History of Carrot: Carrots Of The Dutch Royal Family Home of carrots and its numerous cousins can be tracked to dry and hot lands of Iran and Afghanistan. Earliest evidence of its use there was dated to 3000 BC. From there, carrot seeds were picked, carried and sold via caravans to neighboring Arabian, African and Asian lands, who all accepted carrots immediately and started crossbreeding and creating new types of this famous root. Even in those ancient times, many colors of carrots were present and used – black, white, red and purple.
Orange Colors in ancient times
Interestingly, orange colors that we use today were not present . The most telling sign of how popular carrots were in those ancient times Come from Ancient Egypt, where numerous carrots were placed in the tombs of dead Pharaohs And the drawings of the carrot harvest and processing can be found in numerous hieroglyph paintings.
The most popular color of carrots that was cultivated in Egypt was purple And it was used not only for eating but also for medicine.
By 13th century carrots traveled from Persia to Asia, reaching distant Japan. During same time, European carrot started being cultivated in gardens and fields of France and Germany. Those carrots were biter, but they were nutritious and its popularity enabled quick spread across entire Europe.
- In the 17th century western carrots first appeared in the Netherlands. Dutch carrot growers invented the orange carrot in honor of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family and they call it Carrots Of The Dutch Royal Family.
About carrot :
- The carrot is a root vegetable with the most commonly eaten part being the taproot.
- The carrot is usually orange in color although purple, red, white, and yellow varieties also exist .
- The domesticated carrot that we know today originated from the wild carrot called Daucus carota which was native to Europe and south western Asia.
- The actual plant of a carrot (greens above ground) can grow up to 1 m (3.2 ft) tall and flowers around June to August (northern hemisphere summer) with a bright white flower.
- Cultivated carrots are usually made up of about 88% water, 7% sugar, 1% protein, 1% fibre, 1% ash, and 0.2% fat.
Iranian carrots and its properties :
Properties White Persian with carrots peas are similar in many ways. It contains carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the body. But the amount of sugar in this type of carrot Is more than carrots and its iron is about three times higher.
Doctors recommend using Iranian carrots to prevent anemia. This type of carrot is very useful for strengthening bones due to its high calcium and phosphorus.
in Isfahan and Nain, there is a type of carrot called Persian carrot or Zardak (narcissus or turmeric), which can be harvested only in winter.
Currently, the consumption of this type of carrot in our country is very limited and is mostly used for animal feed, while Iranian or narcissus carrots are very useful, especially for children, and it can be grated or Baked used to cook food or drink the juice of this carrot.
Applications of carrots :
- Carrots are cooked and eaten in various different ways. The vegetable is often pulped, mashed, boiled, puréed, grated, fried, steamed, stewed, baked, juiced or eaten raw. Carrots are typically used in stir-fries and salads but also in soups and added to baby foods or pet foods. They can be dehydrated or deep-fried to make chips, flakes, and powder.
The natural sugars and sweetness of carrots allow them to be used in carrot cakes of western countries, in India they are used as desserts, while countries such as Portugal use carrots in jam. We consume carrot juice widely, especially as a healthy drink, with or without other fruits and vegetables.
In fact even the greens are edible as a leaf vegetable although this is rare.
Role of carrots in healthy :
- The human body turns beta-carotene into vitamin A and carrots are one of the best sources for beta-carotene. Vitamin A is important for the health of our vision (including our night vision) as well as our bones, teeth and skin.
- We created an urban legend that “eating large amounts of carrots helps us see in the dark” from stories that began in World War II. British gunners were shooting down German planes at night and to cover up the fact that it was the effective use of radar technologies that was achieving this, the RAF circulated a story about their pilots’ high level of carrot consumption
Global market of caroots :
- The world’s largest carrot producer is China, which in 2011, accounted for over 45% of the global output. China was a long way ahead of Russia and the United States.
- who are the second and third highest producers respectively.
- The carrot is in the top 10 of most economically important global vegetable crops.