CARROT

22nd December 2023

Photo Credit: Mallivan (Getty Images), CANVA

SIR HUGH: Remember, William, focative is caret.

MISTRESS QUICKLY: And that’s a good root.

SIR HUGH & MISTRESS QUICKLY: Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, Scene 1

CARROT (Daucus carota ssp. sativa)

Carrots were a common garden vegetable in Shakespeare’s world and John Gerard, contemporary botanist, recognised 3 types of Carrot, yellow, red and black. The orange Carrot we know today did not appear until the 17th century. Gerard tells us that the “root of the yellow Carrot, is most commonly boyled with fat flesh and eaten… The nourishment which commeth hereof is not much and not very good: it is something windie, but not so much as the Turneps, and doth not so soon as they passe through the body.” Wild Carrot (Daucus carota) on the other hand he says is connected with love “the root whereof is more effectual than that of the garden, and connaineth in it, Galen saith, a certaine force to procure lust.” The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594) contains recipes for Carrots with Mutton, Beef, Quaile, Hens and Capons, and stewed Mallard.

Carrots are native to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan but have been domesticated for thousands of years and are cultivated in many countries. Conserving the genetic diversity of Carrots and their wild relatives is important to maintain resilience to a changing climate and infections.

More Information

Foods of England: The Good Huswifes Handmaide of the Kichin (1594)

John Gerard, 1597 (first edition) The Great Herballe or General Historie of Plantes (1636 edition accessed via Archive.org)

Global Crop Diversity Trust: Visit Site

Kew: Carrots