Hi All, Lane County Extension Master Gardener John Fischer here with KLCC's Good Gardening.
One of my favorite things about the Rolling Stones is their penchant to write songs about vegetables - like this classic (Comes in colors everywhere. It's like a rainbow.) I used to think the song was about beets which come in red, yellow, orange, and candy cane stripe varieties. But I recently realized it could be about carrots, or even cauliflower.
The multi-colored varieties of some traditionally monochromatic vegetables provide more than just a feast for your eyes. They have distinctly different tastes, textures, and nutrients too. If regular Detroit Red beets are too flavorful, try the candy cane striped Chioggia beets for a mild taste with a less overpowering color. Yellow beets are beautiful both cooked and grated raw into a salad. I find that dark red beets make the best borsht. Still unsure about beets? Try the Beet Chocolate Cake recipe from Linius Pauling Institute at OSU.
Multi colored carrots deliver a varied palette of both hues, and nutrients. Carrots mostly purple and yellow have been cultivated for thousands of years. They were primarily consumed as a cooked vegetable, but are often eaten raw now- in all colors. Purple carrots have higher levels of anti-oxidants than others, but all carrots are good for you.
Orange carrots became the standard due to propagation and seed distribution in the Netherlands- not as a way to honor William of Orange, who spearheaded the 17th century Dutch independence movement from Spain.
Cauliflower- a formerly white vegetable now comes in colors too. Orange, purple and green taste the same as white, but have more nutrients. Even broccoli comes in purple- but it turns back to green when you cook it.
All the multi-hued vegetables have been bred - none are genetically modified. I'm John Fischer with Good Gardening.
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