6 Interesting Carrot Facts Worth Knowing

Fun Facts About Carrots

Few vegetables are as versatile as carrots. They’re equally at home in desserts like carrot cake as they are in casseroles, and, of course, being taken straight from the fridge and dunked in ranch dressing. It’s no wonder many gardeners add carrots to their yearly harvest — there’s so much you can do with them! In celebration of the iconic veggie, here’s a collection of fun carrot facts.

Carrots Are Older Than You Think

Eat the Rainbow Purple Carrot Park Seed — Not all carrots are orange.

Despite their prominence in modern grocery stores, orange carrots emerged in the 1600s. Purple and yellow were once the most prevalent colors, and today, heirloom varieties have made a big comeback.

We Eat a Lot of Carrots!

Baby boy eating carrot from vegetable garden Christopher Kimmel / Aurora Photos/Getty Images

The average person eats more than 10,000 of these sweet, crunchy vegetables in their lifetime. On a yearly basis, folks munch on 8.3 pounds of fresh carrots, and consume 1.4 pounds of the veggie from the freezer.

Learn how to store vegetables so they stay fresh longer.

Carrots Are Very Good for You

Fresh carrot and carrots slices on table. — Carrots are a healthy food choice.

To those who know about nutrition, this’ll probably be the least surprising of our carrot facts. These orange vegetables are an incredible source of nutrients like beta carotene, vitamin C and potassium, but they’re especially high in vitamin A. Even just half a cup of cooked or raw carrots contains about 204% of your recommended daily value.

Discover 20 mental and physical health benefits of gardening.

The Carrot “Life Cycle” Takes Two Years

Carrot growing in vegetable garden — Carrots are root vegetables.

Carrots, a biennial vegetable, have a life cycle that takes two years. If you leave a healthy carrot in the ground, its top will bloom and produce a round of seeds in its second year. Learn more about growing carrots.

Most of the Carrots in the U.S. Are Grown in One State

carrot facts, Close-up of woman chopping carrot on cutting board — Most carrots are grown in California.

More than 85% of carrots in the U.S. are grown in California—the city of Holtville, California, calls itself the carrot capital of the world. Michigan and Texas are also among the top carrot-growing states.

Next, check out 10 fast-growing vegetables you can harvest quickly.

Originally Published: July 18, 2022