Pickled Carrots

Pickled Carrots are a great colorful addition to any dinner table. I love the cinnamon flavor with the carrots in this pickling recipe.

Use a crinkle cutter for a fun look to your jars.

I like the pampered chef crinkle cutter because it is rounded and you can roll it to slice your foods.

Presentation means a lot you know. Put these in a gift basket with other pickled vegetables for a pickle lover.

Pickled Carrots can be processed safely in a Water Bath Canner
This yields about 6 pints.

Prepare

Gather your canning supplies

water bath canner
canning jars
canning seals and rings
jar lifter
canning funnel
large pot
bowls
large spoons
sharp knife
crinkle cutter is optional
towels and dish cloths
ladle

Ingredients

About 5 1/2 pounds carrots
5 1/2 cups vinegar
1 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 tsp canning salt
2 T Mixed Pickling Spices
2 sticks cinnamon

Start by preparing jars,and get water in your canner heating. (see Water Bath Canning for full directions)

Procedure

Peel carrots if desired. I grow my own carrots so I just scrub them good. I have a micro fiber cloth that has a scrubby type of material on one side.

I must warn here that all official directions I find say to peel carrots. None of them mention just scrubbing without peeling. (official meaning from state extension services) I can not find a safety reason listed. I suspect that it is because it is a root crop. The bacteria that can cause botulism can be found in the soil so it may be a higher risk of botulism. You'll need to make your own decision as to peeling or not.

This does a good job of getting the carrots clean. If you are purchasing the carrots and are concerned about pesticides go ahead and just peel them.

Cut carrots to desired size. Small carrots may be left whole. Using a crinkle cutter makes your jars look very professional. Just for fun.

cutting carrots with crinkle cutter

You may also make pickled carrots in rounds if you prefer. I like the sticks.

Combine sugar, water, vinegar, and salt. I prefer doing this in a tea kettle. It makes it super easy to pour into my jars.

Tie pickling spices in a cheesecloth bag and place in vinegar water solution. Add cinnamon sticks.

You might notice in this picture I don't have a cheesecloth bag. Instead I use a mesh tea infuser. It works great.

pickling solution in tea kettle

Bring pickling solution to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes.

Simmer carrots until just tender. Do not over cook. You basically just want to be sure they are hot through. They will cook during processing also.

You can simmer right in the pickling solution that you will be making. I prefer to make my pickling solution in a tea kettle. THe kettle makes it easy to pour pickling solution into the jars. I just simmer the carrots in water.

filling jar with carrots for pickling

Pack carrots into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. You may need to use tongs at first. After the first jar or two the carrots are still hot but cooled enough to gingerly handle them to fit them in the jar. Try to put several in with fat ends down and then fit them in with narrow ends down.

Remove spice bag and cinnamon sticks from vinegar solution. Cover carrots with hot solution leaving 1/4 inch head space.

Wipe rims clean and place your lids. Process according to water bath canning directions. Use the times listed below.

This makes about 6 pints.