The most common type of carrot in the United States and Canada is the Imperator carrot, which is long and thin; the rest of the world eats shorter, thicker-rooted carrots called Danvers or Chantenay carrots.
*Belgian White carrots
Carrots come in a variety of colors. Belgian White carrots grow wild in Western and Eastern Europe. They are mainly used to feed livestock. Red carrots grow in Japan, and some yellow and purple types, called Eastern/Asiatic carrots, are found in Turkey and China.
Maroon carrots were introduced to the U.S. marketplace in the mid-1990s. Scientists at Texas A&M University discovered this new breed, called BetaSweet. BetaSweet carrots are sweeter and crunchier than orange carrots. They have maroon outer flesh, a ring of pale orange interior flesh, and a center core of orange flesh. Their maroon color comes from anthocyanins, plant pigments that are also found in berries.
**Slices of BetaSweet maroon carrots**
BetaSweet carrots also contain beta-carotene, the plant pigment that gives orange carrots their color. BetaSweet carrots contain 40 percent more beta-carotene than regular orange carrots, which means you get more vitamin A from them.
*Purple Eastern/Asiatic carrots
*Scarlet Nantes
Short-rooted varieties: These carrots mature more quickly and are the first to be planted.
Some names of this type of carrot are Amsterdam Forcing, Tiana, Early French Frame, Early Nantes, Champion Scarlet Horn.
*Autumn King
Medium-rooted varieties: These are the most common type of commercially grown carrots.
Names of these carrots include Mokum, Flakkee, Autumn King, Chantenay Red Cored, and Royal Chantenay.
*Saint Valery
Long-rooted varieties: Some of these types of carrots are called New Red Intermediate and Saint Valery.
**Photos courtesy of www.seminis.com
*Photos courtesy of www.carrotmuseum.com
