Originating in ancient Egypt, carrots didn’t start out so
orange. Can you imagine how Bugs Bunny would look chomping down on one
of these?
When you think of carrots what is the first thing that comes to mind? One thing is for sure, you don’t think “Gee, you mean that long purple vegetable.” Well here’s news for you, the original colour of the carrot was not orange! Carrots originated in Middle Asia with some historians believing that they were known as far back as Ancient Egypt over 5,000 years ago. It is not clear if they were actually cultivated at this time, however by the 10th century in Afghanistan, they were being grown in the colours purple or yellow.These weren’t the only colours around, however. In addition to purple and white, carrots were grown in red, yellow and even black. In fact to begin with carrots were not favoured as a favorite vegetable, but rather in the times of the Ancient Romans, as a medicinal herb and even as an aphrodisiac. A “green” aphrodisiac at that.
When you think of carrots what is the first thing that comes to mind? One thing is for sure, you don’t think “Gee, you mean that long purple vegetable.” Well here’s news for you, the original colour of the carrot was not orange! Carrots originated in Middle Asia with some historians believing that they were known as far back as Ancient Egypt over 5,000 years ago. It is not clear if they were actually cultivated at this time, however by the 10th century in Afghanistan, they were being grown in the colours purple or yellow.These weren’t the only colours around, however. In addition to purple and white, carrots were grown in red, yellow and even black. In fact to begin with carrots were not favoured as a favorite vegetable, but rather in the times of the Ancient Romans, as a medicinal herb and even as an aphrodisiac. A “green” aphrodisiac at that.