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One cannot picture Bugs Bunny without his ever-present carrot. While Bugs seems to favor carrots for purely hedonistic reasons, real rabbits prefer them because they are hard.

Rabbits' teeth never stop growing. Thus, they relish gnawing on hard vegetables in an effort to continually hone them.

The carrot, a member of the parsley family, is a root vegetable believed to have originated in Afghanistan. Men have been consuming them for over 2000 years.

Interestingly, carrots used to be purple until the common orange variety was developed in England in the 17th century.

Carrots are available year round. The ones with the greens still attached are usually fresher and better tasting than their bagged, topless counterparts.

Choose carrots that are firm, free of cracks, and with non-wilted greens. The best ones are young and slender. Baby carrots however, although the most tender, are not as flavorful as their adolescent peers. Older and larger carrots are tougher and sometimes need to have their woody core removed.

Remove the greens before storage since they deplete moisture and vitamins from the carrots. Store them in a plastic bag in your fridge.

Some say they can be held up to two weeks but I recommend using them within one week due to the deterioration of the natural sugars within the carrot. Younger carrots don't need to be peeled before use.

Simply scrub their surface with a small brush under running water. Older carrots, being more fibrous, are usually peeled.

Carrots are nutritional powerhouses purported to fight cancer, lower cholesterol and boost the immune system. They contain Vitamins A, B, C, D, E, the minerals potassium and magnesium, and of course the highly touted beta-carotene.

Beta-carotene is one of hundreds of substances collectively known as carotenoids, which give carrots their characteristic pigment.

Carrots can be cooked in any number of ways although I would avoid boiling them since the water will draw out much of their flavor. Roasting and sautéing are my favorite methods but if you must go the water route, steam them instead.

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