History of carrots

The first proven reference of carrot comes from Egypt in the time of King Merodach-Baladin around 800 BC, though some have identified picture in a 2000 BC tomb as a purple carrot.

The Greeks and Romans extensively used across for medicinal purposes; to reduce abortions amongst other things. The Greeks believed that carrots were not only food but also a powerful love medicine, They though this vegetable made men better lovers and also made women more interested in romance.

The Romans succeeded in cultivating better tasting variants and clearly distinguished between these and the wild ones, with different ’species’ names, The word carota for the cultivated appears around 200 AD. Romans enjoyed carrots with there everyday meals. They usually ate them dressed oath oil, salt and vinegar or cooked in a sauce made from cumin salt, oil an cold wine.

Moors and Arabs introduced carrots with purple and yellow roots from Afghanistan to Spain in the twelfth century. From there, these plants were distributed all over Europe. In 795 Charlemagne included the carrot in a list of recommend plants for the gardens of his empire.

The garden or cultivated carrot was first introduced into England by the Flemings during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Finding the soil about Sandwich in Kent very favourable for the culture of the carrot, the emigrants soon engaged in the production on the spot. By the Elizaberthan period carrots had become very popular in England.

In the mid eighteenth century Johann Hermann Knoop described orange carrots which he suggested had been derived from yellow ones in the Netherlands.
History of carrots