A designer veggie goes back to its roots...
Return of the purple carrot !!
We are all used to seeing and eating the humble carrot, ORANGE and ordinary..
Now English carrot growers in Cambridgeshire, England, are growing PURPLE carrots !! English shoppers will be able to buy and eat these carrots from July this year (And other colours including
WHITE and
Black are planned for next year).
BUT these purple carrots are not new... in fact it is the ORANGE carrot that is the new-comer!! About 300 years ago, it was the Dutch who first selected and planted the carrot in patriotic
ORANGE, the Dutch national colour - so these ORANGE carrots are seventeenth century 'Designer' carrots!! Before that carrots were purple, red, white, green yellow or black... in their natural wild roots.
History tells us that the original carrot emerged from Middle Asia around present day Afghanistan at least 5000 years ago and spread slowly to the area of the Mediterranean. These ancient carrots had fairly thin turnip coloured
roots and were good to eat when young, but were a bit tough and woody when mature. Amazing temple and pyramid drawings show us that the Ancient Egyptians used carrots, and carrot seeds have been found in Prehistoric dwellings in
Switzerland and Glastonbury, England.
By the time the Ancient Greeks and then the Romans took over the Mediterranean area, carrots were cultivated and eaten. In fact the earliest cookbook we have is written by a Roman, Marcus Gavius, and contains recipes for carrots fried,
with salt, oil and vinegar and in cumin sauce. Carrots were used as medicine as well - for example, seeds to relieve urinary infections and leaves against cancerous tumours. These carrots would not have been orange.
Were these ancient people wrong in thinking that carrots have health benefits? Apparently not...
And purple carrots have very special benefits.!!
The University of Winconsin-Madison has been researching into carrots and has discovered that
PURPLE carrots (which taste no different from the familiar
ORANGE carrot) may actually help prevent heart disease and cancer, and also be a natural way to reduce blood cholesterol. It is the pigment in plants that give them their distinctive colour AND their
health-giving and healing properties (see previous Scarlet Pixel News items on this subject). Now research shows that:
YELLOW carrots contain xanthophylls that, like the
ORANGE beta-carotene, helps eyesight and may well be useful in preventing tumours such as lung tumours.
PURPLE carrots contain anthrocyanins, pigments that are extremely effective antioxidants, and it is these anti-oxidants that latch on to the very harmful free radicals that do so much damage in our bodies if unchecked.
Anthrocyanins also slow dangerous blood clotting within the body, thus safe guarding the heart further.
RED carrots containlycopene, helps in the fight against heart disease and tumours such asprostate cancer tumours. Tomatoes and water melons contain this same red pigment.
WHITE carrots, by their very nature, contain no pigment, but are still very useful in health terms because they contain phyto chemicals.
Carrots have been around for a long, long time... have a rainbow bunch next time you have a meal... and give yourself a colourful boost of health giving properties...
We are all used to seeing and eating the humble carrot, ORANGE and ordinary..
Now English carrot growers in Cambridgeshire, England, are growing PURPLE carrots !! English shoppers will be able to buy and eat these carrots from July this year (And other colours including
BUT these purple carrots are not new... in fact it is the ORANGE carrot that is the new-comer!! About 300 years ago, it was the Dutch who first selected and planted the carrot in patriotic
ORANGE, the Dutch national colour - so these ORANGE carrots are seventeenth century 'Designer' carrots!! Before that carrots were purple, red, white, green yellow or black... in their natural wild roots.
History tells us that the original carrot emerged from Middle Asia around present day Afghanistan at least 5000 years ago and spread slowly to the area of the Mediterranean. These ancient carrots had fairly thin turnip coloured
roots and were good to eat when young, but were a bit tough and woody when mature. Amazing temple and pyramid drawings show us that the Ancient Egyptians used carrots, and carrot seeds have been found in Prehistoric dwellings in
Switzerland and Glastonbury, England.
By the time the Ancient Greeks and then the Romans took over the Mediterranean area, carrots were cultivated and eaten. In fact the earliest cookbook we have is written by a Roman, Marcus Gavius, and contains recipes for carrots fried,
with salt, oil and vinegar and in cumin sauce. Carrots were used as medicine as well - for example, seeds to relieve urinary infections and leaves against cancerous tumours. These carrots would not have been orange.
YELLOW carrots contain xanthophylls that, like the
ORANGE beta-carotene, helps eyesight and may well be useful in preventing tumours such as lung tumours.
