Such an ancient and newfangled carrot is purple

Recently in many European shops appeared carrots purple, which is in good demand among buyers. However, this achievement of breeders perfectly corresponds to popular wisdom, saying that everything new is a well-forgotten old. Do you have a question about why this new-fangled carrot we call a well-forgotten old? After reading this article, you will not only get an answer to this question, but also learn a lot of interesting things about such an unusual purple carrot.

How a person met carrots

Accurate and reliable information about how people got acquainted with this root crop, no, but there is quite an interesting version of such a meeting. More than 4,000 years ago, a man noticed that the horse chewed with pleasure a certain plant of purple. He took interest in the carrot, and he liked it. Remembering how the leaves look like a delicious root, a man went to look for him. Taking into account all subsequent events wild carrot purple has become to taste and it has been cultivated.

A short digression into the history

Not so long ago, archaeologists discovered on the walls of an ancient Egyptian temple a mural aged 4000 years old, on which carrots of light purple are depicted. It turns out that the very first carrot was originally violet, and until the XVII century, rarities were found, painted in red, white and yellow. In the gardens of the Roman Empire rose white and pink carrots, and the inhabitants of ancient Greece did not use it for food, but used almost all diseases as a natural remedy. In the 10th century, the inhabitants of Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan cultivated this dark-purple root crop . In the 13th century, carrots of white, crimson and yellow flowers were imported into the states of southern Europe. In addition, it was possible to meet this vegetable in red, green and black colors.

The carrot of the golden-orange color , familiar to us , appeared relatively recently, in the 16th century. Dutch patriotic breeders, who supported William of Orange in the struggle against the power of Spain over the Netherlands, brought out a variety with a color unusual for that time, but so familiar and beloved by us today.

In Russia this vegetable came in the 16th century and was used for a long time exclusively for medicinal purposes.

And what is in it

Numerous studies have established that violet carrots are rich in vitamins of group B, A, C, E, as well as various and necessary for our body micro- and macro elements. In addition, in the root of this unusual color contains several times more beta-carotene than in the standard orange carrots. Vitamins E and C, together with selenium, effectively fight with inflammatory foci.

But most importantly, what distinguishes carrots from purple from their orange "relative" is the presence and high concentration of anthocyanins, plant pigments that not only color vegetables and fruits in black, blue or purple, but also have a lot of useful properties for us.

What is its use?

Due to the presence of "purple" pigments - anthocyanins - this vegetable of purple color shows such useful properties:

1. Anticancer effect. Such a substance contained in the purple carrot, like the carotenoid lutein, contributes to the fact that anthocyanins significantly slow the growth of cancer cells.
2. Anti-inflammatory effect.
3. Promotes strengthening of immunity.
4. It is an excellent means of preventing diseases of the cardiovascular system.
5. It helps well in diseases of the vascular system, especially with varicose veins and venous insufficiency.
6. Promotes vision improvement and serves as an excellent preventive against the development of retinopathy in patients with diabetes mellitus.
7. Normalizes and stabilizes the level of cholesterol in the blood.
8. Reduces high blood pressure.
9. Strengthens the kidneys.
10. Calcium, contained in purple carrots along with other beneficial substances, is easily absorbed by the body and helps maintain a good shape of the skin, nails and hair.
11. Regular use is a good way to combat various sexual dysfunctions in both men and women.

How to grow it

Many gardeners and truck farmers, learning about the benefits of this root, are interested in whether it is possible to get some carrot seeds purple somewhere. As a rule, seeds of such plants, not yet very familiar to us, are sold by large producers in specialized shops or garden centers. You can ask in an ordinary store, it's important to remember that carrots are purple varieties, and it is better to know their names. Today there are not so many seeds of varietal purple carrots on the Russian seed market. It:

• Dragon, painted in bright violet with orange middle and sweet taste.
• Purple Elixir, with a peel and pulp, painted in a purple-violet color, and contrasting with them a honey-orange heart.
• Cosmic Purple, externally - purple and completely yellow-orange inside.