Fantastic Facts -Carrots

Fantastic Facts- Carrots

Daucus 
carota
Apiaceae

Carrots were first cultivated in Afghanistan more than 2000 years ago.During 900-1000 A.D. purple and yellow carrots were brought from Afghanistan to the Mediterranean.In the 1300’s purple and yellow carrots were grown in Western Europe and China.In the 1700’s orange carrots were first reported in the Netherlands.Today, the typical orange carrots available throughout the United States are descendants of Dutch-bred carrots.Other carrot varieties include white carrots that are used in western and Eastern Europe for livestock, red carrots grown in Japan and yellow and purple carrots that are available in the Mideast, Turkey, India and China.

Carrots are taproots, which is a type of root that grows downwards into the soil.Carrots are grown from seeds, which take 6 to 21 days to germinate and 70 to 100 days to mature fully.When you eat a carrot you are actually eating the root! The feathery green leaves that are on top of the root grow above the soil.Once carrots are grown and mature, machines mechanically harvest them.They pull carrots up by their tops and shake off the dirt.The machines also cut the tops off.Carrots grow best in cool seasons where young seedlings can withstand mild frosts, however high temperatures can significantly damage them.

• Excellent source of beta-carotene (vitamin A) which keeps our eyes healthy 
• Contains the fiber, calcium pectate, which may lower cholesterol.
• Did you know one handful of mini peeled carrots or one medium fresh carrot counts as one serving of your 5 A Day? 
• Did you know carrots come in many sizes and shapes: round, cylindrical, fat, very small, long or thin? 
• Did you know that carrots are crunchy?
• Did you know carrots contain more sugar than any other vegetable, except for the beet?
• Did you know carrots are members of the parsley family?
• (Their feathery green leaves look somewhat like parsley.  Other members of this family are celery, parsnips, dill, fennel and the wildflower called Queen Anne’s Lace.)
• Did you know baby carrots or mini-peeled carrots are grown from “caropak” carrots?  (“Caropak” carrots are a different seed variety that grows slender carrots.They grow close together to keep their small size.These are what are primarily available in the supermarkets as baby carrots.True “baby” carrots would actually be carrots that have been removed from the ground early and look like miniature carrots.  These are rarely available.)
• The saying “dangling a carrot” originated in the 1890s when carrots were dangled in front of donkeys to get them to move. 
• In some religious festivities people eat carrots,cut like coins, to symbolize future prosperity.
• Thomas Jefferson raised several colors of carrots in his Monticello garden.
• In the Middle Ages, carrot juice was used to make butter a more appealing color.

Fantastic Facts
1.In Kern County most of the nation’s fresh carrots grown?
2. Carrots contain the nutrient Beta-carotene known to assist with night vision?
3.Carrot tops are plowed back into the soil to provide nutrients for the next crop grown there.
4.Baby-cut carrots are long small-diameter carrots peeled and cut into pieces.
5. Carrots,or“skirrets,” were originally purple, white, and yellow. The orange carrot was developed in Holland as a tribute to William I of Orange during the Dutch fight for independence from Spain in the 16th century.
6. Purple and yellow-orange varieties spread west to the Mediterranean, where ancient Greeks and Romans used them for medicinal purposes.
7. During the Middle Ages, French women used carrot leaves to decorate hair and hats.
8. Carrots contain beta-carotene, which helps build healthy hair and nails and keeps eyes healthy.
9. The first carrots were white, purple, and yellow. In the 1600s, the Dutch developed the orange carrot we eat today.
10. Early American colonists grew carrots between rows of tobacco to repel beetles.

What is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it can be stored for long periods of time in your body.
Vitamin A is an antioxidant that helps to keep the body safe from free radicals. Among Americans, toxic consumption levels of vitamin A are more of a concern than deficiencies.
Vitamin A is required for the proper development and functioning of our eyes, skin, and many other parts of our bodies.
Individuals who have low levels vitamin A may develop night blindness.
Vitamin A is required for normal functioning of the immune system. 
Vitamin A that is found in colorful fruits and vegetables, like carrots, is called provitamin A carotenoid. It can be made into retinol in the body. Some carotenoids (like beta carotene, alpha carotene, and beta cryptoxanthin) can be made into vitamin A by the body.
Eat carrots and be healthy.