"What's Up, Doc?" A Fresh Look at Carrots

Exciting Ingredients: Part 1
Tiny is so excited to share with you everything that she is learning about food! 

This week, she explored the Union Square Greenmarket in New York City and she was amazed by all the different kinds of carrots. 

We bet you’ve seen normal orange carrots at the grocery store or on your dinner table, but did you know that carrots, just like people, come in all different shapes, colors and sizes?  

At the market, Tiny saw red, purple, yellow, white, and pink carrots alongside the more common orange carrot.  

Some carrots were nearly a foot long and some were even smaller than a mouse...

 

Some were long and pointy, or little and squat, or even twisted up like rope....

And they all tasted like delicious, sweet carrots.

Carrots are close relatives to parsley, parsnip, fennel, dill, and cumin, and all of these cousins make delicious additions to carrot recipes. One of the farmers at the market told Tiny that both the greens and the root part of the carrot plant are edible. She also learned that the biggest carrots are usually the sweetest, but that the little ones are the most tender.

We always try to find as many different colors as we can when we eat fruits and vegetables, because their colors work like secret codes: they let you know that there are different types of nutrients inside, and the more colors you choose, the stronger you can be!

We like to cook large carrots in soups like these, or shred them up for a nutritious cake or muffins. The little guys are most delicious simmered with a little butter and honey, or in this crunchy raw salad.

How do you and your family like to eat carrots? Please share your own recipe in the comment section below if you have one that you like!

Visit us at www.TinyTastesWorld.com

This post created by Kat Craddock

Photo credits: Cassie Sciortino