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Carrots were purple or yellow when they were first grown as a crop in Central Asia and Persia over a thousand years ago; the familiar orange carrot came much later, from Dutch growers.

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Genetic studies and old texts point to a single origin for the cultivated carrot in Central Asia, with wild ancestors probably from the lands around Persia. Farmers slowly bred the thin, bitter wild root into something sweeter and fleshier. In the 10th century, carrots grown in West Asia, India and Europe were purple, and yellow and red kinds followed. Orange carrots were developed in the Netherlands in the 16th or 17th century, and a stable variety, the Long Orange, was bred in the early 18th century. A popular story says the Dutch chose orange to honour William of Orange, but there is no good evidence for it. The orange colour comes from beta-carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.

Türkçe oku
Havuç, bin yılı aşkın bir süre önce Orta Asya'da ve İran'da ilk kez tarla bitkisi olarak yetiştirildiğinde mor ya da sarıydı. Bugün alıştığımız turuncu havucu çok sonra Hollandalı üreticiler geliştirdi.

Genetik çalışmalar ve eski yazılı kaynaklar, kültür havucunun tek bir kökenden, Orta Asya'dan geldiğini gösteriyor; yabani ataları büyük olasılıkla İran ve çevresinde yetişiyordu. Çiftçiler ince ve acı yabani kökü zamanla daha tatlı, daha etli bir sebzeye dönüştürdü. 10. yüzyılda Batı Asya'da, Hindistan'da ve Avrupa'da yetiştirilen havuçlar mordu; ardından sarı ve kırmızı çeşitler de yaygınlaştı. Turuncu havuç 16. ya da 17. yüzyılda Hollanda'da geliştirildi; dayanıklı bir çeşit olan Long Orange da 18. yüzyılın başında ortaya çıktı. Hollandalıların turuncuyu Oranj hanedanından Prens Willem'i onurlandırmak için seçtiği sık anlatılır, ama bunu destekleyen sağlam bir kanıt yok. Havuca turuncu rengini veren beta karoten, vücutta A vitaminine dönüşür.

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