So, back to some more vegetable posts!
This week's mystery vegetable is not so much a mystery as just a unique and rare one, one(s) that I've never seen in the store and have never purchased myself, a bit of a novelty if you will, it's...
The Non-Orange Carrot!
Yup! I don't know if it's true, but this site claims that ALL carrots were originally purple until the late 16th century! At this point supposedly Dutch farmers cultivated the orange carrots, mostly derived from the "mutated" golden and white carrots, partially for political reasons and partially due to the sweeter taste.
I thought these tasted a lot like orange carrots, but are prettier and a little sweeter - they have an orange center that is very nice!
Supposedly, purple carrots are even healthier than the orange ones, thanks to their coloring. This is given by the pigment anthocyanins, which also colors blueberries and acts as an antioxidant, and can also help memory and vision, prevent heart attacks, promote weight loss, etc etc etc. Hurray for pigmentation!
I thought these carrots tasted a bit milder than a normal carrot, but also with an ever-so-slight, very faint hint of parsnip taste. Maybe it was just my imagination, though. At any rate, I enjoyed the purple ones a little more, if I had to choose.
And don't forget carrots are PACKED full of Vitamin A and beta-carotene! Enjoy raw with a little veggie dip!
This week's mystery vegetable is not so much a mystery as just a unique and rare one, one(s) that I've never seen in the store and have never purchased myself, a bit of a novelty if you will, it's...
The Non-Orange Carrot!
Yup! I don't know if it's true, but this site claims that ALL carrots were originally purple until the late 16th century! At this point supposedly Dutch farmers cultivated the orange carrots, mostly derived from the "mutated" golden and white carrots, partially for political reasons and partially due to the sweeter taste.
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| purple carrots I got in my CSA box this past week |
Supposedly, purple carrots are even healthier than the orange ones, thanks to their coloring. This is given by the pigment anthocyanins, which also colors blueberries and acts as an antioxidant, and can also help memory and vision, prevent heart attacks, promote weight loss, etc etc etc. Hurray for pigmentation!
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| some white/golden carrots I got a few weeks ago in my CSA box |
And don't forget carrots are PACKED full of Vitamin A and beta-carotene! Enjoy raw with a little veggie dip!
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