Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 0 Comments
Colored carrots now sprouting in our home garden
Some of the many colored carrots we planted have begun to pop up in the Colored Carrot Chronicle home garden — and they’ve gone from itty bitty babies to full-size in a matter of a few weeks. Color us excited!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 0 Comments
When and where are colored carrots grown?
Of course, the answer to when and where colored carrots are grown will vary by grower, but until we get responses to all of the emails we sent out, we’ll settle for when and where Colorful Harvest’s Rainbow Crunch carrots are grown. There’s a chart on their site that shows where all of their colorful products grow, and during what seasons, but the section in the middle specifically talks about colored carrots. Click the picture to the left to see the souped-up, full-size PDF one of their marketing guys emailed us.
As you can see, for this company, colored carrots are grown in Arizona the first half and in Colorado the second half of the year.
[Note to Self #1: Build spring/summer home in Arizona, fall/winter home in Colorado.]
[Note to Self #2: Save up enough money to move out of parents' basement, then reference Note to Self #1.]
Monday, July 26, 2010, 1 Comment
RECIPE: roasted rainbow carrots with miso butter
We pulled off another recipe utilizing colored carrots, this time from Taste With the Eyes. The wondefully simple entree or side dish is truly as beautiful to look at as it is to taste!
Find the garlicky, gingery (and altogether yummy) assembly instructions here.
Tuesday, July 06, 2010, 0 Comments
Colored carrots the newest star of Food Network’s “Unwrapped” (PART 2)
We already talked about colored carrots’ appearance on Food Network’s Unwrapped (See: PART 1), but now the segment is available on YouTube. It’s a neat watch, and only 3:51 long:
I Double Dare you not to crave a colored carrot after watching that. (Sorry; very bad Nickelodeon/Marc Summers joke there.)
Monday, June 21, 2010, 0 Comments
Colored carrots get boingboing-ed on Father’s Day
Hugely popular blog site boingboing.net posted a short entry yesterday mentioning what we’ve been talking about since we kicked off last year: colored carrots aren’t new. In fact, in terms of age, orange carrots are the newest varieties around, though you wouldn’t know it because most Americans have only seen one color of carrot in their gardens and in local grocery stores’ produce departments.
We’re glad boingboing noticed (and equally appreciative of the great array of comments that follow the blog post). But our mission at the CCC is to not stop until EVERYONE knows about our colorful little friends.
P.S. boingboing also posted today about the price of the Amazon’s Kindle e-reader dropping … which is great, though the marketing ploy probably won’t boost Amazon’s profits much until they get hip to releasing e-books about colored carrots.
Thursday, June 03, 2010, 2 Comments
Found: colored carrots at the farmers market
Jeff, a loyal reader of the blog, sent in a picture he snapped with his iPhone a few weeks ago. He spotted some beautiful colored carrots at his local farmers market and, sure enough, he scooped up quite a few and turned them into a delicious dinner.
Thanks for sharing, Jeff! And to everybody else: we love to see all the places colored carrots have sprouted. So, please, send us your colored carrot sightings (even if it’s just in your local grocery store).
Friday, May 21, 2010, 0 Comments
Colored carrots the newest star of Food Network’s “Unwrapped” (PART 1)
One of the best food shows on TV, Food Network’s Unwrapped, finally featured our favorite taproot on an episode entitled “Rainbow Foods.” In addition to discussing the coloring processes for Fruity Pebbles, Terra Chips and Mountain Dew, host Marc Summers chatted about Colorful Harvest’s Rainbow Crunch Carrots.
What a great episode!
But oh no! You missed it?! Don’t worry; it will be airing a few more times in the immediate future…
- May 27, 2010 — 11:30 PM ET/PT
- May 28, 2010 — 2:30 AM ET/PT
Imagine that: Colored Carrots as TV stars! (Seriously, though; it was only a matter of time.)
Be sure to check out Colorful Harvest’s site, too. Not only do these guys love colored carrots almost as much as we do, they’ve posted some pretty cool behind-the-scenes snapshots from the filming of Unwrapped.
See PART 2 of this post, featuring the Unwrapped clip on YouTube, by clicking here.
Monday, April 05, 2010, 0 Comments
Color-coding carrots’ health benefits
Want specific benefits from your vegetable assortments? Perhaps you should choose your carrots based on color! So says Sensational Color contributor John Stolarczyk:
- Orange carrots contain beta carotene, with some alpha-carotene, both of which are orange pigments. The body converts the high content beta carotene into Vitamin A, essential to the immune system for general well-being and healthy eyes. These carrots originate from Europe and the Middle East.
- Yellow carrots contain xanthophylls, pigments similar to orange beta carotene, which help develop healthy eyes and aid in the fight against macular degeneration. They may also be useful in preventing tumors associated with lung and other cancers. These came from the Middle East.
- Red carrots contain lycopene (another form of carotene), a pigment also found in tomatoes and watermelon; lycopene helps in the fight against heart disease and some cancers, including prostate cancer. These were originally from India and China.
- Purple carrots (usually orange inside) get their pigment from an entirely different class, the anthocyanins. These pigments act as very powerful antioxidants, grabbing and holding onto harmful free radicals in the body. Anthocyanins also help prevent heart disease by slowing blood clotting. These originate from Turkey, and the Middle and Far East.
- White carrots, by their very nature, lack pigment, but may contain other health-promoting substances called phytochemicals. One would say these are the least healthy of carrots. They originate from Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.
Read his whole article here.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 0 Comments
Purple and red are the new orange
Color means something when it comes to carrots. It’s beta carotene and alpha-carotene that give orange carrots their color and their reputation. The abundance of beta carotene make these healthy vegetables high in Vitamin A. Not only are purple carrots higher in beta carotene then their orange cousins, they also possess the anthocyanins which provide the purple pigmentation. Cranberries and apples also derive their color from anthocyanins. These powerful antioxidants are good anti-inflammatory agents and also help prevent heart disease by slowing blood clotting.
Red carrots derive their color from carotenoids. Carotenoids are made up of lycopene and B-carotene which are effective cancer fighting agents found in Tomatoes. Depending on the color, each variety has individual health benefits that your body will thank you for.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010, 0 Comments
Purple and yellow came first
The carrot has storied and murky history. What we do know is that carrots were originally purple and yellow. Purple and yellow carrots originated about 5,000 years ago in present day Afghanistan according to England’s Carrot Museum. It’s thought that mutations and natural hybrids derived from both cultivated and wild varieties of the purple and yellow carrots producing an orange “mutant” carrot.
It was around the 16th century that the Dutch took these mutant orange carrots and created a sweeter, more practical modern orange or “western carrot.” It’s said that the modern orange carrot was invented by Dutch growers to honor the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. Though we love our orange carrots we can be thankful for their purple and yellow roots.