The Ottawa Citizen / Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Page: B4
Section: Food Life
Byline: Gay Cook
Column: Taste of the Town
Source: The Ottawa Citizen

Purple carrots are expected to be a new food craze in Britain this summer, but they are already a hit in Ottawa. Originally, carrots came purple with an orange interior and yellow core but, in the 1720s, the Dutch decided to cultivate them in their national colour, orange.

Bryson Farms of Shawville grew and sold purple carrots as well as white ones last summer, and is selling them by phone with home delivery. They're also sold every Saturday at the Organic Farmer's Market at the corner of Bank Street and Heron Road.

Last year the purple carrots were best-sellers; in fact, Bryson Farms sold out and this year it's planting more of the heirloom seeds, says co-owner Stuart Collins. These carrots retain the purple colour in cooking and are the most nutritious because of the pigment, a natural anti-oxidant that protects against some forms of cancer and heart disease. Purple carrots are amazingly sweet when eaten fresh, and have a rich carrot flavour when cooked.

Also available are white carrots, which have a rich taste when cooked but are rather bland when eaten raw.

For more information, check out the Web site at www.brysonfarms.com or call 647-3456.

Back to other News Articles