Carrots are one of the most versatile and oldest domestic vegetables, be it as a crunchy vegetable, in raw vegetable salads, soups, cakes or as a garnish. The individual species differ mainly in shape, color and ripening time. They can be not only classic orange, but also colorful. However, it is not always easy to find the right one from the multitude of varieties.
Table of Contents
Colorful, tasty species
Originally, carrots were red, yellow, or purple, not orange. Yellow carrot varieties tend to be less sweet and are great for stews and baking. The violets are a cross between black primeval carrots and the classic orange one. Compared to other species, they are juicier and sweeter. White carrots are rather rare and have a milder taste.
Light or dark yellow
‚Mello Yello‘
- Forms long, cylindrical, golden yellow roots
- Smooth, yellow-fleshed beet body
- Colorful, evenly colored
- Harder than orange winter carrots
- Wonderfully soft after cooking or steaming
- Tastes sweet and fruity raw and cooked
- A feast for the eyes and palate as raw food, vegetable side dish and in soup
‚Yellow Stone‘
- High-yielding variety for early sowing from March
- Carrots are medium-sized, firm, crunchy and colourful
- Slender and smooth-skinned
- Extremely decorative, bright yellow color
- Wonderful sweet, aromatic taste
- Fresh and cooked, sweet and aromatic
‘Doubs Yellow’
- High-yielding, late-ripening, dark yellow carrot variety
- Smooth-skinned, slightly cylindrical, up to 25 cm long
- Lower ends slightly rounded
- Tends to be green
- Particularly suitable for stews
- Longer storage no problem
- Edible carrots and valuable fodder for horses and small animals
Tip: This carrot grows very slowly and should therefore be sown early.
White to off-white
‘Lite Creams’
- Mid-early hybrid variety
- With a beet body up to 20 cm long
- Creamy white, slender and smooth-skinned
- Mild sweet taste
- A good storage carrot when ripe
- Roots tolerant of the carrot fly
- Foliage resistant to the Alternaria fungus
‚White Satin‘ F1
- Rarity among carrot varieties
- Summer carrot and F1 hybrid
- Smooth, white, pigment-free roots
- Long, tapering to the end
- Taste particularly sweet
- Suitable for late cultivation
Violettfarben
‚Deep Purple‘
- Dark purple, high-yielding original carrot
- Looks very similar to the ‘Purple Haze’ strain
- Forms large conical turnips
- Pointed and about 20 cm long
- Center inside shows a dark red coloration
- Sweet in taste
- Has good storage properties
Note: Anthocyanin, a water-soluble plant compound, is responsible for the purple color, which also increases the health value of this vegetable.
‚Purple Elite‘
- High-yielding, medium late primeval carrot
- Turnips smooth-skinned, tapering, about 25 cm long
- Intensely violet colored on the outside
- Orange inside
- Particularly mild, sweet taste
- A pleasure in any form of preparation
- For juicing, as a vegetable or vegetable side dish
‚Purple Haze‘
- High yielding F1 hybrids
- Carrots up to 25 cm long, smooth and variegated
- Gorgeous deep purple colouring
- Strong orange inside
- Tastes intensely like carrots
- Sweeter than other varieties
- Particularly high content of vitamin C and carotenoids
Red to red-violet
‚Cosmic Purple‘
- One of the early and very old carrot varieties
- Red-purple carrots with an orange heart
- Conical, up to 30 cm long
- Comparatively fast growing
- Very tasty and crunchy
- Maturity occurs after about 70 days
- Can be eaten raw, boiled, steamed, baked and fried
- Requires light and loose soil for best results
‚Nutri Red‘
- Medium late breed with up to 25 cm long roots
- Medium-sized, firm, flavorful carrot
- Particularly dark, blood-red coloring
- Color even more even and intense when cooking
- Responsible for this is the high content of the red dye lycopene
- Excellent taste and good shelf life
- Sweet, mild and aromatic
Caution: Heavy and compacted soils are unsuitable and can cause the roots to branch and become leggy.
‚Red Samurai‘
- New breed with long, pointed and smooth-skinned roots
- Beautiful intense red color
- Preserves while cooking
- Excellent interior quality
- Tasty, very decorative and versatile
- As a vegetable, salad, for raw consumption and for juicing
Orange-colored species that taste good
The orange ones are the classic carrots (Daucus carota ssp. sativus). They differ in particular in growth habit and ripening times. There are early, medium-early and late-ripening varieties that also taste good. While early ones have a cultivation period of 70-90 days, mid-early or summer carrots ripen in 110-135 and late in 170-220 days.
