Carrots Are Orange Now... But They Weren't Always

If you had to name an iconically orange food… you would probably say “oranges.” Obviously. That is where the word for the color comes from in English, after all. But, if you had to name two iconically orange foods, you would probably say “oranges and carrots.” But here’s the thing: carrots aren’t actually supposed to be orange naturally. Their vibrant sunset color is in fact a more modern culinary innovation. Check out the strange history behind the hue of a humble garden veggie.

What Color Were Carrots Originally?

In the wild, carrots are either white or pale yellow. When humans first domesticated the vegetable about 5,000 years ago in Persia, selective breeding caused carrots to develop new colors: a distinctive, deep purple color and a more vibrant yellow.

Eventually, the vegetable made its way west, through the Middle East and Turkey, to Europe. Over time, farmers began crossing the white and yellow carrot cultivars until, by the 1400s in Western Europe, orange carrots appeared for the first time.

The House of Orange (Carrot)

A persistent - and, as historians politely but firmly remind us, untrue - story about carrots becoming orange involves Dutch politics.

From 1568-1579, William I of Orange led the Netherlands against their Spanish occupiers, securing the Northern Netherlands (later the Dutch Republic) as an independent nation. William I is considered the father of the Netherlands and remains a beloved figure in their history both for his leadership and for his devotion to liberty and religious freedom.

William I, Prince of Orange by Adriaen Thomasz. Photo courtesy of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Public domain.

The story goes that, to honor the House of Orange, Dutch farmers began cultivating orange carrots. On the surface, that’s not so far-fetched: the national color of the Netherlands is orange to honor William I and his lineage. However, orange carrots started appearing in Western Europe about 100-150 years prior to the Dutch Revolt. This fact hasn’t stopped the Dutch people from seeing the orange carrot as a symbol of the monarchy or repeating the claim to tourists.

No, orange carrots aren’t Dutch in origin. William I of Orange will just have to content himself with the continuing adoration of his people and, in 1584, being the first head of state assassinated by a handgun.

Orange Carrots Are Actually Better for You

Perhaps one of the most surprising facts about orange carrots is that they are more nutritious for you than purple carrots or wild carrots.

The pigments that give orange carrots their color come from carotenoids, a group of pigments including alpha and beta-carotene. These pigments become vital nutrients like vitamin A in the human digestive system, which in turn helps support healthy eyes and immune system. Additionally, orange carrots don’t flower as quickly as other varieties, which helps keep the carrots tender and palatable for longer.

So, human-created orange carrots beat out natural carrots. This will absolutely blow the mind of everyone in the produce aisle!

References: What Came First: The Color Orange or the Fruit? | Are carrots orange because of a Dutch revolutionary? | We finally know what makes orange carrots orange | William the Silent | Are carrots orange for political reasons?