Purple carrots: composition, varieties and their use

Today, the cult of healthy eating is becoming increasingly popular. Eating large quantities of fruits and vegetables will ensure good health for many years.

Carrot is a biennial herbaceous plant, the root crop of which is eaten by humans. If you ask about the color of this vegetable, then everyone will answer that it is orange. It may be yellow or, in extreme cases, light pink, but certainly not purple. But such a vegetable really exists.

Moreover, according to scientists, it appeared even earlier than the more familiar to all carrots orange. This is evidenced by the ancient images of a purple vegetable on frescoes in Egypt. It was also grown in countries such as Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the first mention of its cultivation in these countries were in the XX century. She has reached us relatively recently.

Even today, you can use the recipes described in the culinary book of the Roman Gavius ​​Marcus. This book contains a considerable amount of a recipe using carrots of an unusual color to us. Many historical facts suggest that purple-colored carrots were grown earlier than orange vegetables.

For a long time a root crop was used as a medicine. The seeds were used to treat urinary tract infections and their infections; the leaves of the vegetable were considered to be a good helper in the fight against cancer.

Purple carrots are rarely seen in stores, and its seeds, rather, should be ordered online. After all, not only an unusual color makes this carrot valuable.

It contains a huge amount of nutrients, among them:

• potassium;
• selenium;
• cobalt;
• phosphorus;
• chromium;
• magnesium;
• iodine;
• calcium;
• lithium;
• sodium.

The composition of this valuable vegetable contains a lot of nickel, molybdenum, iron, fluorine, and also there is copper, aluminum, zinc, boron, vanadium.

Proteins per hundred grams of this vegetable contains 1.3 grams. And:

• carbohydrates - from 5.7 to 6.9 grams;
• fat in it at least - 0.1 grams;
• dietary fiber - 2.4 grams;
• 1 g of ash;
• large amounts of water - from 86 to 88 grams.

The composition of this vegetable is anthocyanins, giving the fetus an unusual color. They carry additional benefits as a powerful antioxidant agent.

Purple carrots contain a large amount of beta-carotene, which is able to slow down the process of cellular aging and is a natural antioxidant. Doctors - ophthalmologists advise more often to use this vegetable as food for the prevention of cataracts.

Scientists at the University of Maryland have empirically found that eating this carrot reduces the growth of cancer cells.

It is worth considering the beneficial properties of a vegetable with an unusual color.

• It has a pronounced anti-inflammatory effect. Scientists argue that the effect of anthocyanins in this vegetable exceeds the effectiveness of aspirin.
• Improves the work of the heart and blood vessels. Eating carrots helps to neutralize enzymes that destroy connective tissue, restore damaged proteins, and improve blood circulation.
• Serves to improve vision. Due to the high content of anthocyanins, the product is incredibly useful for improving eyesight.

• It should be included in your diet for people with diabetes.
• This product lowers blood pressure and normalizes cholesterol levels.
• To improve the quality of breast milk in nursing mothers.
• It is included in the diet of people with kidney disease.
• It has an expectorant effect, helps with coughing.

This product is very useful for beauty, because it contains a large amount of useful vitamins and minerals. Thanks to them, the condition of the hair is improved, the skin tone is increased, the nails become stronger. Purple root vegetable can be used in the preparation of home cosmetics (masks, creams). It is worth remembering that this product has high coloring properties and should be used with caution and in small quantities.

If many people are familiar with the varieties of ordinary carrots, then few people know about the root crop of such an unusual color. Nevertheless, gardeners among the most successful varieties identified several.

The period of ripening hybrid is 2.5 months. The variety has a high resistance to diseases. The length of the root is about 20 centimeters. Carrot has a very interesting color combination. Outside, the root vegetable is purple, while inside it is orange.

This variety has an unusual combination of flavors. Inside, the fruit has an orange color, and outside it is red with a violet hue. Root crop boasts a size of about 25 cm.

This variety belongs to the middle ripening. Root grows to 20-22 cm. The color of carrots is purple, has a peach-colored flesh.

This name is a variety of variety. Ripe carrots can be of different colors: with a yellow, pink, red or purple tint. The fruit grows in the form of a cone, has a length of about 18 centimeters.

After ripening, the root becomes very sweet. The color of the fruit is dark mauve with a crimson hue, inside is orange. This variety has good frost resistance, and it is recommended to grow it in areas with a less favorable climate.

The difference of this variety is that it has the pulp and the outer part of the same purple color.

It is considered to be a very tasty variety. If inside a root vegetable has a yellow color, then outside it has a rich purple hue. This variety with high yield, unpretentious in cultivation.

Reviews of gardeners about carrots with an unusual purple color are mostly good. However, the fact remains that the yield of ordinary carrots is still higher than the varieties presented above.

Carrots with an unusual purple color are consumed in food in a raw, boiled, baked form, however in the raw product there are more useful substances remaining than after heat treatment.

One of the simplest recipes is the Rainbow salad. To make it you need:

• take 2 tbsp. l lemon juice, add 1 tbsp. l olive oil;
• cook cabbage and carrots purple, Bulgarian pepper of different colors, greens;
• cut vegetables into strips;
• dress up with sauce.

Purple carrots are recommended to be included in the diet for people who are prone to excess weight and want to lose weight. In this case, the preparation of a fitness cocktail of carrots, celery and greens will be correct. Due to its characteristics, the purple vegetable is sweeter and more juicy than orange carrots, so you should use it in salads or juices.

The following video describes the use of different types of carrots in traditional medicine.