precocious
‚Adelaide‘
- Very early finger carrot
- Finger thick, up to twelve centimeters long
- Delicate texture, juicy and sweet as sugar
- Thanks to its small size, cultivation in tubs and balcony boxes is possible
- Harvest mid-June to late October
- If stored correctly, crisp and fresh until the end of winter
‚Chantenay Red Cored‘
- One of the best carrot varieties
- Forms short, bulky and wedge-shaped fruits
- With a very fine and sweet carrot aroma
- Tolerates a few minus degrees
- Multiple uses
- As raw food, in salads, for steaming, roasting and baking
‚Laguna‘
- Very early F1 hybrid of excellent quality
- Long, smooth-skinned, pointed, conical beets
- Completely colored
- Juicy aromatic taste
- If sowed early, harvest from June
- Crop nets protect against carrot flies
‘Paris Market’
- Traditional, very old and early variety
- Almost round, reddish to orange roots
- Ready to harvest after about 60 days
- Delicate texture and outstanding taste
- Sweet and juicy
- Harvest after about 60-75 days
‚Parmex‘
- Very productive variety
- Exceptionally small and globular roots
- Particularly tender and super aromatic
- Very good taste
- Harvest possible from July
- Mixed culture with onions, leeks or mint recommended
Note: One should pay attention to even soil moisture. Intensive water supply after a long period of drought can cause the roots to burst.
‚Sugarsnax‘
- Early variety with high carotene content
- Particularly rich in vitamins and very sweet
- Long, smooth, pointed carrots
- Dark orange-red coloring
- Depending on the time of sowing, harvest from June
- Good storage properties
- Ideal as a vitamin-rich fitness snack or for dipping
mid-early
‚Flyaway‘
- Particularly tasty hybrid variety
- Tender and sugar-sweet pulp
- Beets up to 20 cm long, blunt towards the end
- Low chlorogenic acid content
- As a result, high tolerance to carrot flies
- Harvest from July to October
‚Ingot‘
- Top variety with the best properties
- Very productive new breed
- Carrots up to 20 cm long, smooth-skinned, blunt and unbreakable
- Low susceptibility to the carrot fly
- Harvest 14-18 weeks after sowing
- Can be stored for up to eight months
‘Nantes’
- A high-yielding standard variety for decades
- Smooth shell, cylindrical shape, blunt end
- Orange-red without green heads
- Well colored, up to 20 cm long
- Aromatic sweet taste
- Good for fresh consumption, freezing and storage
‚Romance‘
- High yielding, medium early F1 hybrid
- Beet body evenly shaped, up to 18 cm long
- Smooth shell, resistant to breakage and cracks
- Extremely tender, very sweet, excellent taste
- For fresh consumption, as a salad, vegetables and juice
- Can be frozen and stored
Note: In independent tests, it was a multiple taste winner.
,Rattan’
- High-yield, healthy carrot with carrots up to 22 cm long
- Smooth-skinned, blunt at the end
- Takes on an orange-red color early on
- Does not form green heads
- High juice and carotene content
- Sweet as sugar in taste
Medium late to late ripening
‚Caracas‘
- Short, conical mini or sweet carrots
- Crunchy and sweet in taste
- Harvest after 95 days
- Depending on the time of sowing from June to October
- Can be eaten raw, cooked, fried and roasted
- Can also be grown in window boxes and on heavy soil
Tip: To prevent the formation of green crowns, the roots can be mounded up during growth. This also applies to other types of carrots.
‘ox heart’
- One of the historic carrot varieties
- Good summer and storage carrot
- Distinctive, strong, short, round to heart-shaped beets
- Up to 10 cm thick and 15 cm long
- Up to 500 g heavy
- Sweet, juicy and very aromatic
- Do not tend to lignify
- Also thrive on heavy soil
- Consume raw or process into vegetables
‘Robila’
- Orange-red autumn and winter carrots
- Culture duration of approx. 140-160 days
- Well colored, long, slender, conical beets
- Dulled at the end
- Distinctive, sweet, carrot-typical, mild-nutty taste
- Thrives on loose, humus-rich and sandy soil
‚Rodelika‘
- vigorous species
- With long, slightly conical, truncated and smooth-skinned fruits
- Well colored inside and out
- Taste strongly sweet-aromatic
- Cultivation also possible on heavy soils
- Beet with good storage properties
‚Rolanka ‘
- Medium to long, cylindrical carrot
- Blunt at the bottom
- Smooth-skinned and colored intensely orange
- Strong, aromatic taste, pleasantly sweet
- High in vitamin C, potassium, iron and carotene
- Suitable for baby food
- Also thrives on heavy soil
‘Red Giants’
- One of the late, high-yielding and oldest carrot varieties
- Particularly large, long, conical beets
- diameter of up to six centimetres
- Tendency to go green low
- Less juicy but good in taste
- Eat raw, in salads or as a vegetable
- Good food and fodder carrot
- Longer storage possible
‚Sperlings Cubic‘
- Late-ripening winter variety
- Probably the largest, blunt variety
- Large, robust, conical and deep orange beets
- Does not form green heads
- For raw consumption, as a side dish, juice and in baby food
- Both edible and feed carrots
Note: This carrot can be used both as a table and feed carrot.
ornamental and fodder carrots
So-called ornamental and fodder carrots are also available on the market, both orange and coloured. Ornamental carrots are not edible, but captivate with beautiful flowers. Fodder carrots are edible, but mostly woodier than normal carrots. They are also more bitter and generally of lower quality.
