Carrots are one of the most important vegetables in the world and have a rich and fascinating history. Southern Fresh, Waikato’s specialist gourmet vegetable growers and processors have baby carrots in four different colours – orange, purple, white, and yellow.
If you didn’t know carrots came in any other colour except orange, you’re bound to be fascinated by the history of the carrot.
Jeremy Dunn, General Manager of Southern Fresh Group, says humans have a long association with carrots, dating back more than 5,000 years, where the first documentations show wild carrots being harvested in Central Asia and Europe.
“Very early varieties of carrots were wild carrots,” says Mr. Dunn. “They had edible leaves and white roots and were not only eaten but prescribed for medicinal purposes, using every part of the carrot, including the roots, leaves, and seeds.”
Mr Dunn says orange carrots, so common these days, were actually only developed relatively recently, around the 17th Century.
Although the background of the orange carrot is somewhat murky, historians commonly believe the colour has a political bent, being cultivated by Dutch growers as a tribute to William of Orange, who led the struggle for Dutch independence.
Mr. Dunn says Southern Fresh Foods is proud to grow and supply carrots in their full variety of colours and supply a range of gourmet carrots to local chefs.”
“Our specialty carrots are popular with the best chefs in Waikato, who like to use only the highest quality products in their dishes.”
Southern Fresh Foods is a family-owned and operated company and is one of New Zealand’s leading professional growers and processors of high-quality baby vegetables, salad lines, and herbs.
