Prime
An orange edible root
Some people just enjoy the feeling of crunching carrots especially when fresh. When sliced horizontally, the external fleshy part of the vegetable has a darker shade of orange than the inner one. The vegetable with an orange skin colour has three types differentiated by the origin, Kenya, Rwanda and Mbale.
One can tell the good from the bad by looking at the skin colour. “A good one has a dark orange skin when fresh and a pale one after lasting for about one week. Although the pale skin dries up, it remains good on the inside when sliced,” Mrs Joanita Mukiibi, a vendor in Kalerwe, market reveals. She adds that sometimes the good ones also have a purple patch at the rounded end of the vegetable. “The bad ones have a dark green colour at the rounded end of the vegetable and have no taste. Sometimes the skin turns light brown when it is rotting from the inside and it feels damp when you touchthose areas,” Ms Ritah Nakazzi, a vendor in Kamwokya notes.
Of the three types, the Kenyan carrots are the most marketable because they take up to one week before getting spoilt compared to those from Mbale. “Most people prefer the carrots from Kenya because they are sweet and don’t easily rot like those from Mbale,” Mr. Godfrey Tawozya, a vendor in Nakawa market adds. The carrots from Rwanda are second in terms of quality to those from Kenya. This is because the vendors usually turn to them in case there is a shortage from Kenya. “They are equally tasty as those of Kenya only that they are slightly softer and dry up faster,” Mr. Tawozya declares.
Those from Mbale are less marketable because they easily get spoilt. “Their skin may look good but when they have already started rotting inside,” Mrs. Mukiibi explains.The ones from Mbale are more perishable because of the abundant rainfall received there that make it difficult for the soils to drain. Carrots grow well in sunny conditions with sandy soils which are light and well drained. Carrots which are one of the popular vegetables worldwide take about four months before the harvest period from the time they are planted. If you hope to start business in this vegetable, the profits will depend on availability.
