peptic ulcer, with increased acidity of gastric juice, with an inflammatory process in the large intestine, with ulcerative colitis and with intestinal upset;
the ability of this product to lower blood pressure is fraught with trouble for people suffering from hypotension;
people who have very sensitive skin, with tactile contact with the leaves, due to the furocoumarins present in it, can get skin irritation or even inflammation.

Important! Pregnant women are forbidden to take funds with the presence of carrot tops. Its ability to increase the tone of the uterus can lead to miscarriage or premature birth.

How to take carrot tops

There are three types of taking this remedy for the treatment and prevention of diseases.

To make tea from this product, you need to take a teaspoon of finely chopped tops for each cup of water - fresh, dry or thawed. Pour freshly boiled water into the teapot, then let the tea brew for ten minutes.
It is not recommended to drink more than three glasses of this tea a day, as it is not only a pleasant drink, but also a remedy that, if used regularly, can prevent many of the diseases listed above and even cure them. For example, such as varicose veins and hemorrhoids, or visual impairment.