Friday, April 16, 2010

Vegetable Colours

Ten Things about Vegetable Colours


1. Orange. The many varieties of orange-curd cauliflower on the market now are all descended from a sport-a chance mutation-that was found growing in a farmer's white cauliflower crop in the Holland Marsh, near Bradford, Ontario, in the 1970s. Seeds from the sport were taken to Cornell University, where stable, tasty orange hybrids were developed.

2. Red. Carrots have been popping up in many colours lately, including red, purple, yellow and white. Orange carrots, however, were not the norm until the 17th century when they became all the rage in the Netherlands. A popular myth is that orange carrots were developed by Dutch botanists to honour William I of Orange, but the story doesn't hold up under deeper digging. (If you don't believe me, check out http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/history2.html for a good survey of evidence.)

3. Purple. 'Purple Royalty' and other varieties of purple pole beans get their colour from anthocyanin pigments, which are unstable. With certain balances of heat, oxygen and pH, they break down. When you boil your pretty purple beans, they turn green. The same can happen with carrots in the purple-red spectrum.

4. Blue. The colour of some of the dark blue and purple potatoes is not only skin deep-many have flesh ranging from pink to purple. Although this colouring comes from anthocyanins too, the colour doesn't break down when the potatoes are baked.


5. Green. Beautiful lime-green Romanesco cauliflower (sometimes called Romanesco broccoli or broccoflower) isn't a new variety at all. It's been in cultivation in Italy for centuries. The pointy spirals of the curd are entrancing and the texture of the vegetable when raw is superb, perfect for a crudités tray.

6. White. White asparagus is a delicacy in Germany. It is grown by hilling soil over the sprouts as they grow, denying them of sunlight. The spears grow quite fat and are fantastically delicate of taste and texture.

7. Fuschia. Swiss chard 'Bright Lights', an All Americas Selection for 1998, has stems with fantastic colour. It deserves full credit for reinvigorating chard in the modern mindset.

8. Pink. Pink peppercorns (okay, not really a vegetable, but a funny colour with an interesting fact) aren't properly pepper (genus Piper) at all. They come from a completely different tree, Schinus terebinthifolius , more closely related to cashews than pepper. And if you pay a fortune for them, you might be miffed to know that they are actually not hard to grow at all in hot desert climates; in fact, they're invasive.


9. Black. The chilli pepper Capsicum 'Black Pearl' is a real beauty. The leaves are a very deep purple-black, and the fruits are cherry-sized shiny black spheres that turn striking red when ripe. Generally grown as an ornamental, the peppers are extremely hot without being all that tasty.

10. Yellow. Tomatoes come in a vast variety of colours and sizes (including yellow), with a range of shapes and textures from smooth and even to slightly hairy and deeply ridged. These aren't genetically modified franken-tomatoes but tried and true heirloom varieties that fell out of favour because they didn't keep well for the commercial mass market. Many of the tomatoes have superb flavour, too.


All pictures and contect belong to Ontario Garderner/Pegasus Publications


15 comments:

  1. Oh.., cauliflower coming in with colours other than white... Unimaginable years ago! ~bangchik

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  2. Oh these are just so colourful. The only ones I grow are the rainbow ruby swiss chard and I get a few yellow tomatoes from my neighbour but they don't have the flavour that the red ones have.

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  3. I love the beautiful array colors that a well planned vegetable garden can have. I think that's why I love our tomato gardens so much!

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  4. I'm growing purple beans and red mustard and ... umm ... lots of green stuff.

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  5. FANTASTIC! I love the colors!!!! I'm a fan of those veggie chips (beets, sweet potato, etc) primarily for the color and interest. To think what I could do with these veggies!! Great post!

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  6. I love unusually colored veggies and try to grow oddities in my garden. Thanks for an interesting and informative post!

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  7. We are trying some colorful cauliflower and carrots this year, it should be fun! Great pictures!

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  8. Really nice post... those veggies are gorgeous!

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  9. Cannot get over those red carrots. I must source some seed to freak my kids out.

    Christine in Alaska

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  10. That would make it so easy to follow the naturopath's advice to eat a rainbow plate of salad.

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  11. The coolest vegetable is swiss chard. Love the stuff. And purple potatoes.

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  12. Wonderful post - such colors. Think of all the antioxidants. I have planted the red carrots, the ruby chard, the purple pole beans and tomatoes. Hope they all grow

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  13. A beautiful overview of the rainbow found in the veggie garden. We're growing purple beans and cabbage, yellow and orange tomatoes, red onions, and chartreuse and neon pink eggplants, not to mention the regular colors. Your description made me want to try Romanesco broccoli raw, if I can find any here. :)

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  14. Beautiful post. I planted yellow tomatoes this year. They have started showing color. i am eager to taste them.

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