They all have slightly different flavors, CatLady. The purple have an almost nutty flavor, the yellow are a lighter tasting carrot and we all know the orange. These make a great presentation in a mixed casserole, steamed.
CatLadyOKC
Oct 13, 2016
It's just the color that gets me, also don't like cooked carrots that's a texture problem. The rest of the family would not have a problem with them...I have had a microwave steamer for years and do most vegetables in it and family always loved veggies done it, seem to keep the texture of the veggie. Thanks for the info. might try them if I can find them; don't remember ever seeing in the grocery here.
The first time I saw purple carrots was on my plate in a lovely restaurant. I asked the waitress what that was. She didn't know.
She asked the cook. Purple carrots. That's the only time they have been served to me. However, I have been on the lookout for them in markets. Found some in a specialty market in the next town. They taste like carrots!
We raise lots of them up here in the Matanuska Valley north of Anchorage, JAMP. They're really good with a little nuttier taste than the orange ones. Make great baby food when pureed, too.
"Carrot domestication transformed the relatively small, white, heavily divided (forked or sprangled - spread in different directions) strong flavoured taproot of a plant with annual biennial flowering habit into a large, orange, smooth, good flavoured storage root of a uniformly biennial or "winter" annual crop we know today. Modern carrot breeders have further refined the carrot, improving flavour, sweetness, reducing bitterness and improving texture and colour.
Wild carrot has a small, tough pale fleshed bitter white root; modern domestic carrot has a swollen, juice sweet root, usually orange. Carrots originated in present day Afghanistan about 5000 years ago, probably originally as a purple or yellow root like those pictured here. Purple, white and yellow carrots were imported to southern Europe in the 14th century and were widely grown in Europe into the 17th Century. Purple and white carrots still grow wild in Afghanistan where they are used by some tribesmen to produce a strong alcoholic beverage. Over the ensuing centuries, orange carrots came to dominate and carrots of other colours were only preserved by growers in remote regions of the world."
Carrot Museum
I've seen the seeds for the purple one & I tried growing some of the round ones, but didn't do well. We have such a shallow soil in our raised beds that I usually use a short variety. Our ground is a red clay here & you really have to work with it to to get it black & soft.
hockeyfan
Oct 8, 2013
My family always had a garden. They always did the short variety also. We have lots of red clay in our area also. Their garden was on a hillside. I've never tried a garden. Not good with live plants so thought a garden would be a disaster for me.
CatLadyOKC
Oct 9, 2013
We use the raised square gardening plan, we only plant small amounts of each item since their are only 2 of us. I found a copy of the book for this type of gardening at our Library "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. It's a great way to try out a garden you can start small.
hockeyfan
Oct 9, 2013
Sounds like a great idea. I'll check into it. Thanks for letting me know.
She asked the cook. Purple carrots. That's the only time they have been served to me. However, I have been on the lookout for them in markets. Found some in a specialty market in the next town. They taste like carrots!
Wild carrot has a small, tough pale fleshed bitter white root; modern domestic carrot has a swollen, juice sweet root, usually orange. Carrots originated in present day Afghanistan about 5000 years ago, probably originally as a purple or yellow root like those pictured here. Purple, white and yellow carrots were imported to southern Europe in the 14th century and were widely grown in Europe into the 17th Century. Purple and white carrots still grow wild in Afghanistan where they are used by some tribesmen to produce a strong alcoholic beverage. Over the ensuing centuries, orange carrots came to dominate and carrots of other colours were only preserved by growers in remote regions of the world."
Carrot Museum