How to choose carrots?: buyer's guide

Based on its appearance

Depending on variety, carrots take on colours, shapes and sizes that are totally different.

Orange carrots

Orange carrots are undoubtedly those most commonly encountered in gardens and on plates. Among varieties offering a bright orange colour, for example:

• carrot ‘Amsterdam’ which produces long, thin, cylindrical roots without cores, an early variety with juicy, flavoursome flesh;
• carrot ‘Chantenay à cœur rouge’ which yields conical, orange roots with red flesh, suitable for main-season or late cultivation;
• or ‘Paris Market’, a grelot-type variety with small, distinctive roots that are round and slightly flattened at the ends, and a red-orange epidermis.

White carrots

Known and cultivated by Romans, white carrot is a somewhat more fibrous variety than its orange counterpart. Its colour is also due to an absence of beta-carotin. Among the most notable is carrot ‘Blanche de Kuttingen’ which produces long roots with completely white epidermis and flesh. This hardy and vigorous variety with slow growth is generally eaten cooked.

Yellow carrots

Yellow carrot is prized for its colour, which elegantly brightens dishes. This variety is often used to produce food colourings. fodder carrot ‘Jaune du Doubs’ yields long, large-calibre, coreless roots with bright yellow epidermis and flesh. This carrot is among the rare non-hybrid F1 yellow varieties. Long used as a forage plant, its qualities make it an excellent variety to grow in the vegetable garden.

Purple carrot

Among the oldest varieties is the purple carrot, which shows roots with a magnificent purple epidermis and a yellow-orange core. carrot ‘Cosmic Purple’ is particularly known for its long, slender roots with purple skin and a pale orange core. A long and unique variety with tough foliage, which greatly facilitates harvest.

Depending on its flavour

Besides appearance, one obviously chooses a carrot according to its taste. A good carrot is fragrant, tender, juicy and with as small a core as possible. Ideally, it should be enjoyable both raw and cooked.

Among the very many orange carrot varieties, a large number offer remarkable taste and nutritional qualities. Once again, the French carrot ‘Paris Market’ is a variety that deserves attention, but this time for its tasty, tender and sweet flesh which presents a slight honeyed taste. The carrot ‘Touchon’ is a tender variety with a fresh, mild and sweet flavour, capable of seducing the most demanding palates. The carrot ‘Nantaise Dolciva’ is also highly appreciated for its mild, sweet flavour and for its juicy flesh which resists splitting well. Grated, in soup, served with meat or fish… this variety lends itself to many culinary uses. As for the ‘Colmar à cœur rouge’ carrot, it offers a red flesh that is both juicy and aromatic. This variety with giant roots is mainly eaten cooked.

Note that white carrot is more fibrous and less sweet than orange carrot. However, its flavour is much finer than that of the latter. A perfect compromise, the variety ‘Snow Man F1’ is a pure-white hybrid carrot that benefits from a good sweet flavour, combining the qualities of orange and white carrots.

Although the nutritional qualities of yellow carrot are slightly superior to those of white carrot, it nonetheless offers a very refined flavour. Among the most flavoursome is ‘Solar Yellow NT’, a yellow carrot both sweet and very juicy, which also retains its magnificent colour when cooked.

Purple carrot is particularly rich in beta-carotin. In fact, it has antioxidant properties superior to all other carrots. Moreover, its sweet and distinctive flavour is appreciated by enthusiasts seeking unique tastes. Thus, the ‘Purple Elite’ carrot produces roots with tender, sweet flesh, as tasty raw as cooked.

Depending on its sowing and harvesting periods

Not all carrot varieties are sown at the same time. Thus, this vegetable root can be sown over a very long period to enjoy staggered harvests from spring to winter.

So-called “early” carrots are early varieties whose sowing is undertaken as early as February under cover or on a hotbed. They are harvested two months later, from the end of April or the beginning of May. Among early varieties, notably the ‘Nantes’ (which is also a maincrop variety), the carrot ‘Bellot’ or the ‘Touchon’ can be cited.

Varieties known as seasonal are sown in open ground without protection between April and May. They are harvested 15 to 18 weeks after sowing. They thus provide staggered harvests running from late summer to early winter. Among them, ‘Nandor F1’ is a cold-resistant variety, ‘Rodelika’ produces large, sweet and flavoursome roots, and the ‘Autumn King 2’ is an heirloom variety that tolerates the most challenging growing conditions.

At the end of summer, it is possible to sow so-called “storage carrots”, very cold-tolerant varieties that will be harvested up to 6 months after sowing. Examples include the carrot ‘Eskimo’, one of the most frost-tolerant varieties, as well as the ‘Chantenay à cœur rouge’, a late and hardy variety well suited to heavy soils, or the very unusual carrot ‘Gniff’, an old variety with purple skin and white flesh and a particularly pronounced flavour.

Depending on the yield

Once again, not all carrot varieties offer the same yield. Some are therefore more productive than others. Everything depends on your expectations and needs, although ideally selected carrots will combine nutritional qualities, flavour and productivity.

The carrot ‘Valery’ is in fact a hardy variety much prized for its abundant production of long roots with a sweet flavour. The carrot ‘De Luc’ is, for its part, a variety both early and productive, producing numerous conical, elongated roots of orange-red colour and exceptional taste. The same applies to the carrot ‘Rothild’, vigorous and very productive, fragrant and juicy, which produces giant red roots.

Depending on its shelf life

Besides carrot varieties that naturally benefit from good storage life, it is worth noting that carrots with tops store for less time in the fridge than those whose tops have been removed. Carrots with tops can keep for two to three days in the vegetable drawer, whereas roots whose tops have been cut before storing in the fridge can last about a week. Indeed, when still bearing leaves, a carrot seeks to maintain their vigour by drawing on reserves in its root, which then degrades more quickly. Thus, early carrots, as well as storage and seasonal carrots, can be kept for eight days in the vegetable drawer of your fridge. For longer storage, place carrots that have been brushed (but definitely not washed) in a dark, dry place such as a cellar. Best is to store them in dry sand.

Again, ‘Saint Valery’ carrot should catch your attention because of its excellent storage capacity. Likewise, ‘Jupiter’ carrot, a Flakké-type variety, is renowned for exceptional storage qualities, both in a clamp and in soil. As for ‘Rodelika’ carrot, it is a productive variety with vigorous growth that also benefits from good storage capacity.

To go further

Find all our tips for sowing, growing and harvesting carrots.

Carrot sowing will hold no secrets for you after consulting our article on the subject.

Discover all varieties of carrots available in our online shop Promesse de fleurs.