La Carrote

e carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus; etymology: from Late Latin carōta, from Greek καρωτόν karōton, originally from the Indo-European root ker- (horn), due to its horn-like shape) is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh. The most commonly eaten part of a carrot is a taproot, although the greens are sometimes eaten as well. It is a domesticated form of the wild carrot Daucus carota, native to Europe and southwestern Asia. The domestic carrot has been selectively bred for its greatly enlarged and more palatable, less woody-textured edible taproot. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that world production of carrots and turnips (these plants are combined by the FAO for reporting purposes) for calendar year 2011 was almost 35.658 million tonnes. Almost half were grown in China. Carrots are widely used in many cuisines, especially in the preparation of salads, and carrot salads are a tradition in many regional cuisines.

Contents [hide]

1 Description

2 History

3 Chemistry

4 Nutrition

5 Methods of consumption and uses

5.1 Companion plant

6 Cultivation

6.1 Cultivation problems

7 Cultivars

8 Production trends

9 Storage

10 See also

11 References

11.1 Cited literature

12 External links

Description

Flowers of a carrot plant

The carrot is a variable biennial plant, usually growing up to 1 m tall and flowering from June to August. The umbels are claret-coloured or pale pink before they open, then bright white and rounded when in full flower, measuring 3–7 cm wide with a festoon of bracts beneath; finally, as they turn to seed, they contract and become concave like a bird's nest. The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds.[1]

Similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock,[2][3] D. carota is distinguished by a mix of bi-pinnate and tri-pinnate leaves, fine hairs on its stems and leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in its center.

History

Workers harvesting carrots, Imperial Valley, California, 1948

The wild ancestors of the carrot are likely to have come from Iran and Afghanistan, which remain the centre of diversity of Daucus carota, the wild carrot. Selective breeding over the centuries of a naturally occurring subspecies of the wild carrot, Daucus carota subsp. sativus, to reduce bitterness, increase sweetness and minimise the woody core, has produced the familiar garden vegetable.[4][5]

In early use, carrots were grown for their aromatic leaves and seeds, not their roots. Carrot seeds have been found in Switzerland and Southern Germany dating to 2000–3000 BC.[6] Some relatives of the carrot are still grown for their leaves and seeds, such as parsley, fennel, dill and cumin. The first mention of the root in classical sources is in the 1st century. The modern carrot originated in Afghanistan about 1100 years ago.[7] It was purple in the 10th century in such locations as The Middle East, India and Europe.[8] It appears to have been introduced to Europe via Spain by the Moors in the 8th century.[9] The 12th-century Arab Andalusian agriculturist, Ibn al-'Awwam, describes both red and yellow carrots;[10] Simeon Seth also mentions both colours in the 11th century. Cultivated carrots appeared in China in the 14th century, and in Japan in the 18th century.[11] Orange-coloured carrots appeared in the Netherlands, where the flag included orange, in the 17th century.[12][8] These, the modern carrots, were intended by the antiquary John Aubrey (1626–1697) when he noted in his memoranda "Carrots were first sown at Beckington in Somersetshire Some very old Man there [in 1668] did remember their first bringing hither."[13] European settlers introduced the carrot to Colonial America in the 17th century.[14]

Purple carrots, still orange on the inside, were sold in British stores starting in 2002.[8]

Chemistry

β-Carotene structure. Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of carrots and many other fruits and vegetables.

Polyacetylenes can be found in Apiaceae vegetables like carrots where they show cytotoxic activities.[15][16] Falcarinol and falcarindiol (cis-heptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diyne-3,8-diol)[17] are such compounds. This latter compound shows antifungal activity towards Mycocentrospora acerina and Cladosporium cladosporioides.[17] Falcarindiol is the main compound responsible for bitterness in carrots.[18]

Other compounds such as pyrrolidine (present in the leaves),[19] 6-hydroxymellein,[20] 6-methoxymellein, eugenin, 2,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde (gazarin) or (Z)-3-acetoxy-heptadeca-1,9-diene-4,6-diin-8-ol (falcarindiol 3-acetate) can also be found in carrot.

Nutrition

Carrots, raw

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)

Energy 173 kJ (41 kcal)

Carbohydrates 9.6 g

- Sugars 4.7 g

- Dietary fibre 2.8 g

Fat 0.24 g

Protein 0.93 g

Vitamin A equiv. 835 μg (104%)

- beta-carotene 8285 μg (77%)

- lutein and zeaxanthin 256 μg

Thiamine (vit. B1) 0.066 mg (6%)

Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.058 mg (5%)

Niacin (vit. B3) 0.983 mg (7%)

Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.273 mg (5%)

Vitamin B6 0.138 mg (11%)

Folate (vit. B9) 19 μg (5%)

Vitamin C 5.9 mg (7%)

Vitamin E 0.66 mg (4%)

Calcium 33

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