Shredding carrots for carrot cakes, pies, and salads will be hard using a hand grater because you will need to shred large quantities of carrots.
Using a food processor, you can avoid all that time-consuming struggle. Instead, use the shredding blade provided along with your food processor to shred carrots. If you are not aware of what a shredding blade looks like, it will have small sharp perforated holes in the blade. These perforations might be circular or elongated lines along the blade.
This process is a simple and not so time-consuming process. Gather the ingredients and tools required and follow the simple steps to finish the process effortlessly.
To shred carrots, you must prep them first; learn how to prep them easily from below.
1. Choose carrots that are similar in size and shape to have an even texture. You can use baby carrots, too; some of them are peeled and packed already. Large carrots need peeling, but baby carrots can be used as they have thin skin.
2. Wash the carrots and rest them in salt water for 10 mins. This will remove all the muddy brown dust from the carrots to have a bright orange shade. Chops off the greens on the top of the carrots if you find any leaves over it.
3. Use a sharp peeler and peel one or two layers of the carrots. Chop the peeled carrots into long strips and cut them into equal-sized cubes to fit easily into the food processor. You can also leave the skin and shred the carrots; they are completely edible. But peeling the skin will make it easier to shred.
After shredding the carrots, assemble the food processor. Grab the shredding blade, clip it inside the socket, and fix the bowl onto the food processor. A small click will be the end indication of the bowl fixing onto the processor base.
Once you have your food processor for the action, scoop the diced carrots and add them to the bowl. Add small batches through the food tube and push it using the food pusher. With small pulses, start the shredding and increase the speed.
Repeat the pulsing step until you get a smooth shred to remove it using a spatula and use it fresh or store it in a food-safe sealed container for after use.
Grating carrots in a blender is as simple as shredding them in a food processor. Prep the carrots in the same way mentioned above and cut them into smaller pieces instead of dicing them into bigger chunks. This will make the blender blades move smoothly.
Next, put the pieces into the blender and grate them using the highest speed on the blender. The blender blade will have bigger perforations, which gives you thicker-sized strips than a shredder blade.
Shredding and grating carrots will take the same time and effort. Use it in pies and cakes, and it will taste both ways. So it is up to you to pick the process. If you are looking for a smooth texture, go for shredding, or look for a little bit of thick texture, go for grating the carrots.