Why are my carrots still like bullets??

[Rockbird]

Adding a sofrito mix to my bolognese. Have softened it in the pan, celery and onion lovely, carrots like little shards of rock. Bunged it in the microwave for 5 sodding minutes. Carrots like little shards of concrete. What am I doing wrong and how tf do you soften carrots in something like this? I have no problem cooking normal carrots but whenever I try to put them in a shepherds pie or something they're like little stones.

What size are you chopping them to?

They're tiny, pea sized or smaller

how long have you cooked them?
carrots take some time (which is why I grate them)

They were in the pan for about 10-15 minutes and then 5 minutes in the microwave. Then in the oven for 30 mins and they were still hard. It was a pre packed mix, next time I'll grate them separately.

I think 10-15 mins might not be enough, I usually sautée for at least 20 (then simmer on low heat for about 3 hours). If I'm in a rush, I grate them.

Not long enough. Onions, carrots and celery are done here for 20-30 mins on hob and then once all other ingredients have been added it gets cooked for a further 3 hours on the hob at least - I tend to cook on medium to high for an hour and the turn down to a simmer for the remaining time.

I always find carrots to be like that. I grate them on a box grater rather than finely chopped and they cook much quicker.

Thanks all. So a prepacked sofrito mix is never going to work then. Thanks Waitrose!

if you freeze it first it will go softer.

They'll just cook along with the rest of it surely. Mine are never cooked after the sautéing, they are cooked during the simmering. Same for cottage/shepherds pie mixture.

I'm with Notso, they cook during the simmer?!

No they don't though. I thought that, especially as the bits are so small. But alas not. I might try freezing but otherwise it's not worth the effort.

Sauté with the lid on for ten mins. Then simmer for at least an hour. Don't buy pre packed veg, I think they add a preservative that stops them cooking easily.

I think it might be the 'pre-packed' bit that's the problem. I chop my own carrots etc and braise them slowly with the lid on for about 10 or 15 mins (by which time they're soft) before adding the other stuff.

yes ours are never softened for 20 not anywhere near at the start.but the softening come from sitting in the liquid and simmering.

We've noticed the same with the carrots being so hard. Boiled and steamed them for 30mins, still like rocks, what's going on. Noticed this the last 3 months. Are they being grown differently or new pesticides being put on them. All very strange.

This happened to me a few weeks ago, I made a minestrone and the carrots were like wood! I froze the leftovers and with some trepidation had a bowl last week, but it was lovely!

I do usually grate them. I thought maybe I'd just got a bad batch of carrots.

If it's a pre-chopped mix, maybe it was the woody centres of some big, old carrots. If I'm boiling carrots, I only give them 4 or 5 minutes and they are never hard.