For a long time, carrots have been a necessary addition to the preparation of an incredible number of dishes. Now the most common species is orange. But few people know that initially the root crop was yellow, white, red and even black, but not orange at all.
Only in the 16th century did this vegetable acquire the usual orange color for us. And carrots got such wide distribution thanks to more sweet taste.
But other varieties of carrots are also important, because due to the taste variety and the content of many different vitamins in them, they can easily be used in various recipes.
Why carrots are white
Everyone knows that vegetable pigments are responsible for coloring fruits and vegetables. In orange carrots, carotene, or provitamin A, is responsible for the color, the content of which gives the root crop not only a beautiful color, but also makes it incredibly useful.
Lutein gives the yellow color to the vegetable, and violet, blue, red and black colors are obtained due to the content of anthocyanin in them. The rich red color is acquired due to lycopene, and the burgundy carrot gets in connection with the presence of betaine in the root crop.
White carrots lack the color pigment. That's why carrots are white, not orange. But the micronutrients contained in it, which have a beneficial effect on the human body, make it quite popular.
Functions
People who prefer a healthy type of nutrition know that in addition to coloring the fruits, plant pigments perform other functions:
- Beneficial effect on the immune system.
- Strengthening the walls of blood vessels.
- Vision improvement.
- UV protection.
- Acting as antioxidants capable of suppressing various viruses.
Accordingly, the more varied and richer the color palette of vegetables on the table, the tastier and healthier the cooked food.
Varieties
Nowadays, there are a great many varieties of orange carrots, but before, white carrots were more popular. Varieties when choosing should be distinguished by yield, disease resistance, form and storage period. Also, the division occurs in the feed and dining room.
The most widespread fodder varieties are the Berlin Giant, the White Weibul, the Vosges White, the Gigantic White, the Championship, the White-headed Green. As a rule, the length of the root crop reaches 50 cm, has a cylindrical perfectly even shape.
The best table varieties include White Satin F1, Lunar White, Belgian White. They have a very smooth texture and juicy flesh.
Taste
The incredible number of varieties and species possessed by white carrots also speaks of great taste diversity. But the main and main difference between them is the presence or absence of a bitter aftertaste.
To date, only fodder varieties possess it, so this species began to be grown exclusively for adding to the diet of cattle and small domestic animals.
Recently, in Latvia, the cultivation of white and yellow carrots has been revived, which have an incredibly sweet taste, which has earned special popularity in cooking.
White carrots. Beneficial features
Many people know that white carrots are a healthy vegetable. This is due to the content in it of an incredible amount of vitamins and minerals.
White carrots, like other varieties, boasts the presence of vitamins C, K, B1, B2, B6, PP and E, as well as the content of iron, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, copper and cobalt. Therefore, it is considered very useful for the body to eat carrots in the diet, both in raw form and after heat treatment.
Healing properties
For many centuries, people have used the healing properties of white carrots. To preserve the healing properties, carrots are often mixed with honey.
Freshly squeezed carrot juice is recommended to be used for vitamin deficiencies, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as to normalize the processes of carbohydrate metabolism.
Carrot juice perfectly fights excess cholesterol, and carrot broth is often used as a diuretic.
Seeds and roots are also widely used not only in cooking as an additional ingredient in canned food, marinades, liqueurs and liquors, but also in traditional medicine in the treatment of kidney stones.
Essential oils, which are used in cosmetic products, are also extracted from seeds.
Harm
Despite the abundance of useful properties, carrots can also cause some harm to health. The use of this product in food is contraindicated if its use causes allergic reactions.
Overeating can also harm the body. It is characterized by an excess of carotene, but this option is possible only with the use of orange carrots. And since white does not contain it, there are no obvious contraindications for this variety.
Purple carrots
Great Britain many years ago became the birthplace of purple carrots. But it did not receive such widespread use due to one significant drawback: in a purified form, carrots stain everything that it comes into contact with.
Although in some culinary preparations this property can help to make the dish especially attractive by adding a soft pink tint to the products.
Beneficial features
The root crop owes its color to the presence of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and anthocyanin. In the body, they turn into the necessary vitamin A, which positively affects the skin condition, improves vision and relieves fatigue of the visual apparatus.
Anthocyanin helps to cope with various heart diseases and strengthens the walls of blood vessels. The phytoncides contained in the vegetable can kill microbes, and therefore, purple carrots become an effective remedy for colds.
In cooking, purple carrots are a very unpretentious and versatile ingredient. It can be stewed, fried, baked, and also it is great for making freshly squeezed juices and even jam.
The most common variety is "dragon." This option applies to early ripening varieties. It has a conical shape and grows from 15 cm to 17 cm in length. This sort of purple carrot grows well on slightly acidic soils and likes quite frequent watering. It is considered extremely resistant to frost. Ideal for long-term storage.
You can also choose the varieties such as "purple elixir" with an orange core and "cosmic", which are equally suitable for use in the children's menu due to the sweet taste.
If we compare the taste of the usual orange carrots with purple, the second has a sweeter taste. But you should know that in raw form this variety has a mild smell of rosemary, which after heat treatment disappears completely.
Cooking methods
Having resorted to additional literature or using the advice of friends, you can easily find cooking methods and the best recipes from carrots that can perfectly diversify the lunch menu.
For example:
- Juice. When making juice, all nutrients are fully preserved. Before squeezing, you should take away the intact fruits, rinse them thoroughly and clean. It is not recommended to add sugar and salt to the juice. And daily consumption of freshly squeezed juice half an hour before lunch helps to normalize digestion.
- Grilled vegetables. The method of cooking carrots in combination with other grilled vegetables allows you to save all the nutritional and healing properties, while the taste becomes more pronounced.
- Mashed potatoes. Cooking carrot soups with the addition of some equally healthy vegetables is ideal even for very young children. And resorting to imagination and adding violet to the usual orange carrots, you can get an original dish of amazing color that will appeal not only in taste, but also in appearance.
- Bouillon. Cooking the broth with the addition of different varieties of carrots, whether white, orange or purple, will turn out to be incredibly attractive and low-calorie. Despite the fact that at high temperature the percentage of vitamins falls, the part necessary for the body in the cooked dish remains, which makes the culinary masterpiece not only beautiful, but also useful.
- Drying Carrots are great for drying for future use. Before harvesting, carrots must be thoroughly washed and peeled, then either chopped or grated. An electric dryer helps to speed up the drying process, due to which the cooking time will be reduced by several times, while all the vitamins contained in carrots will be preserved as much as possible.
- Dessert. The purple variety of carrots is so sweet that it can be used in the preparation of various desserts. For many years, Europeans have preferred to make carrot jam, which has an amazing taste.
- Table decoration. Even having mastered the carving technique a little, you can arrange a dining table and make it incredibly beautiful and unique. Having resorted to a thin knife, a vegetable dish can be turned into an exquisite culinary masterpiece, the appearance on the table of which will attract the attention of not only children but also adults. The unique combination of white, orange and purple carrots, as well as the creation of compositions from them, will surprise every guest present, and cooked recipes from carrots will not leave anyone indifferent.
Do not be afraid to experiment. Then a regular lunch will turn into a real meal.