The Secret To Making Carrots Sweeter Is Shredding Them

Nobody wants to eat bitter carrots, but can you really control that?

According to chef, Milk Street author and former "America's Test Kitchen" host, Christopher Kimball, you sure can! 

By shredding them.

"When you grate [root vegetables, like carrots]," he explains, "you break the cell walls down [and] they become very sweet. It really changes their flavor." 

Pro Tip from Chris' new book Milk Street: The New Rules: "Don't shred the carrots too finely or too coarsely. Fine shreds quickly turn limp and lack texture, but very coarse shreds are tough and unpleasant to eat. The large holes on a box grater work well, as does a food processor fitted with the medium shred disk."

Another way to amp up the flavor, Chris says, is to add whole spices — like cumin and coriander — rather than ground to your carrots.

"We took a teaspoon and a half of whole cumin and toasted it," the chef says. "Just put it in a skillet for a couple minutes [and] move it back and forth on medium-to-high heat." 

In Chris' Moroccan Carrot Salad, he also adds lemon juice, EVOO, pomegranate molasses, pistachios, olives and apricots to the shredded carrots. (Yum!)