VANCOUVER — If the kids won't eat their green beans, maybe it's time to try feeding them purple ones.
Purple beans and other unusual strains of vegetables, such as purple carrots, bright orange cauliflower and white bell peppers, are making a colourful splash on the culinary scene, driven by demand for exotic variations of locally grown produce.
Rainbow-coloured vegetables are cropping up at farmers' markets, specialty produce stores, high-end restaurants and private gardens in Canada and the United States.
"I think everybody's looking for different things, whether it's purple green bean, or whether it's white asparagus, or chocolate-brown pepper ... the list is endless," said Kurt Alstede, who grows and sells these unusual varieties at Alstede Farms in Chester, N.J.
Purple cauliflower, maroon carrots, white beets - foodies are having fun in the kitchen expanding their colour palettes with unusual varieties of traditional vegetables. (Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail)
These garish veggies aren't the product of genetic engineering. In fact, they're nothing new - many are heirloom varieties or naturally selected hybrids of varieties that have been have been around for centuries.
Purple carrots, for instance, were grown in Afghanistan as early as the 10th century. It wasn't until the 16th century that the Dutch introduced orange carrots, which were crossbred to reduce bitterness and adopted to reflect the Netherlands' national colour.
But to satisfy growing appetites for the latest and greatest in fresh, local produce, farmers are producing greater varieties of these uncommon crops.
Purple, maroon and white carrots have become increasingly popular at Toronto's Harvest Wagon specialty food store, even though at this time of year they cost about $8 a pound, said produce manager Danny DiMarco.
The flavour is pretty much the same, he said. "If you were to close your eyes and eat them, you wouldn't really taste the difference."
But many foodies who have encountered the vegetables on European travels return to Canada and look for similar strains grown here, he said.
Purple carrots were introduced to major supermarkets in Britain about five years
ago, and purple, green and
orange cauliflower have recently become a hit with British shoppers.
Mr. Alstede said the resurgence of multicoloured produce is also getting a boost from adventurous consumers and hobby chefs.
"People aren't cooking for sustenance as much as they're cooking for fun now," he said, noting that many busy professionals buy their meals ready-made and cook only in their free time. "These coloured vegetables give them the ability to experiment."
The current trend in restaurants toward simple dishes made with quality products has also contributed to the growing popularity of unusually coloured vegetables, said Gary King, owner of Hazelmere Organic Farm in South Surrey, B.C.
"[Chefs] have gone away from fancy sauces and they're looking more for local vegetables, and they still want to put forth a beautiful plate," he said.
Mr. King said he doesn't produce exotic-looking vegetables such as the multicoloured carrots since they don't grow well in the soil in his area.
But he said he's in favour of the natural cultivation of unusual varieties, since it adds to the diversity of regionally grown produce.
"As long as they're not importing these vegetables long distances, as long as they are grown locally, I think it's great," Mr. King said.
In Thornton, Ont., Cookstown Greens produces a wide variety of colourful crops, such as black and blue potatoes, red, purple and black carrots, white, golden and candy cane beets, and amber turnips.
One of the farm's most popular vegetables is a Red Valentine radish, which is white on the outside with a deep pink interior.
David Cohlmeyer, founder of Cookstown Greens, said these vegetables are more difficult to grow, and therefore more expensive, than ordinary ones, since many aren't bred to withstand diseases. Also, they don't always germinate and ripen evenly, so they need to be hand-picked.
While others may not taste the difference, Mr. Cohlmeyer said, he believes they're more flavourful than supermarket vegetables, especially since they're not typically commercially farmed. Their finicky
nature makes them more
suited to independent, organic farming.
Mr. Cohlmeyer noted that if he and other farmers didn't grow these rare varieties,
many would simply vanish from disuse.
As multinational seed companies replace heritage varieties with newly patented ones, numerous vegetable strains are no longer cultivated, he said.
"It's good to keep these available and don't let them go extinct," he said. "If people buy them and enjoy them, then the farmers would keep growing them and the seed growers would keep producing the seed."
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