What is black carrot juice: cultivation, preparation and use

What are black carrots

Scorzonera, Kozelets, black or sweet root, black carrots (lat. Scorzonera hispanica) are the names of the same crop from the genus Kozelets (Scorzonera). The plant is grown for its root crops.

The birthplace of the culture is Southern Europe and South-West Asia . Carrots grow almost everywhere in Europe; they are found in Georgia, the foothills of the Caucasus, and the European part of Russia. It is especially highly valued in Turkey.

Peculiarities

It is a perennial plant, but is grown as an annual to produce thick, cylindrical roots.

The stems are erect , branched, 25-75 cm high, densely covered with foliage.
The branches are protruding, the base is covered with basal leaves. The leaves are green or bluish-green .
The lower foliage is ovate or oblong, with many veins. The middle foliage at the base is stem-encompassing, oblong, the upper one is subulate. The inflorescences are single cylindrical baskets with pointed leaves, fleecy along the edges, and yellow in color.

Root vegetables resemble the usual carrots in appearance . Length - up to 15 cm, diameter - up to 5 cm, weight - 150-200 g. The color of the peel is black, the flesh is creamy or white, juicy.

The crop enters the flowering phase in May . Root crops ripen in late May - June.

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Types and varieties

Scorzonera is available in abundance in shops and markets in Turkey . In the south of the country, the popular varieties are Black Knight, Lilac Dragon, and Pusa Asilta.

In Russia, the crop has not yet gained much popularity , which is explained by the lack of information about its beneficial qualities and features of agricultural technology.

Reference. The State Register of the Russian Federation includes some varieties of black carrots: Overseas Delicacy, Solar Premiere and Medicinal.

Origin and development

Scorzonera is extremely rare in Russian gardens. This isn't all that surprising. The true homeland of the black root is South-West Asia and Southern Europe. The name, unusual for our language, comes from the Old French word for “snake”. But if people here have heard about this plant, unusual for our region, then most often only in everyday terminology under the name black carrot.

In culture, Kozelets received widespread development relatively recently - 250 years ago. At the end of the 17th - first half of the 18th centuries, he began to actively attend feasts in a number of Western European countries: France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, where he quickly attracted the interests of European connoisseurs, who had always been lovers of subtle taste qualities and were considered interested in the healing microelements of the consumed food. them food.

Pros and cons of the variety

Scorzonera can have a noticeable healing effect on people who regularly consume it. It contains a wide range of biologically active and beneficial substances, which includes: zinc, magnesium, vitamins B1, B2, B6, iron, sodium. The taste properties of this product are similar to asparagus, but with proper cooking it can acquire its own piquant and sophisticated taste.

Also, due to its nutritional characteristics and the vitamins it contains, this plant can replace many meat dishes, fish, and nuts. But in order to better understand which types of scorzonera are best used for culinary purposes and which ones for medicinal purposes, we will consider a detailed list of its types of domestic and foreign selection.

There are several varieties of black carrots that are currently available for sale in Russia.

• The first of them is “Overseas delicacy” - with long cylindrical dark brown roots. Its young leaves are perfect for making salads, as they have dietary properties. It is also recommended to use it to strengthen the immune system, activate metabolism and lower cholesterol. But the disadvantage of the variety is its low yield. On average, you can collect no more than 2 kilograms of product from one square meter.
• The next variety is called “Medicinal”. In the first year it forms a rosette of large lanceolate leaves, reaching 30 - 35 cm in length. It overwinters well in the ground and reaches its largest size the following year of growth. The pulp is white, juicy, and has a sweetish, slightly astringent taste. It stands out for its high concentration of healing properties, as follows from its name. A drawback that may cause some inconvenience is the long period of its cultivation; buyers of this variety will have to wait 120 days for the harvest. And also a specific taste for everyone, which resembles peanuts in its content.
• The third type of black carrot that deserves attention is called “Russian Giant”. It is capable of growing up to 75 centimeters in height. Its undoubted advantage is rightfully considered the ability of owners of this species to have a rich and high-quality harvest that can feed any family. The downside, when compared with other varieties of black carrots, is the less rich taste of the “Russian Giant” compared to its opponents.
• Recently, a new, little-tested variety “Vulcan” has appeared on sale. It is distinguished by its productivity and intensive type of growth. It is also convenient because it is well stored and is not subject to rapid rotting. It has tasty and tender pulp. Its disadvantage is considered to be insufficient research, since it appeared on the market recently and all its specific features have not yet been fully studied.
• The “Black Lisa” variety deserves attention because the fruits have an attractive appearance and a neat small shape up to 30 cm in length. Due to its size, it is considered a dietary variety and is perfect for people suffering from diabetes. During the flowering period, it forms small baskets of large yellow flowers, which can give a fabulous and extraordinary look to any garden. The disadvantages include the clearly expressed focus of this product, to be used only for medical and, to a lesser extent, culinary purposes.

