Be vewy quiet I'm hunting... Cawwots!

“The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution!” – Paul Cezanne

The ubiquitous carrot is surely one of our most recognisable vegetables. This remarkably orange and sweet root is at home in both sweet and savory dishes, its image has become synonymous with characters like Bugs Bunny and its ability to help us see in the dark are legendary. There is even a national carrot day (3rd February in case you are wondering).

The carrot is avaliable in Sweden from Autumn until Spring and so it be an almost permenant feature of any seasonal kitchen, however, we shouldn't take this "common" veg for granted, its healthy benefits and variety of consumption options are often forgotten! Find out just how wonderful it is in our "interesting facts" below.

Nourishing Nibbles

• Carrots contain the most carotene of any fruit or vegetable, which the body uses to convert into Vitamin A
• Carrots also are a good source of Vitamins B & C
• The greens (ideal in vegetable stock) are a good source of Vitamin K.
• They are thought to lower cholesterol
  

Cream of the Crop.

• Carrots should be firm, smooth and bright orange.
• Don’t buy them if they are green at the topic or cracked.
• Remove the greens before storing in the fridge, as the chemicals in the leaves can turn the root dry and limp.
• Carrots can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 month

Cooking

• 10% of a carrots nutrition is found within the skin, so we recommend keeping it on!
• Unusually cooked carrots are more nutritious than the raw vegetables as the cooking breaks down the tough cellulose walls which the body finds hard to digest.
• Carrots are one of nature’s sweetest vegetables which makes them ideal in cakes!

Fabulous Carrot Facts!

• Carrots originate in Afghanistan where they were white, red, purple and yellow
• The orange carrot was invented in the Netherlands to celebrate the House of Orange
• Carrot greens where a sought after fashion accessory in Tudor times, with stylish women fastening them to their headgear.
• The largest carrot ever grown weighed 8.5kg!
• Bugs Bunny’s nonchalant carrot-eating stance was modelled on the Clark Gable character in “It happened one night”.