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Baby carrots are hot sellers. But how much hotter can they get than these rainbow baby carrots?
Carrots—standard size and baby—are available in six different colors: the familiar deep orange plus burgundy red, deep purple, tangerine (light orange), yellow and white.
Baby carrots, by the way, are not a special breed but standard carrots cut down to the small size.
They’re a delicious way to add color and crunch to appetizers, salads and entrées. Kids and adults alike love them for their unusual colors—and for helping make family nutrition into fun.
Deeply colored produce are rich in nutrients, including antioxidants. Different antioxidants produce the different colors or carrots. More about that in a minute. But first…
A VERY BRIEF CARROT HISTORY
The original wild carrots were white, like parsnips. According to Colorful Harvest, marketer of these rainbow carrots, the cultivated purple and yellow carrots—mutations—were eaten more than 1,000 years ago in what is now Afghanistan.
Other colors are the product of generations of traditional plant breeding. Orange carrots were first successfully bred in Holland from an orange mutation by Dutch farmers.
> International Carrot Day is April 4th.
Below:
> The history of baby carrots.
> The year’s 8 carrot holidays.
> 20+ yummy carrot recipes.
> Where do carrots get their color?
Elsewhere on The Nibble:
> Here’s more history of carrots.
> 25 delicious uses for carrot tops.
> How to repurpose carrot peelings.
WHERE DO CARROTS GET THEIR COLOR?
From phytonutrients! Studies indicate that these phytonutrients are also more bio-available and easier to absorb from fresh fruits and vegetables than from other sources.
Red carrots get their color from lycopene, an antioxidant that may promote healthy eyes and a healthy prostate.
Orange and tangerine carrots get their color comes from beta-carotene, an antioxidant and precursor of vitamin A.
Purple carrots get their color from anthocyanins, the same potent phytonutrients (antioxidants) that makes blueberries blue,. Anthocyanins are flavonoids that may help increase the antioxidant capacity of the blood and may help maintain good brain function.
Yellow and white carrots get their color from lutein, which studies suggest may promote good eye health.
[6] Today you can find carrots in a rainbow of colors (photo © USDA).
THE HISTORY OF BABY-CUT CARROTS VS. TRUE BABY CARROTS
Baby-cut carrots were “invented” by Mike Yurosek, a California carrot farmer, in 1986.
He was frustrated that a huge percentage of his carrot crop—up to 70%—was being discarded because the carrots were too twisted, knobby, broken, or misshapen to sell in stores. They were perfectly edible but cosmetically imperfect.
And it was a significant financial loss for carrot growers.
He experimented with cutting and shaping the rejected carrots into small, uniform, smooth pieces using an industrial green bean cutter. He then had them peeled into the now-familiar rounded, stubby shape.
The result was a product that was convenient, visually appealing to kids and adults alike, an easy-to-serve snack, and waste reduction through upcycling—taking something that would have been discarded and transforming it into a higher-value product.
He sent a bag of his prototype baby carrots to a supermarket buyer, and the response was immediate and enthusiastic. Consumers went wild for them, and stores couldn’t keep them on the shelves.
Carrot consumption in the United States increased dramatically after their introduction, essentially saving the American carrot industry by turning an overlooked vegetable into a convenient snack. It’s considered one of the most brilliant produce marketing innovations of the 20th century.
True Baby Carrots
Specialty fine produce growers produce true baby carrots, which are actually just immature carrots pulled early. These are prized as ingredients and garnishes by fine chefs.
The most common term for these immature carrots (photo #7) is “true baby carrots.” Other names include:
Baby bunch carrots, frequently used because they’re typically sold in a bunch with their green tops still attached.
Gourmet baby carrots.
Heirloom baby carrot, used when the carrots are of a heritage variety.
Petite carrots, seen on some upscale produce labels.
The supermarket variety is referred to as “baby-cut.”
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