Carrots
Colourful power vegetable
Intro
Carrots are some of the most popular vegetables around. They're versatile and have a sweet aroma and can be enjoyed raw as well. From a nutritional perspective, carrots are also impressive, due to their beta carotene content. This is transformed into Vitamin A once absorbed by the body. This positively influences our eye sight. If you eat a lot of them, they can also give your skin tone a nice bronze hue.
What are carrots?
The carrot (Umbelliferae, apiaceae) is a root vegetable, similar to coriander, cumin and fennel. These all belong to the Umbelliferous plant family. Carrots are special because their carbohydrate-containing root is also edible.
We all know and love our orange coloured carrots, but the original variety is actually white or purple. The orange coloured carrot was bred in the 18th century in the Netherlands. Many supermarkets and organic stores sell a variety of carrots in yellow, white, red and purple colours.
Where do carrots come from?
Carrots belong to some of the oldest vegetable species, their origin is however unknown. It's fairly certain that wild beets were first discovered in northern Africa, the Far East and southern Europe. These laid the foundation for later carrot species. Today, the carrot is grown all over the world.
Which varieties are there?
The rough categories of carrot are Danvers and Chantenay. Chanteney’s are harvested earlier, in June, and contain up to 6% sugar. Carrots harvested later have a lower sugar content.
Yellow carrots:
Mellow Yellow
Yellowstone
White carrots:
Creme de Lite
White Satin
Purple carrots:
Deep Purple
Purple Elite
Purple Haze
Red carrots:
Cosmic Purple
Nutri Red
Red samurai
Orange carrots:
Adelaide
Chantenay Red Cored
Laguna
Pariser Markt
Parmex
Sugarsnax
Flyaway
Ingot
Nantaise
Romance
Rotin
Ochsenherz
Robila
Rolanka
Rote Riesen
Sperlings Cubic
When are carrots in season?
June to November
Carrots have a highly versatile use in the kitchen. Here are our tips for how to prepare them:
Soups, purees, veggie pans, desserts (e.g. carrot cake), smoothies as well as rice and pasta dishes
You can find these carrot products in the supermarket:
Carrot porridge
Dried carrots
Carrot chips
Carrot power
Carrot flakes
Carrot brandy
Carrot juice
Carrot nectar
Carrot Nutrition Facts per 100g:
| Typical Values | 100g |
|---|---|
| Calories | 35 |
| Fat | 0g |
| Carbohydrates | 8.2g |
| Fibre | 3g |
| Sugar | 3.5g |
| Protein | 0.8g |
Nutrients found in carrots:
Vitamins:
Alpha-Carotene, Beta-Carotin, B-Vitamins, Vitamin C and Vitamin E
Minerals:
Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphate, Iron and Zinc