Popular varieties of carrots include Caropak, Cellobunch, Chancellor, Six-Pak, Avenger, Apache and Caro-chief.  Look for firm, crisp carrots with a smooth, blemish-free exterior.  Be wary of deep green “shoulders” just below the top, which may indicate bitterness.  Oversized carrots may have tough centers.

When purchasing fresh bunched carrots, immediately remove the leafy green tops.  They draw off moisture and vitamins from the edible root, and can cause wilting and toughening.  Store in plastic for up to three weeks in the refrigerator crisper.  For longer storage, keep carrots cool and moist in a root cellar or similar cool place.  Carrots store very well layered in a large tub between layers of clean, dry sand.  Make sure the carrots are not touching each other as you layer them.  You can store them for an entire winter in a cold room this way.

Because of the many nutrients just below the carrot’s surface, it’s better to rinse and scrub with a vegetable brush or scrape lightly rather than peel the skin.

Unlike most other vegetables, carrots are more nutritious when eaten cooked than eaten raw (except when juiced).  Because raw carrots have tough cellular walls, the body is able to convert less than 25 percent of their beta carotene into vitamin A.  Cooking, however, partially dissolves cellulose-thickened cell walls, freeing up nutrients by breaking down the cell membranes.  So long as the cooked carrots are served as part of a meal that provides some fat the body can absorb more than half of the carotene.  Also, it is more advisable to cook carrots whole and then cut them up to preserve all the proteins and soluble carbohydrates.
Melons are low in calories, an excellent source of both Vitamins A and C, high in potassium and a source of folacin.