Easy to pack and perfect as crudites for that favourite dip, sweet carrots are popular with adults and kids alike.

CHOOSE smooth carrots with a hearty orange colour. The leaves – which should be fresh and bright green – should be attached as they help the carrots to stay fresher for longer.

AVOID carrots that have blemishes or cracks, are rubbery or soft, or with a “sunburned” green area at the tops.

STORE carrots with their greens removed rolled in bubble wrap in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. The bubble wrap will enable the perfect amount of moisture to stay close to the carrots, but the texture will prevent it from gathering on the surface of the vegetables, which can lead to rotting.

USE carrots within one to two weeks to get the benefit of optimum nutrients and taste

CLICK HERE for quick ideas for cooking carrots

DID YOU KNOW

• Carrots contain more sugar than any other vegetable, with the exception of beetroot.

• The world’s longest carrot, recorded in 2007, was 5.839 metres.

• Carrots were first grown as a medicine, not a food (they are excellent for the eyes and skin).

• The average person will consume 10 866 carrots in their lifetime.

• Carrots were the first vegetable to be canned commercially.

• Carrots have the highest content of beta-carotene (vitamin A) of all vegetables.