The Carrot and Dutch Nationalism

The carrot has a long an interesting history. It was first used some 5000 years ago. It used to exist in many different shapes and colors ranging from purple to white, pale yellow, red, green and black, but not orange.
The first orange carrots did not appear until the 17th century. The orange carrots were bred by patriotic Dutchmen as a tribute to Willem van Oranje.
The orange carrot, not only had a better taste but also had beta carotene making it healthier. Before long the Dutch were the leading carrot growers and only orange carrots remained.
Today people are starting to breed different colored carrots again as novelty vegetables.