Take a fresh look at the carrots harvested in the dead of night
You may think of carrots as a winter vegetable, but at this time of year farmers like Guy Poskitt are working throughout the night to harvest the new season crops.
Coming from a long line of farmers, 45-year-old Guy has been growing carrots all his life and has run the family farm business, near Goole in East Yorkshire, for more than 25 years.
His company produces over 50,000 tonnes of carrots a year and he's expecting to harvest a new season crop of over 7,000 tonnes.
Much prized for their fresh, sweet, aromatic flavour, new season British carrots are so tender they are harvested in the middle of the night to avoid damage from the sun.
Guy says: "New season carrots are eagerly awaited by everyone on the farm.
"They're so sweet and delicious that you just can't help yourself and pull them straight out of the ground, wipe them off on your trousers and sample them right there in the field. Of course we all say it's in the name of quality control!
"The midnight harvest has a wonderful mystical feel. In the still of the night, the machines work their way through the fields pulling up the new season carrots and the next morning the fields are revealed bare, as if nothing had been growing there the day before."
New season carrots, the cream of the crop, are also grown on the light fertile soils and relatively mild climates of Suffolk, Norfolk, Shropshire, Cambridgeshire and Nottinghamshire, they are packed and in store from within 24 hours of harvest – one of the freshest products you can buy.
Carrots are the nation's favourite vegetable, with consumers munching their way through 700,000 tonnes or 290m worth a year – that's around 100 carrots per person. And as around 95 per cent are home-grown, that's good news for our carbon footprint and the economy. After potatoes, they're the second largest vegetable sector in terms of area farmed, with around 9,000 hectares dedicated to their production.
They are extremely good for you too.
Carrots are high in fibre and brimming with beta-carotene, which the body uses to make vitamin A, a nutrient that's needed for growth and healthy hair and skin as well as good vision. Studies have shown many children and adults have intakes well below the recommended levels.
Carrots are also naturally low in calories, fat, saturates and salt. An 80g serving – that's equivalent to about half a medium-sized carrot or three heaped tablespoons – counts as one of your five portions of fruit and veg.
New season carrots are only in the shops from the end of June to the end of August. There's no need to peel them, just steam or boil gently for between three to five minutes (depending how crunchy you like them).
Their bright orange colour intensifies as they cook. Serve tossed in a little butter and orange zest.
Tarragon or thyme is good too. Or just eat raw, grated into sandwiches or salads, or as they come, straight from the field.
To celebrate the start of the British season, the British Carrot Growers' Association has developed some new recipes. See Quick Recipe.
For recipes and carrot facts, visit www.british carrots.co.uk.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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