Slimy carrots? Gross?

[DuhCow]

Why do carrots become slimy? I’ve had far too many bags of carrots end up so slick that I can barely handle them, even though they aren’t supposed to expire for days. Are they safe to eat?

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

Kind of an ambiguous answer here, but personally, I wouldn’t.

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Q. Once I harvest my carrots and place them in the crisper, they soon deteriorate into a slimy, foul-smelling mess.

A. This is usually associated with bacterial soft rot which enters the carrot at harvest time through cuts and breaks. Harvest your carrots before the soil temperature rises above 80 degrees F and the bacteria becomes active. To control, wash carrots thoroughly. Broken or damaged carrots should be consumed immediately. After washing, place them in a crisper and keep them at a cool temperature.

http://www.ebfarm.com/Recipes/FoodFacts/Carrots.aspx

Mini peeled carrots, sold in plastic bags, should be moist and plump, not slimy or tinged with a white bloom, which is a sign of dehydration. If this occurs during storage, simply soak the carrots in ice water for 10 minutes and they will regain their bright orange color.

http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/datastore/detailreport.cfm?usernumber=10&surveynumber=267

I have a question on carrots. Why would mechanically peeled 2" carrots turn slimy on the outside overnight? Does it need to be soaked in regular water, chlorinated water, or no water at all? (F.R.)

Answer Sliming of carrots would not be expected in such a short time frame unless (one possibility) they have been treated with a highly acidified “finishing agent” and/or been subjected to uniform contamination with high levels of certain spoilage microbes AND warm temperatures post-peeling. In order to attempt to create a short list of areas to look at first, within your operation, and enable a search for contributing factors it is essential to have more information on the temperature history of carrots from field to cooler as well as any information on the current management of water from dump flume to finished product.

Slimy Carrots: band name.

[Tastes_of_Chocolate]

I’ve found that leaving mini-carrots in their bag, unopened, drastically shortens the length of time that it takes for carrots to turn slimy. I’ve also seen that in bags where the carrots are starting to turn slimy, there is almost always a carrot that is already rotting.

Open up the bag, let the carrots dry off a little, and they will last much longer, both in the refrigerator and out.

[CC]

Almost any time that food gets slippery, you can bet that a little universe of bacteria has set up housekeeping. Certain fungi can also do that, but usually it takes a bit longer. Also, don’t eat food that makes noise or moves by itself. xo, C.

[Chronos]

Harvest your carrots before the soil temperature rises above 80 degrees F and the bacteria becomes active.

Can anyone tell me how exactly one is supposed to accomplish this? Carrots are a fall harvest. If you harvest your carrots before the temperatures hits 80, you’re just digging up carrot seeds. And this is in Montana! I would imagine that in warmer parts of the country, summer temperatures would hit even sooner. Unless you’re supposed to grow carrots only in Florida, plant them in October, and harvest in March, I can’t imagine what one is supposed to do.

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

I can’t imagine what one is supposed to do.

You plant them in February, that’s what you’re supposed to do. Carrots are a fall crop in Montana, but the website’s from Arkansas. They got different rules than Montana.

From higher up on the page:

*Although carrots can endure summer heat in Arkansas, they grow best when planted in early spring. *

Looking here they give “Feb-April” as best planting times for carrots, plus 75 days to maturity, so if you plant 'em March 1, that gives you basically March-April and half of May to get 'em out of the ground before the soil heats up to 80. And according to this Arkansas gardening website, you can flat-out plant them in February, so if you plant them February 15, that gives you till May 1 to get 'em out of the ground. No sweat.