« Brasserie 8 ½ | Main | Beringer Gewurztraminer »

Carrots

I love a public market. There’s something very wholesome about buying food from people who have the dirt it was grown in under their nails. And, for the most part, I’ve always found that the folks who grow the stuff, get up early, stand in the rain and bag up my choices are friendly, appreciative and as pleasant as they come. I feel good about doing business with them. Of course, not all the foods offered by vendors at public markets are grown by them all year long. But, experience has shown me that these retailers know their stock well, whether they grow it or not. Ask questions about an items’ point of origin and you can usually get the straight and the skinny. On a recent produce shopping excursion to our local Public Market in Rochester, New York, we ran across a gentleman who offered carrots, a 10 pound bag he said was closer to 11 pounds, for just $3.00. They hailed from Canada. It’s winter now, and the days are gray, the winds are chilly and the snow is beginning to be a daily part of life. Both Deb, my wife, and I were looking for some color in our diets. Carrots, here we come.

The Facts:

• As Americans, we eat close to a 100,000 bushels of carrots a day.
• These orange vegetables are a good source of Beta Carotene, which helps us see better in dim light.
• Carrots have been enjoyed by the ancient Greeks, the Romans and certainly by the Europeans, who have cultivated them since at least the 7th century.
• Carrots are available fresh all year long.
• Most stores even manage to carry fresh carrots with their tops intact.
• Carrots are also available canned and frozen.
• For the most part, carrots play a supporting role to other items on a main course dish.
• But, carrots are well suited to soups, stews and low and slow cooked braised dishes since they don’t lose their shape, color or flavor due to extended cooking times.
• January is National Carrot Month.

Posted by Floyd at February 27, 2005 12:11 PM