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100 things challenge - 13: Carrots
Jun. 16th, 2012 12:06 amI had planned to write this post last Monday.... Maybe it has something to do with the fact that this is the 13th post in my 100 things blogging challenge? Or it was just very busy this week...
Anyway, carrots, who doesn't love them? Rabbits love them, horses love them and they are many people's favourite vegetable. And they are brightly organge, right? Well, in fact, orange carrots were not cultivated until the 17th century.
The modern carrots are derived from the wild carrot Daucus carota, a plant which can still be found today in the Middle-East. Centuries of selective breeding resulted in reducing the bitterness, increasing the sweetness and minimizing the woody core of the plant's roots. The first 'domestic' carrots were not grown for their roots, but for their aromatic leaves. Some family members of the carrot are still used for these (parsley, dill, cumin). The modern carrot was introduced in Europe from the Middle-East in the 8th-10th region. In sources of this period, carrots are described in many colours: purple, white, yellow and red. The orange carrot was selectively bred in The Netherlands in the 17th century as evidenced by the name of the cultivar: Long Orange Dutch. A tale has is that the orange colour was bred into the vegetable to honor the Dutch leader William of Orange! The orange colour results from abundant carotenes in these cultivars.
Anyway, carrots, who doesn't love them? Rabbits love them, horses love them and they are many people's favourite vegetable. And they are brightly organge, right? Well, in fact, orange carrots were not cultivated until the 17th century.
The modern carrots are derived from the wild carrot Daucus carota, a plant which can still be found today in the Middle-East. Centuries of selective breeding resulted in reducing the bitterness, increasing the sweetness and minimizing the woody core of the plant's roots. The first 'domestic' carrots were not grown for their roots, but for their aromatic leaves. Some family members of the carrot are still used for these (parsley, dill, cumin). The modern carrot was introduced in Europe from the Middle-East in the 8th-10th region. In sources of this period, carrots are described in many colours: purple, white, yellow and red. The orange carrot was selectively bred in The Netherlands in the 17th century as evidenced by the name of the cultivar: Long Orange Dutch. A tale has is that the orange colour was bred into the vegetable to honor the Dutch leader William of Orange! The orange colour results from abundant carotenes in these cultivars.
