Spiced, Marinated Carrot Salad

Coriander and a Hint of Cumin

Carrot taste is mainly sweetness — sugar — and “harshness” (as breeders sometimes say), which is a turpentiney quality that might make you think of “geranium.” The “harsh” compounds are terpenoids. They’re strong and bitter in any green shoulders and any green at the top of the core. Higher growing temperatures can increase terpenoids to a fault. Age and storage also increase them and can make an old carrot cantankerous. Carrot skin has an extra dose, which is why, except for very young carrots, we peel carrots. But the right amount of terpenoids in balance with sugar makes carrots delicious.