Thus, each variety of black carrot described above combines more positive properties than negative ones. Scorzonera can only bring undesirable effects to people with individual intolerance to the product. No other contraindications were found for this vegetable.

Landing region

Currently, scorzonera is actively cultivated in America for agricultural needs. In China, it is preferably used for medicinal purposes.

If we return to our country with its vast latitudes and diverse climatic zones, then we are happy to note that black carrots feel great not only in the southern regions. There are cases of its excellent growth and wintering directly in the soil in the North-West and in other more severe weather conditions.

Ripening time

It should be kept in mind that scorzonera is a biennial plant. This means that after we plant the seed in the soil, in the first year of its ripening, the black carrot will open its leaves and accordingly produce the stem mentioned above. Goat root can be dug up and stored in a protected place like other vegetables, or left in the ground.

Scorzonera has an amazing feature: it is a fairly confident, frost-resistant crop and is able to tolerate cold weather. In the second year of ripening and fruiting, black carrots will produce seeds and die, thus ending their two-year life.

As for the timing of ripening, scorzonera can be sown in early spring and by autumn its owners can already obtain completely edible root crops. One part can be used for food, and the other can be left in the soil until spring.

During the fall, the root crops will grow very noticeably. But in the spring, you should dig up all of them, except those that you want to leave, in order to get your seeds, since the plants quickly begin to grow and the root crop begins to lose its medicinal properties.

But if you are interested in getting really large roots, then sow black carrots in August in the beds freed from onions or garlic. The plants will sprout and overwinter right in the beds, and in early spring they will quickly begin to grow. In this case, you will have to harvest in the fall.

So, the goat grows in the garden throughout the year, regardless of spring or autumn sowing.

Productivity

According to the data available in the scientific literature, the root crop of black carrots reaches 30-40 cm in length and 3-4 cm in diameter of the “shoulders”. There are varieties with root crops shortened to 19.6 cm (Black Peter, Black Lisa from Germany and Prodola from the Czech Republic).

As practice shows, scorzonera today is beginning to attract interest not only from summer residents, but also people deeply immersed in science are trying to identify interesting features of this exotic culture. Thus, the All-Russian Institute of Plant Growing named after N.I. Vavilov conducted a scientific study aimed at studying the formation of yield and seed productivity of scorzonera samples.

Measurements of the bred kozelets root crops grown in an annual culture showed that their length and diameter are significantly less than the average parameters indicated above. However, the sizes of root crops in the extended culture are close to the indicated guidelines. The mass of root crops and their yield in the two-year growing method are on average 2.5 times greater than in the one-year method.

The yield per square meter with proper care should supposedly be 2-3 kilograms.

Benefits and harms

The nutritional value of scorzonera is higher than that of orange carrots. The product contains B vitamins, ascorbic acid, zinc, inulin, potassium, asparagine, phosphorus.

Black carrots have such beneficial properties:

• decreased blood pressure;
• improved vision;
• acceleration of metabolism;
• increasing immunity;
• relieving inflammation;
• treatment of diabetes mellitus;
• removal of radionuclides and toxins.

Scorzonera has been used since ancient times to prepare an antidote for viper bites.

