Interesting Facts

4th April International Carrot Day

3rd February Carrot Cake Day (I will add a recipe to celebrate!)

The traditional orange carrot was cultivated in the Netherlands in the 17th century. (The carrot originated in Iran but it was a purple/violet colour. The Dutch cultivated it to be more orange in colour as an emblem of the House of Orange and the struggle for Dutch independence. The orange colour results from abundant carotenes in these cultivars. While orange carrots are the norm in the UK, you can still buy purple carrots. )

More cannabis is grown in Scotland than vegetables. (Every year up to £100m of cannabis is grown in Scotland. Of the 111 cannabis farms discovered 100% were in domestic properties and 94% of those were in the buy-to-let market. Personally I prefer carrots.)

The European Union has scrapped rules on fruit and vegetable size. (Twenty-six fruits and vegetables are now free to grow their own way. But ten — including peaches, pears and tomatoes — still have to watch the scales. I shall look forward to funny shaped carrots going back on the shelf.)

Eating lots of carrots will turn the pigment in your skin orange. (Carotenaemia is the presence in blood of the yellow pigment carotene from excessive intake of carrots or other vegetables or fruit containing the pigment, which results in increased serum carotenoids. Strangely carotene is the same substance that makes leaves turn orange in the autumn. But you would have to eat a silly amount of carrots, and eating them in moderation will help your eyes!)