Carrots

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Beloved roots

We Swiss consume around seven kilograms of carrots annually. Each year, carrots are up against intense competition from tomatoes and potatoes for one of the top places in the vegetable statistics. Carrots are much more local, with more than 95% of carrots grown in Switzerland, while almost half the tomatoes come from abroad.

Find fresh carrots in a farm store.

Find carrots

On a ridge

In Switzerland, the cultivation of carrots gained importance from the 18^th century onwards. Even today, their cultivation is anything but easy. Our farmers, incidentally, also grow carrots on ridges in the same way as potatoes. This prevents any waterlogging, which the sensitive carrot roots don’t like. The higher soil temperature in the ridges in spring also ensures that growth gets off to a faster start.

Origins in Asia

Our carrots were not always orange, by the way. Carrots originally came from Central Asia and were many different colours, including white, yellow and even violet. Orange-coloured carrots like those we know today were bred in the Netherlands in the 17^th century as a tribute to the royal family. In your local farm store you will perhaps also find varieties like the yellow “Pfälzerrüebli”, the white “Küttiger Rüebli” or the “purple haze”.

Image: ProSpecieRara

Carrot or turnip?

It was probably by accident that the canton of Aargau came to be known as the “carrot canton”. People most likely confused the word “Rüebli” for carrot with “Räbe” for turnip, given that the white turnip is a crop with a long tradition in Aargau. Even though Aargau is not necessarily regarded as a major carrot-growing region, the canton keeps this image alive, showcasing a wide variety of these crunchy vegetables at its “Rüeblimärt” or carrot market held in Aarau every November. The local “Küttiger Rüebli” carrot variety was once only deemed good enough for horse fodder. People soon came to realise, however, that this sweet variety was ideal not only for stews but also for preserving. This variety thus generally sells out fast at the carrot market.

Peas & Carrots

One particular carrot speciality, however, is grown in just a single valley in Switzerland – the small, round Parisian carrot is found solely in the Rhine Valley in the canton of St. Gallen. This is not just because the small carrots thrive particularly well there. It has much more to do with the fact that the valley is home to the factory that processes the carrots. A short transport route to the factory is the best way of avoiding nutrient loss. The full 2000 tonnes of Parisian carrots harvested all end up being canned, either alone or together with fresh peas.

Children’s favourite

Scarcely any other vegetable can rival the versatility of the carrot in the kitchen. Carrots taste good raw, cooked, steamed, glazed, deep-frozen, sterilised in cans or pickled in vinegar and lend themselves to different types of cuisine. Carrots are many children’s favourite, due in part to their natural fructose content that can be as high as 10%. Alongside a wealth of vitamins, this sweet root vegetable is also a source of beta-carotene (provitamin A). The more intense the colour of a carrot, the higher its beta-carotene content. And it’s important to eat carrots with something that contains fat. Carotene is optimally absorbed in combination with fat, being fat-soluble and not water-soluble. Carotene is important for healthy skin and good eyes and it boosts the immune system against infections.

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