Candied Ginger-Lime Carrots

Author Notes

I love carrots. Each season, I grow a full packet of Kaleidoscope, Rainbow and Nantes--that's about 3,000 carrots. About half are given away to the kids I don't live with, other relatives, a few neighbors and the food bank. The rest are mine, all mine, to serve raw, boiled, steamed, stir-fried, roasted, by themselves or in soup, stew, spaghetti sauce, slaw, or cake . . .we eat something with carrots at least every other day. When my kids were really young, they'd eat carrots any and every day. . .as long as they were raw. To get them to eat cooked carrots, I did what Mary Poppins told me to do: I added a spoonful of sugar. Sometimes it'd be brown sugar, but most often I'd add maple syrup or honey and a pinch of salt and a pat of butter. And then the kids got bigger and their palates bloomed, and before I knew it, they were eating cooked carrots without sugar. Every now and again, someone will ask for candied carrots, and I'm happy to oblige. - betteirene —betteirene

Test Kitchen Notes

This is a softer candied carrot than I’ve had in the past, and such a delight. This is a very quick and easy recipe and can be done at a moment’s notice. The combination of brown sugar, lime and ginger are absolutely pitch-perfect with the carrots, and I wouldn’t change a thing. Betteirene gives very careful directions, and they’re worth following to the letter to prevent any burning of the carrots. I took the option of adding some thyme at the end and feel that it offered some great contrast – both in texture and flavor. I highly recommend this recipe; I’ll be making these for a long time to come! —The Editors