Carrots

February’s NH Harvest of the Month: carrots!

Carrots are derived from a Middle Eastern crop called Queen Anne’s Lace. This wild ancestor is also a taproot crop with a white root. For thousands of years, the carrot was not a popular vegetable because it had a woody texture and was difficult to eat. A subspecies of this plant has been selectively bred over centuries to produce the crisp and sweet garden vegetables that we eat today. Today, the largest producers of carrots are China, the United States, Poland, Japan, and France.

Carrots are root vegetables that are crisp in texture and vary in color from orange to white, purple or black. They can be eaten raw, steamed, baked, boiled, or cooked in soups and stews. Carrots are rich in vitamin A and can supply over 100% of the recommended daily value in just one serving! They also contain vitamin B6, vitamin K, and modest amounts of other essential nutrients.

In India, they make a carrot pudding called Gajar ka halwa. It is made with shredded carrots, ghee, milk, sugar and cardamom. Cole Slaw originated in the Netherlands. The dish includes carrots, cabbage and a creamy sweet and sour dressing.

This webpage includes a variety of educational materials, activities, recipes, and more about carrots for use at home, in youth or family programming, in the classroom, and in the cafeteria. For more New Hampshire Harvest of the Month resources for February, click here.

Lesson Plans for Carrots + Beef

Developed in partnership with UNH Extension, NH Farm to School, and the UNH Education department, the Harvest Lessons lesson plans and curricular activities can be used by education professionals to incorporate carrots into dynamic, long-lasting learning in the classroom and other education-based settings.

Lesson Plan Supplement
Click to download the lesson plan supplements to support learning through the activities in the lesson plan.
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