Carrots

It’s hard for me to imagine cooking without the reliable carrot—always there, never expensive, rarely bad or unusable. But carrots weren’t always orange—in old French cookbooks they’re described as pale yellow.

I always buy fresh carrots with the greens still attached instead of the ones that come wrapped in plastic bags. I can’t swear there’s a difference in taste, but certainly the carrots with tops are fresher. If you buy carrots with tops, remove them before storing.

Whatever carrots you do buy, make sure they don’t have cracks running along one side; this is a sign that they’re old. And don’t worry if the carrots are big and fat—these seem to have more flavor than the chic and expensive baby versions.