# Peculiar Carrot



## Shipbuilder

PECULIAR CARROT	
Today, at lunch time, my wife came and asked me to have a look at the rather peculiar carrot. When it was selected for preparation, it looked fairly normal, but of a paler colour than its companions from the same bag (organic, grown in Norfolk).
It proved impossible to cut. The orange part was then stripped from each end, revealing a very hard core with the consistency of wood. I took a very sharp knife and was unable to cut through it! It would have needed a saw! Any ideas on what might have happened to cause this?
Idle curiosity only!
Bob


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## vectiscol

If it originated from Norfolk and is paler than orange, i.e. yellowish, then it is probably Norwich City's centre-forward, who asked for a transfer recently ............. !!


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## makko

Bob,
Maybe it dehydrated in storage. There is a great deal of storage and market manipulation (supply/demand) in "fresh" vegetables thanks to the giant multinational supermarket chains.
Rgds.
Dave


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## John Rogers

That carrot appears to have a wooden core, I have heard of carrots that get a wooden core when they are left too long in the soil before harvest.


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## John Rogers

All you want to know about carrots.

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/trivia.html


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## spongebob

We have a carrot cultivar in NZ called Egmont Gold, a yellowish version that is not up to the orange coloured variety. 
In your carrot's case, especially as it has been grown organically without accelerating chemical fertilisers and being a tap rooting vegetable, it is likely that slower maturity has caused the root to extend and mature in the core.
Woody carrots are common here if slow grown due to soil fertility or climate conditions

Bob


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## Shipbuilder

Thanks for all the replies. Enjoyed looking at the carrot museum!
It made a change from the usual subjects, didn't it? (Jester)
Bob


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## Chris Isaac

Carrots are excellent when roasted with some grated fresh ginger.

Lets see how long we can keep this thread going with deviated away from the subject.


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## Cisco

Roast parrot? Not for me I'm afraid...... oh... carrot...... yep I always stick some carrots in with a roast..... haven't tried em with ginger .... must give that a go...

These little chaps are home grown Falklands carrots given to me by a friend..... sweet as..... not big enough for roasting though.....

The only non Falklands' veg in the pic is the onion....


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## spongebob

PECULIAR CARROT. we have heard about the carrot or the stick approach, perhaps you got the stick this time Bob.

Bob


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## barrinoz

I believe carrots are naturally purple in colour but were genetically modified to be the more acceptable orange colour they now are. I'm guessing by the Yanks. Anybody know?
barrinoz.


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## Cisco

Selective breeding rather than GM...... a bit like breeding blue budgies.... not sure if they were purple originally but you can get purple ones now....


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## stein

I saw a television reportage here involving the illegal use of paraffin to combat the carrot fly. And since then I’ve been examining all carrots for the odour of paraffin, some of which does indeed smell strongly of the use. Which has reduced my intake of the vegetable: remembering our old paraffin oven with its horrible stench I have a suspicion the stuff must be decidedly unhealthy?


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## Cisco

Not sure what it was used to deter but I recall in the 70s in Oz they were using kerosene on them.... bought a few that had the pong..... haven't been aware of it for 40 years though.

The farmer's markets in Pto Montt sell good organic carrots.... every now and again you find one that has had some bit of wildlife the size of your middle finger drill its way in one side and out the other.....


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## Cisco

Never mind the kero... its the iso-coumarin you want to be wary of! http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/australia.html


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## spongebob

I remember the story during the war about the fighter pilots eating carrots to improve their night vision. I was told I would never grow up to become a pilot of a Mosquito night fighter unless I ate my carrots.
When I was diagnosed with asbestos related plaques on my lungs in the early 90's, I was put on the National asbestos register and sent piles of advisory information about palliative diet regimes which mainly centered on eating tons of carrots to maximize the body's carotene intake. 
I gave it a go for a while but the enthusiasm wore off and today my symptoms remain static and benign so maybe the burst helped.
All this talk and advise about carrot culture has prompted me to pull out my little crop as winter sets in and it is baby carrots for dinner.
What about the love or hate attitude to mashed carrot and parsnip? A delicacy for some and a dislike for many.

Bob


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## Chief Engineer's Daughter

The carrot is probably a "bolted" one.


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## Varley

Looks screwed to me but you're the Plumber's daughter.