Possible complications:

• irritation of the gastric mucosa, which is why use is prohibited for gastritis and stomach ulcers;
• allergic reaction.

Medicinal properties

The rich vitamin and mineral composition makes it possible to use black carrots for the treatment of diabetes, influenza, ARVI, vitamin deficiency, and anemia . Regular use of the product reduces excess fat deposits, regulates blood pressure, improves vision, and relieves inflammation.

Application

The appearance of scorzonera is not very attractive . Root vegetables resemble thick straight sticks or the roots of some plant. But as soon as you remove the peel, you will find white, juicy pulp with a slight vanilla aroma in your hands. Carrots taste similar to sweet radish or asparagus. The root vegetable is widely used in cooking and folk medicine.

In cooking

Black carrots are added to first courses and salads, served as a side dish for meat, fish, cereals, used as a filling for pies, prepared in casseroles, omelettes, and fried with vegetables.
The product is suitable for canning and freezing. To prepare the soup, the root vegetable is washed, doused with boiling water, peeled, cut into pieces and thrown into boiling water. When cleaning, use gloves so that the milky juice does not stain the skin of your hands dark.

To prepare the salad, the root vegetable is boiled in salted water for 30 minutes, then cut and seasoned with vegetable oil.

Advice. To prevent the flesh from darkening after removing the skin, place the root vegetable in water slightly acidified with lemon juice or table vinegar.

Casserole with spinach and scorzonera

For preparation you will need the following ingredients :

• scorzonera - 1 kg;
• lemon juice - 50 ml;
• butter - 15 g;
• spinach - 500 g;
• sour cream 15% - 150 ml;
• vegetable broth - 250 ml;
• eggs - 2 pcs.;
• hard cheese - 100 g;
• nutmeg, black pepper - to taste;
• sesame - 3 tbsp. l.

Preparation:

1. Peel the scorzonera and boil it in salted water with 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice until done.
2. Grease the bottom of the pan with butter, add black carrots, spinach, and sprinkle with lemon juice.
3. Mix the broth, eggs and sour cream, salt and pepper, add nutmeg and pour the mixture over the vegetables.
4. Grate the cheese on a coarse grater, mix with sesame seeds and sprinkle on top.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes in an oven preheated to 200°C.

Usage options

Cooks are happy to add the root to dishes - they stew it, fry it, boil it, use it raw in salads, simply gnaw it peeled or grate it, seasoning it with olive oil.

Heat treatment gives goat meat a special flavor and transfers this characteristic to ready-made dishes. Black carrots are added to fish and meat, in first and second courses.

Important! Peeled carrots will quickly darken. But you can avoid this by keeping it in cold acidified water before use.

Vegetable salad

1. To remove the skin, the washed root is kept in a vinegar solution for 10 minutes, then it is easily removed. The vegetable is grated (not coarse);
2. Peel celery root and regular carrots, grate them;
3. All components are mixed;
4. Cut ½ medium daikon into circles, finely chop the walnut kernels;
5. Celery leaves are picked by hand;
6. All ingredients are mixed and seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil.

You can try adding sweet scorzonera to the recipe for black radish and carrot salad. A small addition (even 1/3 of the root) will give dishes piquant properties and a new taste.

Cheese salad

1. For the salad, use feta (60 g), peeled black carrots (200 g), lettuce leaves of any kind (up to 10 pieces), ½ regular orange carrots, greens - as many as desired, lemon juice;
2. The greens are chopped or torn by hand, the vegetables are grated on a fine grater, the cheese is crushed into small pieces;
3. The ingredients are mixed - no need to add salt, the feta is salty enough.

You can optionally add a dressing of sour cream, soy sauce or olive oil.

How do you like the black carrot salad in the photo?

Larisa Nikolaevna Shirko

A gardener with extensive experience ready to answer the most difficult questions

Ask a Question

You met an interesting vegetable in our article. As you can see, there are many benefits from black carrots. If it is not available for sale in your supermarkets, buy seeds from an online store and grow it yourself. The process of sowing and growing is almost the same with our carrots. Both the root and young leaves are used for food. Therefore, it is worth adding exotics to our vegetable beds and saturating the body with useful micro- and macroelements.

