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The carrot quandary

‘Is it a beet?’

From mydogischelsea by Laura Parisi

March 3, 2009

“What do you think this is? A carrot or a beet?”

I was eating dinner recently at the bar of a nice restaurant with my uncle and my mother. The patrons next to us were prodding their side veggies—a beautiful medley of young carrots in a rainbow of colors—with a fork.

“Couldn’t be a carrot—too purple. Definitely a beet.”

Now, I know it’s rude to eavesdrop on and then interrupt people while they’re dining, but I had to set the record straight: the plate in front of the woman to my right was decidedly beet-free.

I leaned over. “It’s not a beet,” I said.

“What is it?” one of the women asked.

“It’s a carrot.”

I am no food scientist but I know a carrot when I see one. Heck, I can spot a carrot when it’s nothing more than green leaves poking out of the earth or wild roadside Queen Anne’s Lace. Carrots, much like garbage cans or telephone poles, are pretty much universally recognizable, especially when they are out of the ground, cleaned, stemmed, steamed and lying whole next to a roasted chicken thigh.

Or not.

“How can you tell?”

“It’s definitely a carrot. It looks like a Purple Haze. I grew them once,” I said.

“Really? How did you get them to be purple?”

I paused for a second. I had to be careful. I grew up in New York City, where trees grow only in designated holes in the sidewalks and produce ships in from California. In fact, I had a fear of plants (especially tall grasses and skunk cabbages—eww) until I was far too old to admit here. Believe me when I say that my green thumb is a relatively new development. I have no right whatsoever to be a know-it-all about this sort of thing.

But still. There are only so many ways to answer this woman’s question.

“I put the seeds in the ground,” I told her. “And they grew.”

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1. by cafemama on Mar 3, 2009 at 8:50 PM PST

oh Laura. I love this story. what a great way to answer the question, I think I shall make it a mantra.

2. by Kim on Mar 4, 2009 at 11:51 AM PST

Laura, we love this story. Congratulations, you’re our first blog-post winner! We’ll promote your piece to the top of the Culinate home page, and we’ll be in touch about getting you a copy of Alice Waters’ new book. Bravo!

3. by Laura Parisi on Mar 4, 2009 at 12:27 PM PST

Cafemama--Thanks! Maybe I’ll make it a mantra too...

Kim--Woohoo!! Thank you!! I’m looking forward to reading the book!

4. by Travis Jonquil on Mar 4, 2009 at 2:25 PM PST

Hey! You won somethin! Woot

5. by Sue on Mar 4, 2009 at 2:27 PM PST

Excellent, Laura. Makes me want to grow purple carrots. Let me see--first you take the seed...

6. by anonymous on Mar 4, 2009 at 2:53 PM PST

do cross bred carrot/beets qualify as organic?

7. by teaisfun on Mar 4, 2009 at 4:55 PM PST

Love the story.

8. by ruth_117 on Mar 4, 2009 at 5:43 PM PST

The ladies bewilderment is not too crazy. I took some unusually coloured veggies to a couple of events last year. Purple, yellow and white carrots, purple and orange cauliflower, and purple sweet pepper. I got a lot of questions about what type of vegetable they were and if I had dyed them that colour. I loved telling people about how vegetables come in all types of colours but only a few varieties are were “chosen” for regular consumption.

9. by Kim on Mar 4, 2009 at 6:00 PM PST

This discussion reminds me of this article published on Culinate awhile back.

10. by anonymous on Mar 25, 2009 at 10:02 AM PDT

I recently bought some of those purple carrots,
and some white and yellow also, it was fun using them in salads!! Loved your story....

11. by Hilary Cable on Mar 25, 2009 at 12:16 PM PDT

Ditto, Ruth. I’m so conditioned by store-bought food that if a tomato, for instance, isn’t perfectly round and red, it’s not going to taste good. In my experience, if it’s got a funny color, it’s because it’s probably some weird storage tomato with flounder genes that tastes like cardboard. So this year I bought some heirloom tomato seeds. I’m looking forward to yellow and black fruit with both dread and delight, and it’ll be a huge challenge getting my family to try them.

12. by Monica on Mar 30, 2009 at 6:16 PM PDT

I agree with ruth_117. I’m from the midwest--growing up I remember eating oranges, apples, carrots (orange), green salads and potatoes. Since I’ve been in Portland, and have received organic produce deliveries I’ve learned so much about produce. I’m awed at the different fruits and vegetables I didn’t know existed, as well ones that I know in different colors.

13. by Rebecca on Mar 31, 2009 at 7:20 PM PDT

Yeah Laura! Great article. Hilarious response. Remember when Dolores wouldn’t believe my mom that beets were naturally purple?, My mom actually had to take Dolores into the garden and dig up a beet in front of her eyes before she would believe it. Heh.

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