Carrots, “Non-Traditional”

This is a footnote to a familiar vegetable—much abused by growers and retailers. Most carrots in the market today, like mainstream tomatoes and cucumbers, are visual stand-ins for the real thing. Carrots can be (and are, if you do some rooting around) more than just orange crunch. One taste of the genuine article will suffice to restore your memory or alert your senses. The difference is alarming: a true wake-up call. But chances are good that unless you garden, you’ll have to go outside standard channels to avoid the mass-produced models. Check out farmers’ markets or specialty grocers for organic carrots in an inviting range of colors, shapes, and sizes, the non-mainstream forms that are likely to offer sweetness, scent, and flavor.