Recently, purple carrots have appeared in many European stores, which are in good demand among buyers.
However, this achievement of breeders is the best fit with popular wisdom, which says that everything new is a well-forgotten old. Do you have a question about why we call this newfangled carrot a well-forgotten old one? After reading this article, you will not only get the answer to this question, but also learn a lot of interesting things about this unusual purple carrot.
How a man met carrots
There is no exact and reliable information about how people got to know this root crop, but there is a rather interesting version of such a meeting. More than 4,000 years ago, a man noticed that a horse chews some kind of purple plant with pleasure. Curious, he tookanimal carrot and he liked it.
Remembering how the leaves of a delicious root look like, a man went in search of him. With all subsequent events, the purple wild carrot came to taste and began to be cultivated.
A little digression into history
Not so long ago, archaeologists discovered a 4,000-year-old mural depicting light purple carrots on the walls of an ancient Egyptian temple.
It turns out that the very first carrots were originally purple, and until the 17th century, root vegetables colored in red, white and yellow were rare. White and pink carrots grew in the gardens of the Roman Empire, and the inhabitants of ancient Greece did not use them for food, but used them for almost all diseases as a natural remedy. The inhabitants of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan already in the X century grew this root crop of dark purple color. In the 13th century, white, raspberry and yellow carrots were imported to the states of southern Europe. In addition, it was possible to meet this vegetable in red, green and black colors.
The golden-orange carrot familiar to us appeared relatively recently, in the 16th century. Patriotic Dutch breeders, who supported William of Orange in the fight against Spanish rule over the Netherlands, bred a variety with an unusual color for that time, but so familiar and beloved by us today.
This vegetable came to Russia in the 16th century and for a long time was used exclusively in medicinalpurposes.
What's in it
Multiple studies have found that purple carrots are rich in vitamins B, A, C, E, as well as a variety of micro and macro elements necessary for our body. In addition, a root vegetable of this unusual color contains several times more beta-carotene than a standard orange carrot. Vitamins E and C, together with selenium, effectively fight foci of inflammatory processes.
But the most important thing that distinguishes purple carrots from their orange "relative" is the presence and high concentration of anthocyanins, plant pigments, which not only color vegetables and fruits black, blue or purple, but also have a large number of useful for us properties.
What is its use
Due to the presence of "purple" pigments - anthocyanins - this purple-colored vegetable exhibits such beneficial properties:
- Anti-cancer effect. Lutein, a carotenoid found in purple carrots, contributes to the fact that anthocyanins significantly slow down the growth of cancer cells.
- Anti-inflammatory action.
- Helps boost immunity.
- Is an excellent means of preventing diseases of the cardiovascular system.
- It helps well with diseases of the vascular system, especially with varicose veins and venous insufficiency.
- Helps improve vision and serves as an excellent prophylactic against the development of retinopathy in patients with diabetesdiabetes.
- Normalizes and stabilizes blood cholesterol levels.
- Reduces high blood pressure.
- Strengthens the kidneys.
- The calcium contained in purple carrots, along with other beneficial substances, is easily absorbed by the body and helps maintain good skin, nails and hair.
- Regular use is a good remedy for various sexual dysfunctions in both men and women.
How to grow it
Many gardeners and gardeners, having learned about the benefits of this root crop, are interested in whether it is possible to get purple carrot seeds somewhere. As a rule, the seeds of such plants, which are not yet very familiar to us, are sold by large manufacturers in specialized stores or garden centers. You can also ask in a regular store, it is only important to remember that purple varieties of carrots have different varieties, and it is better to know their names. Today, there are not many seeds of varietal purple carrots on the Russian seed market. This is:
- A bright purple colored dragon with an orange center and a sweet taste.
- Purple Elixir, with purplish-purple hued skin and flesh, and contrasting honey-orange core.
- Cosmic Purple, purple on the outside and completely yellow-orange on the inside.
