ABOUT CARROTS
The joys of planting, harvesting, preparing and cooking with carrots, including what, where and how to plant, recipes, what to watch for, how to harvest and store.
KITCHEN GARDEN
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The crunch that calms.
By Sara Pacher
A few years back, a study of the effects of sounds on
stress revealed that the noises made when chewing crunchy
foods seemed to relieve tension. I can't vouch for that
report, but I know there is a special pleasure in the
crispy crunch of a carrot, and it's especially sweet when
the root is homegrown.
As I write this, carrots from the autumn garden stand
upright in a glass on my desk, waiting to be munched while
I contemplate the coming sentence. And even if my nibbling
fails to relieve the stress of an approaching deadline, I'm
still supplying my body with a high dose of vitamin A,
which increases disease-resistance in such moist body
membranes as eyes and throat and helps maintain vision in.
the face of computer-monitor eyestrain. (Vitamin A is also
essential for children's growth and important to the
production of sex hormones.) In addition to supplying more
than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin A,
each raw, low-calorie root provides me with vitamins B, C,
D, E and K, along with beta carotene, which may help ward
off cancer.
What to Plant
Some think the carrot is a native of Afghanistan. We know
it's been cultivated in the Mediterranean region for over
2,000 years, and that Asians and Greeks have prized its
medicinal qualities for centuries. About 600 years ago,
Daucus carota spread east to China and north to
Europe. Flemish refugees brought the vegetable to England
during the reign of Elizabeth I, and it accompanied the
first settlers to this continent. But it wasn't until some
100 years ago that French horticulturist Vilmorin-Andrieux
turned the small, white root of this biennial, which
resembles Queen Anne's lace, into the plump, succulent,
brightly colored vegetable we enjoy today.
Until recently, about the only carrot varieties found in
seed catalogues were the good-eating Nantes; the short,
stout Chantenay; the hefty Imperator; and the long, slender
Danvers. Today, these have all been improved, and a host of
new hybrids, including carrots with white, yellow, crimson,
or purplish roots, have come on the scene. There are early
and late types, with the time from planting to harvest
ranging from 55 to 80 days. Carrots also come in all sizes
and shapes: fat, slender, medium-sized, round,
finger-length and bite-sized midgets.
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