Cooked, pureed carrots do not lose their nutritional value.

Cooked, pureed carrots do not lose their nutritional value and may contain more health-giving properties than crunchy raw carrots. Researchers have measured antioxidant levels in fresh and pureed carrots and found that the pureed carrots had higher antioxidant levels than their fresh counterparts. The investigators processed carrot puree with and without the outer skin. They then measured the antioxidant activity over a period of four weeks, looking at levels of phenolic acids and beta carotene, which have antioxidant properties. The researchers found that antioxidant levels increased immediately after heat processing by 34.3% and continued to increase for the first week of storage. After that, the antioxidant levels declined, but never went back down to the original levels for raw carrots. Contact: Luke Howard, University of Arkansas, Institute of Food Science, 272 Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704. Phone: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].