Nuances of cultivation

Scorzonera is grown like a regular carrot . The plant is resistant to cold and drought, tolerates frosts down to –30°C under deep snow cover.

Seeds germinate at +4...+5°C, but the optimal temperature for rapid germination is +20°C.

The crop grows best in areas with early spring and cool summers , worst of all in areas with late spring and early autumn. In the first year, a lanceolate-shaped rosette and long fleshy roots of black or dark brown color are formed. In the second year, a stem up to 1 m high, flowers and seeds grow.

The growing season is 100-120 days . The plant prefers nutritious, deeply plowed soil after peas, cucumbers, potatoes, and onions.

The soil is prepared in the fall: deep plowing is carried out and fertilized with humus. In spring, the soil is loosened and seeds are sown to a depth of 2-3 cm.

Sowing scheme:

• two-line: the gap between the lines is 25-30 cm, and between the rows - 50-60 cm;
• single-line: the gap between the rows is 45-50 cm.

After 2-3 true leaves appear, the seedlings are thinned out , leaving a gap of 5-6 cm, and then 10-12 cm.

If the plants send out arrows, the flowers are torn off . Weeding and loosening are carried out as necessary. Irrigate according to weather conditions. In hot weather, the frequency of watering is increased; in rainy weather, it is stopped.

Harvesting is carried out in late autumn . The soil is pre-moistened for easy extraction of root crops. Dig with a shovel very carefully so as not to damage the roots. If they are torn off, the product will not be stored well.

Scorzonera overwinters best in the soil and much worse in the cellar . Therefore, some of the root crops are dug up, the foliage is cut off, and the rest is stored in the ground, dug up as needed.

To obtain seeds, black carrots are left in the ground . In the first half of June, flowering begins, which lasts more than 30 days. The seeds ripen unevenly, so the collection stretches over a long period. Seed yield - 20 g/1 m².

How to Squeeze and Apply Black Carrot Juice

To prepare the juice, root vegetables are washed, doused with boiling water and peeled. Then they are twisted through a meat grinder, the mass is transferred to clean gauze and the juice is squeezed out. You can also use a blender or juicer.

The product is used to heal wounds and ulcerative skin lesions . Juice lotions help cure bleeding gums.

To treat urolithiasis, juice is mixed with honey in a 1:1 ratio and taken 1 tbsp. l. before meals for 2-3 weeks.

In case of individual intolerance, stop taking the drug.

Reviews

Black carrots are known to most gardeners under the name “goat” . Few people are involved in growing the crop, so there are few reviews about it. Those who have tried to eat root vegetables speak positively about the culture.

Evgeniy, Kstovo : “Scorzonera, or black carrots, is not one of the popular crops, but I learned about its beneficial properties from my grandmother. Last year I found some seeds in the store and sowed them in the garden. The crop does not cause any particular difficulties in growing. Agricultural technology is standard, as for ordinary carrots. I removed the weeds, loosened the soil crust and watered it. In the fall, I collected part of the harvest and left some in the ground for seeds. Root vegetables have an unusual but pleasant taste. When cutting, a milky juice is released that stains your hands, so you need to wear gloves when cleaning them.”

Larisa, Yelets : “I’ve known about this plant since childhood. We called it “goat” and chewed the young leaves. I recently learned about the beneficial properties of black carrots and plan to try its medicinal properties on myself. The plant has spread in our dacha by self-sowing in large quantities.”

Description

Black carrots, or kozelets, can be identified during flowering by their yellow, fragrant flowers. On well-cultivated soil, a ripe root vegetable can reach a length of 35 cm with a thickness of 3-4 cm. The pulp has a dense white structure, which contains milky juice. The smell of the root is reminiscent of vanilla.

There are many types of black carrots in the wild, but they do not have the same taste and aroma as the cultivated root vegetable. The varieties “Russian Giant”, “Gigantic”, “Ordinary” and “Vulcan” are recognized as selection samples.