A Few Good Things

Here is some interesting Trivia on Carrots. Our parents always told us to eat Carrots for healthy eyes and good skin. And we always knew that rabbits loved carrots. But there is a lot more to the story of this amazing vegetable.

• While the carrot is known as a bright orange root crop (Or Red during Winter) the original carrots domesticated in Central Asia  around 900 CE were purple and yellow. It was only around 1500 AD that Orange carrots were cultivated in Netherlands.

• In the late 16th century Dutch Farmers took mutant strains of the purple carrot and gradually developed them into the sweet, plump, orange variety we have today. Some think that the reason the orange carrot became so popular in the Netherlands was in tribute to the emblem of the House of Orange and the struggle for Dutch independence.
• Afghanistan & Persia is probably were Carrots were first cultivated, but today China is the largest producer of Carrots in the world with an annual production of ~ 18Million tonnes.
• When they were first cultivated, carrots were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds rather than their roots.
• Some close relatives of the carrot are still grown for their leaves and seeds, such as parsley, cilantro, coriander, fennel, anise, dill and cumin.
• Of all known vegetables except for beet, carrots are known to have highest naturally occurring sugar content. So, beet take number 1 position while carrots take 2nd position in terms of sweet vegetables. No wonder carrots make a wonderful snack even when eaten raw.
• Did you know that carrots are far more nutritious when they are cooked and eaten rather than being eaten raw? This is exactly opposite of every known vegetable in world. The reason for this is the cell walls of carrots are very tough and it is very difficult to digest the cell walls. When cooked, these cell walls break and release the nutrients, making cooked carrot far more nutritious.
• If you are traveling to places where food is scanty, make sure you carry carrots with you. A single carrot can give you enough energy to walk 1 mile

Tags: Carrot Trivia, History of carrots