Those Crazy Carrots!

Carrots are rarely the focal point of a meal. Most end up grated into a salad or thrown on the veggie tray with the celery, peppers and broccoli, their flavor hidden beneath a giant heap of dip. They are actually quite an interesting vegetable once you get to know them better.

The carrot is very old. 5,000 years ago the root was growing in the area now known as Afghanistan. Carrots and its seeds were found in pharaoh crypts from 2000 b.c, along with instructions on using them as a treatment for various ailments. Arab merchants spread the seeds of the purple carrot while traveling the trade routes of Arabia, Asia and Africa.

The carrot has many colors: purple to white, pale yellow, red, green and black. Not until the 16th century in Holland was orange a carrot color. The Dutch hybridized the vegetable to grow in the colors of the House of Orange. By the 1700s Holland was the leader in carrot breeding, and this is where most strains of the modern carrot originated.

Carrots have a juicy past. In ancient times, carrots were widely recognized as an aphrodesiac. One believer in the power of the carrot was Emperor Caligula (A.D. 37-51). He is believed to have once fed the entire Roman Senate a banquet only of carrot dishes so he could see them "in rut like wild beasts." (*note: he also tried to make his horse a member of his council).

Carrots are loaded with vitamins, especially vitamin A. This vitamin is crucial for maintaining vision, especially night vision. It has also been proven in several studies that a diet rich in vitamin A helps cut your chances of developing cancer, and can help prevent smokers from developing emphysema.

Carrots go both ways. There is some controversy over which way carrots are better for you-- cooked or raw. Partially cooking them helps to break down the cellular structure to help your body absorb the beta carotene more easily. Juicing does the same thing without the risk of destroying other nutrients in the cooking process. The best answer? Eat them both ways! Our website has some great recipes to check out. I'm particularly fond of the Algerian Carrots. Enjoy!