Carrot

From purple to orange

Wild carrots in 10th-century Persia were thin, woody, and purple or yellow. Selective breeding by Dutch growers in the 16th and 17th centuries — possibly tied to royalist sentiment for the House of Orange — produced the deep orange variety we now consider the default.

Why orange?

The orange color comes from carotenoid pigments, especially beta-carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. A medium carrot delivers more than 200% of the daily recommended vitamin A intake. Cooking carrots actually increases bioavailability of beta-carotene by breaking down the cellulose cell walls.

In the garden

Carrots are biennial — they grow leaves and roots in their first year, flower and seed in their second — but are harvested at the end of the first year. They prefer loose, sandy soil; rocky beds produce forked, stunted roots.

Companion planting

Carrots grow well alongside leeks, onions, and rosemary, whose strong scents repel the carrot fly. Avoid dill, which can stunt their growth.