Facts about Carrots

The "bait and hook" business model, introduced in the early twentieth century, involves the offer of a basic product at a very low cost, often at a loss.

Grated carrots are used in carrot cakes, as well as carrot puddings, an old English dish thought to have originated in the early 1800s.

Eastern carrots were domesticated in Central Asia, probably in modern-day Afghanistan in the tenth century, or possibly earlier.

Orange-colored carrots appeared in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century (Dalby 1997).

In 2005, China was the largest producer of carrots and turnips, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, although figures from China sometimes are considered suspect.

Food enthusiasts and researchers have developed other varieties of carrots through traditional breeding methods.

The purple color common in these carrots comes from anthocyanin pigments.

A common urban legend in part based on this is that carrots aid a human being's night vision.

Carrots are a rich source of vitamin A, with a 100 gram portion having about five to ten milligrams of carotene (Bender and Bender 2005).

Massive overconsumption of carrots can cause hypercarotinemia, a condition in which a person's skin appears orange (although this is superior to overdose effects of vitamin A, which can cause liver damage).

Carrots are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including common swift, garden dart, ghost moth, and large yellow underwing.

The modern carrot appears to have been introduced to Europe in the eighth to tenth centuries; Ibn al-Awam, in Andalusia, describes both red and yellow carrots.

Carrot cultivars can be grouped into two broad classes, eastern carrots and western carrots.

Baby carrots tend to be very tender, but not as flavorful as full grown carrots (Herbst 2001).

Carrots are also rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, and minerals.

Carrots can be eaten raw, whole, chopped, grated, or added to salads for color or texture.