1. CARROTS Stacey Lambert

2. Description Orange, white, yellow, red, or purple. Thick, fleshy, deeply colored root. Grow underground. Feathery leaves that emerge above ground.

3. Description Carrots can be as small as two inches or as long as three feet. There are over 100 different varieties. (whfoods, March 7, 2006)

4. History Cultivated in central Asian and middle eastern countries. Further cultivated and developed in Afghanistan. Spread through Mediterranean, used by Greeks for medical use.

5. History 17 th century-Europeans cultivated different varieties of carrots. 1800s-North American colonies were introduced to carrots. -Became 1 st vegetable to be canned. Today-France, England, Poland, china, and Japan are the largest producers of carrots. (whfoods, March 7, 2006)

6. Consumption Use of fresh market carrots totaled 10.2 lbs. per person in 1996 (up 23% since 1990). Use of carrots for freezing totaled 2.8 lbs. per person in 1996 ( up 22% since 1990). http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/AgOutlook/nov1997/ao246c.pdf (Agricultural Outlook, Nov. 1997)

7. Nutrients Potassium- 177mg. Beta-carotene-19,152IU Sodium- 51.5 mg.Vitamin C- 1.8mg. Calcium- 24mg.Niacin-.4mg. Phosphorus- 23.4mg.Folate- 11mcg. Magnesium- 10mg.Pantothenic Acid-.2mg. Iron-.48mg. (Health Alternatives, 2000)

8. Nutrients (beta caroteen)

9. How to Prepare Carrots Wash carrot roots by scrubbing with a vegetable brush. Peeling is unnecessary unless the carrots are old, thick or not grown organically. Cut the stem if it is green.

10. How to Prepare Carrots Carrots can be eaten raw, or cooked, chopped or shredded. http://hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=8 73&hlite=true&querytext=carrots#preparation (whfoods, March 7, 2006)

11. Recipes Use of fresh market carrots totaled 10.2 lbs. per person in 1996 (up 23% since 1990). Use of carrots for freezing totaled 2.8 lbs. per person in 1996 ( up 22% since 1990). http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/AgOutlook/nov1997/ao246c.pdf (Agricultural Outlook, Nov. 1997)

12. Health Benefits Antioxidant compounds -protects against cardiovascular disease and cancer -promotes good vision, especially night vision http://healthalternatives2000.com/vegchart.htm (whfoods, March 7, 2006)

13. Powers Greeks used carrots as a love potion The Roman emperor believed the Greek story of the love potion. He forced the entire Senate to eat carrots so he could see them “in rut like wild beasts”.

14. Powers European doctors prescribed carrots for everything from sexual maladies to snake bite. The British Royal Air Force were fed carrots to improve their night vision. They believe it enabled them to hide their radar from the Germans in WWII. http://www.soupsong.com/fcarrot.html

15. Bibliography Agricultural Outlook. November 1997. Economic Research Service/USDA. Retrieved on March 7, 2006 from website: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publicoptions/AgOutlook/nov1997/ao246c.pdfhttp://www.ers.usda.gov/publicoptions/AgOutlook/nov1997/ao246c.pdf. All About Carrots. Hormel Foods. Retrieved on March 9, 2006 form website: http://hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=873&hlite=true&q uerytext=carrots. http://hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?id=873&hlite=true&q uerytext=carrots Carrots (Daucus Carota). Retrieved on March 9, 2006 from website: http://www.soupsongcom/fcarrot.html http://www.soupsongcom/fcarrot.html Carrot Recipes. Abigail Gordon. Retrieved on March 7, 2006 from website: http://www.geocities.com/green_cache/carrot_recipes.html http://www.geocities.com/green_cache/carrot_recipes.html Health Alternatives 2000. Dr. Decuypere. 2000. Retrieved on March 9, 2006 from website: http://healthalternatives2000.com/vegchart.htmlhttp://healthalternatives2000.com/vegchart.html The World’s Healthiest Foods. Retrieved on March 7, 2006 from website: http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?pfriendly=1&tname=foodspice&dbid=21 http://whfoods.com/genpage.php?pfriendly=1&tname=foodspice&dbid=21