Carrots

Carrots weren’t always the vibrant orange we know today; in fact, the root vegetable originally grew in shades of purple, white, and yellow.

According to a popular legend, the carrot got its modern hue from Dutch growers in the 17th century paying tribute to William of Orange, a key figure in the Dutch fight for independence.

Domesticated carrots originated with farmers in an area now known as Afghanistan more than 1,000 years ago. Historians believe these early farmers began to breed carrots to enhance their carotenoids, or pigments. Whether this was done to increase nutrition, to reduce the veggie’s inherent bitterness, or another reason is not known. These early modifications gave carrots a yellow hue, and hundreds of years later, Dutch cultivation deepened their hue yet again, turning them from yellow to dark orange.