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How to Buy

Carrot roots should be firm, smooth, and bright in color. A deeper orange color indicates more beta-carotene in the carrot. Avoid carrots that are excessively cracked or are limp or rubbery. If the green tops are attached, they should be brightly colored and feathery.

Preparation

Carrots should be peeled or well scrubbed before eating or cooking.

Cooking Ideas

I freely toss shredded carrots into many dishes when I want to boost the nutritional content of the food, or when I just want to get rid of some of the carrots in the vegetable bin. Macaroni and cheese? Delicious with a shredded carrot. Quiche? A shredded carrot adds color and texture. Salad? Well, that’s rather obvious, but it’s worth remembering that a recipe doesn’t have to call for a carrot to work well with one.

Roasted carrots are superior in flavor to boiled or steamed carrots, in my opinion. A drizzle of balsamic vinegar perfectly complements the sweet vegetable.

Carrot Math

1 pound carrots = 4 to 6 large carrots = 3 cups sliced or diced = 4 cups shredded

Celery Root

Also called celeriac (its French name) or knob celery, celery root just hasn’t been embraced by American cooks, probably because fresh celery is such a convenient supermarket staple. The appearance of celery root hasn’t won it any friends, either. It is brown and knobby and looks difficult to prepare. But slice away the knobby skin and you have a vegetable with the flavor of celery and the handling properties of a root vegetable, meaning it stores well in a root cellar and tastes delicious roasted or braised.

Celery root can be used instead of celery in any cooked dish, maintaining its texture in situations that would reduce a stalk of celery to a mass of strings. The classic French dish céleri rémoulade is made with shredded raw celery root tossed with a mayonnaise dressing. I find the flavor of raw celery root too strong, sort of a cross between overgrown parsley and celery, and prefer to blanch it rather than using it raw. This opinion is not shared by everyone; some food writers prefer celery root raw and don’t like it cooked. To each his own.

Storage

For short-term storage, trim off any green tops and rootlets. Store the celery root in perforated plastic bags in the refrigerator, where they will keep for several weeks. For long-term storage, store in a root cellar.

How to Buy

Choose small, firm celery roots that are heavy for their size. Avoid those with soft spots and a lot of rootlets. Large and old celery roots may be woody inside. Avoid celery root out of season; no matter how well it has been stored, it will be unpleasant in both texture and flavor.

Preparation

To prepare celery root, scrub it well, then remove the skin with a good sharp knife. You will end up with quite a bit of waste. The flesh darkens on exposure to air, so either cook it immediately or drop it into a bowl of acidulated water (1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice added to 4 cups water).

Cooking Ideas

Celery root is often used as a celery substitute to flavor soups and stews. It can also be used on its own, braised, roasted, or baked. It makes a very velvety purée. Celery root can also be eaten raw in thin slices; it has a zesty crunch. Celery root is delicious in a mix of root vegetables, mashed with potatoes, or roasted with chicken.

Celery Root Math

1 pound celery root = ½ pound usable flesh = 2 cups cubes = 1 cup purée

Parsnips

Parsnip has been eclipsed by potato as a go-to vegetable, but there is no reason to disdain it. Like the carrot, it is a root with a tendency to taste sweet; unlike the carrot, it is never eaten raw. Like most root vegetables, parsnips store well, which is both a blessing and a curse. It is a blessing because you can count on it not spoiling whether you store yours in a root cellar, in the ground under mulch, or in a refrigerator. It is a curse because supermarkets sell really, really old parsnips that have lost their flavor and don’t suggest