Carrots Weren’t Always Orange: Here’s What Their Original Colour Was

Original Colour Of Carrot: The kitchen staple, carrots, were surprisingly not always of an orange colour. Their orange veggie existed in several range of colours, from purple, white, red, to even pale yellow. The orange, which now crowns our supermarket shelves, is a fairly new product in the long history of the carrot, according to the Food Literacy Centre. Carrots were originally grown thousands of years ago in the areas now occupied by Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. Wild carrots early on were not as sweet and meaty as today's varieties. They were harder and sometimes purple or white.

Purple carrots had high amounts of anthocyanins, which were natural pigments that provide some plants with their deep colours. While yellow and white carrots had various combinations of pigments. These original carrots were utilised as much for medicinal as for culinary purposes.

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The change of the carrot's colour to orange occurred during the 16th and 17th centuries in the Netherlands. Dutch farmers selectively cultivated yellow and red carrots to grow orange ones in honour of their ruling house, the House of Orange-Nassau. Not only was this new orange variety patriotic, but it was also sweeter and better looking. The popularity of the orange carrot eventually spread throughout Europe and then globally.

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