About How Many Carrot Varieties

Carrots are classified by two basic categories. These are eastern carrots and western cultivars. There are also hybrid carrot varieties that have been genetically bred to enhance certain characteristics. The two basic types of carrots each originate from certain parts of the world.

Eastern carrots were thought to be originally domesticated in Central Asia. These carrot varieties tend to be yellow to purple in color and often have a more branchlike root structure. It is thought that eastern carrots go back as far as the 10th century or more.

Western carrots are thought to have evolved around the 17th century in the area of the Netherlands. These carrots are typically orange in color.

Carrot Capital of the World

That is what they call Holtsville California. Each year a huge festival is held in honor of this commonly used world wide root crop.

Western Carrots are most often classified by the shape of the root. There are 4 classifications for western carrots. These are Chantenay, Danver, Imperator and Nantes.

• Chanteny carrots are shorter with great girth and most often used in canning.
• Danver carrots are more conical shaped with a well defined shoulder and tapering. Danvers are often used to make baby food carrots.
• Imperator carrots are the popular kind sold in most US supermarkets.
• Nantes carrots are more cylindrical in shape being blunt and rounded at both ends. These are of the sweetest varieties.

This seems to be a tough question to answer other than to say there are a lot. New varieties of carrots are being scientifically developed on a regular basis. The list goes on and on and it depends on what part of the world we are counting. It is safe to say there are a bunch and that makes Bugs Bunny real happy now!