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## ALAN TYLER

I like carrots mashed with turnip, but do carrots really help night vision?


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## spongebob

As we awake to Zero air temperature and a nice frost this morning I read my July issue of the NZ Gardener to find this advice.

"Pull them out while they are still crunchy"
"Carrots last well enough in the ground during winter although they wont get any bigger while they are so cold. But if there is a spell of good weather they could start to grow again which will give them woody cores so pull out now"

So that is my first job this morning, pulling carrots!

The mind boggles

Bob


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## John Rogers

Bob, I have been told that you save them by putting them in a large box filled with sand, they will keep for a long time.


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## kevjacko

_I remember the story during the war about the fighter pilots eating carrots to improve their night vision. I was told I would never grow up to become a pilot of a Mosquito night fighter unless I ate my carrots._

Believe I saw something do***entary recently that said this was a myth deliberately started by the Americans to throw the Germans off the scent of something they were developing.

Anyway Carrot & Coriander soup, one of my current favourites and simple to make.

1 Onion finely chopped,
bunch of carrots (depends how much soup you want to make), peeled & grated
couple of pints of vegetable stock
good sized knob of butter
fresh coriander
dash of worcester
tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Fry the onion in butter until soft in saucepan
Add the grated carrots,ginger & half the coriander
cook together with the onions, stirring occasionally 5 - 7 minutes
Add stock, bring to boil & reduce to simmer for approx 20 - 30 mins

Remove from heat allow to cool slightly and blend.

Put back on heat add remainder of coriander.

Add worcester,salt,pepper to taste,

Keep a small amount of fresh coriander back to sprinkle on just before serving.

And If your not on a diet add a swirl of fresh cream before serving also

Bit rushed this one coz I'm in a hurry. Anyone struggling let me know.

Kev


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## John Rogers

Carrots are good for your eyes. Carrots and some other fruits and vegetables contain Beta-carotene that helps to protect vision, especially night vision. After beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A in the liver, it travels to the retina where it is transformed into rhodopsin, a purple pigment that is necessary for night-vision. Plus beta-carotene's powerful antioxidant actions help provide protection against macular degeneration and the development of senile cataracts, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.


Are Carrots Good for your Vision? Everyone has probably heard that eating carrots is good for your eyes. However, is there any truth to this? The answer is, it really depends on what you mean by “good.”

Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A. Vitamin A is used to make retinal, which binds to the protein opsin and forms various photopigments. These photopigments are extremely sensitive to light. When light stimulates these photopigments, certain changes occur that eventually lead to our brain perceiving light through a very complicated process called phototransduction. So we need vitamin A in order for our eyes to function properly. However, getting enough vitamin A is not really a problem in developed countries. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, but vitamin A can be found in other foods such as sweet potatoes, eggs, butter, and broccoli.

More vitamin A does not actually improve the function of your eyes. While a certain minimum amount is necessary, ingesting large doses will not give you superhuman vision or allow you to get rid of your glasses. Nor is vitamin A deficiency the reason people need to wear glasses in the first place.

So how did this myth about carrots being so good for your vision become so popular? Actually, the history behind it is quite interesting. It goes back to World War II when German bombers frequently raided Great Britain. The economic and psychological devastation from these surprise bombings was enormous for a country that had not been invaded for hundreds of years.

In 1935, Robert Watson-Watt had convinced the British government to spend money developing a radar system that could detect aircraft before they reached Great Britain. A chain of radar stations was set up around the south coast of England in 1940 and successfully detected approaching German aircraft.

he British military did not want the Germans to know they had this technology. However, they had to come up with a plausible explanation for why so many German bombers were being shot down. So the government began having stories printed in British newspapers about a new dietary program administered to their pilots that centered around the consumption of carrots and other root vegetables. The program claimed to give British pilots increased vision as well as improved night vision. These newspaper reports not only fooled the Germans but also resulted in the British public consuming carrots in order to help their vision during blackouts.


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## Ron Stringer

John Rogers said:


> Bob, I have been told that you save them by putting them in a large box filled with sand, they will keep for a long time.


.... until you are ready to feed them to the horses or throw them on the compost heap. (Jester)


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## trotterdotpom

A cir***sized carrot! Obviously from a no-frills greengrocer.

John T


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