Today's Veggies...Not Really The Color That Mother Nature Intended!

When we teach children to identify certain vegetables with specific colors in the spectrum, chances are pretty good that we're actually misinforming them.

As it turns out, carrots aren't really meant to be solely orange after all!

Believe it or not, the crunchy sweet rabbit sticks began growing in tones of white, yellow, red and purple, etc. -- some scholars are inclined to think that there was no such thing as an orange carrot prior to the 16th century.

When the 17th century came around, Dutch growers -- in an attempt to honor William of Orange, a fine gentleman who singlehandedly led the struggle for Dutch independence -- figured out how to cultivate carrots in an orange tone (likely a cross between the Eastern purple, Western white and red and possible a wild carrot).

The vibrant tone became so popular that it was enthusiastically embraced and in just one generation, the other traditional colors were kicked to the curb.

The next time you munch on a quirky looking "heirloom" veggie, remember that you're getting a blast from the past, not some perfectly engineered creation that may look flawless but taste like a mouthful of mush.

Do you appreciate the flavors and colors of retro produce more than the supermodel veggies that we typically purchase in the grocery stores?

Is it really that important to you that carrots are perfectly orange and uniform (not to mention tomatoes being perfectly red and spherical, etc. etc.)?