What’s Up, Doc? Carrots in a Rainbow of Colors
A few years ago, carrots were judged primarily on sugar content--the sweeter the better. Today, though, seed companies want to be your mother: Eat this variety, it’s good for you.
Claims abound on which carrot has more beta carotene than another. But nutritional considerations aside, the issues of flavor and color are always at the heart of the gourmet experience. It is thus welcome to hear that a new interest in color has been a side effect of the quest for a so-called “healthier” carrot.
Consider the maroon carrot, a variety developed for the agricultural market by Texas A&M; researchers and sold in gourmet supermarkets. Producers claim that a single, 8-inch-long, tapered carrot delivers nearly twice the recommended daily dosage of vitamin A. But just as interesting to the gardener is the remarkable appearance of the maroon carrot: Its outer layers of skin and flesh are a deep burgundy to purple hue that changes to the more-traditional orange at the core.
Seed of the Texas A&M; carrot is not available to the consumer market yet; the maroon carrot hasn’t even been officially named. However, a similar variety is available. Called Dragon, it comes from Oregon’s Garden City Seed Co. ([406] 961-4837; https://www.gardencityseeds.com), and with its lovely dual coloration when sliced into rounds, it looks nearly identical to the commercial maroon carrot and is very sweet and flavorful.
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Nutritional value is tied to other colors too. Nutri-red is a variety offered by Nichols Garden Nursery ([541] 928-9280; https://www.gardennursery.com). Described by Nichols as “a red carrot without a suggestion of orange,” Nutri-red is high in lycopene, an antioxidant that some believe helps fight certain cancers.
Even when no special health claims are made, color in a carrot can be a surprising and delicious asset. Take Sweet Sunshine, a pretty little yellow carrot from W. Atlee Burpee ([800] 888-1447; https://www.burpee.com). Full of flavor and sweetness with a crisp, celery-like texture, Sweet Sunshine is a full-size variety, but, at 6 or 7 inches at maturity, still compact enough to grow in heavier soils.
Carrots originally were white, according to the grower of the maroon Texas carrot. The orange coloration came with breeding for increased flavor and sweetness. Does that mean that a white carrot will lack both? Not according to Nichols, which this year is offering a variety named White Belgium.
Good old orange carrots remain the most common. My favorite for the past several years is Mokum, which comes up reliably and produces handfuls of straight, attractive, relentlessly orange roots that have top-notch flavor. These are especially good in the fall, pulled ground-chilled out of the cool earth and simply scrubbed and crunched raw.
Carrots should be going into the ground now; they can be sown any time up to mid-May. They should be sown sparingly--they need their space to achieve good size--and covered with the barest little bit of crumbly compost, then tamped down gently. They have a reputation for being peevish germinators; in fact, they simply like certain temperatures. Once those have been reached, they germinate very quickly indeed and are no trouble.
Carrot growth is most rapid when the weather is cool, so the gardener may find little progress in high summer. However, those sown now will be ready to harvest beginning in mid-June, before the heat slows them down. Another sowing in late August will ensure a batch for fall.
After the roots are mature and ready to pull, the entire crop should be taken out within a couple of weeks. This also is when the flavor is at its best. Leaving them in much longer will result in split and cracked roots, greatly diminished sugar content and an acrid taste.
Knowing when your carrots are ready is always a gamble. The best method is to carefully note the days to maturity listed on the seed packet and consult a calendar. On the first day of the estimated date of maturity, pull one plant at the center of the row. If that’s a pretty good size, you can count on the rest being ready. If not, don’t bother trying to replant the pulled one, but do leave the rest alone for a week or so; then test again. The key to full development is in thinning the seedlings when they are about an inch high.
Even though the many varieties won’t necessarily all mature at once, they will overlap somewhat. Regardless, it’s worth trying a few colors just for the chance of producing a dazzling carrot dish.
