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Why are carrots orange? It is political

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Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#11

Post by Willie_Dynamite »

Groxx wrote: post #2

We've started getting yellow carrots in the Woodmans nearby. They're very clearly targeted because of their non-orange color, but they're quite good (partly because the brand carries good carrots, but these are a little sweeter). People + Food + Color = weird.

Some foodstuffs company whose name I've forgotten tried to introduce yellow ketchup in my area a couple of years ago, but they failed pretty badly. I bought a bottle, and while it tasted just like the the red stuff, it just didn't look right. My 5 year old niece just flat out refused to eat it.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#12

Post by Groxx »

jeromec wrote: post #3

Maybe it's just because I'm indoctrinated, but the orange carrots in the picture are the only ones that look tasty.

Indoctrination. Look at how much color is added to food. The reddest ketchups sell better, as do the yellowest mustards, and the whitest breads.

I hate to cry conspiracy theory, but I really do think that American culture in particular has been groomed to think and eat this way by food suppliers. When you can color / bleach something, you can hide flaws.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#13

Post by Willie_Dynamite »

johnfn wrote: post #4
jeromec wrote: post #3

Maybe it's just because I'm indoctrinated, but the orange carrots in the picture are the only ones that look tasty.

It's probably indoctrination. After all, what other orange foods do we eat? (except peppers, I guess)

Obviously, you're not a stoner.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#14

Post by df07 »

The article linked as the source (http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history5.html) actually says that the William of Orange story is probably apocryphal:

"Though the stabilised orange carrot does date from around seventeenth century Netherlands, it is unlikely that honouring William of Orange had anything to do with it"

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#15

Post by Groxx »

Willie_Dynamite wrote: post #11
Groxx wrote: post #2

We've started getting yellow carrots in the Woodmans nearby. They're very clearly targeted because of their non-orange color, but they're quite good (partly because the brand carries good carrots, but these are a little sweeter). People + Food + Color = weird.

Some foodstuffs company whose name I've forgotten tried to introduce yellow ketchup in my area a couple of years ago, but they failed pretty badly. I bought a bottle, and while it tasted just like the the red stuff, it just didn't look right. My 5 year old niece just flat out refused to eat it.

Yeah, and remember the green (and purple) Heinz sales? They didn't last long.

At the cost of duplicating my other comment, it fits here perfectly:

I hate to cry conspiracy theory, but I really do think that American culture in particular has been groomed to think and eat this way by food suppliers. When you can color / bleach something, you can hide flaws.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#16

Post by dons »

I've had "heirloom" carrots a few times in Portland, OR. White and red ones, and all sorts of funky shapes. So they're coming back, the way heirloom varieties of other commoditized vegetables and fruits have (tomatoes, peppers, apples, berries, wild greens ...)

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#17

Post by joeyo »

jeromec wrote: post #6
ruralprogrammer wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about oranges?

lol that's so obvious I completely overlooked it. The first thing that came to my mind was pumpkins, which I don't like.

My understanding is there was no word in English for the word orange before the fruit was widely introduced in Europe. In other words the fruit gave the name to the color, not vice versa. (Other orange colored things were usually called 'ginger' or 'red-yellow'.)

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#18

Post by julius_geezer »

Groxx wrote: post #15
Willie_Dynamite wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some foodstuffs company whose name I've forgotten tried to introduce yellow ketchup in my area a couple of years ago, but they failed pretty badly. I bought a bottle, and while it tasted just like the the red stuff, it just didn't look right. My 5 year old niece just flat out refused to eat it.

Yeah, and remember the green (and purple) Heinz sales? They didn't last long. At the cost of duplicating my other comment, it fits here perfectly: I hate to cry conspiracy theory, but I really do think that American culture in particular has been groomed to think and eat this way by food suppliers. When you can color / bleach something, you can hide flaws.

As probably one of very few HN readers to have made my own ketchup (all you need is time, a kettle, and a farmstand, preferably selling seconds), I can say that dark red is your basic ketchup color if you start with red tomatoes. Purple sounds like heirloom, and at farmers market prices you'd be approaching the price per volume of very good wine.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#19

Post by Qz »

Groxx wrote: post #12
jeromec wrote: post #3

Maybe it's just because I'm indoctrinated, but the orange carrots in the picture are the only ones that look tasty.

Indoctrination. Look at how much color is added to food. The reddest ketchups sell better, as do the yellowest mustards, and the whitest breads. I hate to cry conspiracy theory, but I really do think that American culture in particular has been groomed to think and eat this way by food suppliers. When you can color / bleach something, you can hide flaws.

That's funny, I like to buy the brown mustard -- has more kick.

Re: Why are carrots orange? It is political

#20

Post by Goladus »

jeromec wrote: post #3

Maybe it's just because I'm indoctrinated, but the orange carrots in the picture are the only ones that look tasty.

When I saw that picture I was actually fascinated to try the dark purple, beet-like carrots. They looked the tastiest to me.

The others seemed mildly less appetizing but still edible, and in fact I've seen white carrots before (they were wild and I didn't eat them, but they smelled nice).

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