A very rare landrace from the Tessin region of Switzerland. These amethyst colored carrots were re-discovered in the 1950s in the picturesque Alps village of Bre being grown by local women who sold them at farmers markets. “Gniff” is translated to purple in the local dialect. Being a landrace, there is a range of expression of colors in this carrot, always a purple exterior with a various amount of violet inside. This is a slow-growing storage carrot that is traditionally pickled; locals will steam, slice and preserve in olive oil, parsley and garlic. A similar type was last described by Vilmorin in the year 1856 as “sweet, purple carrot with a pale yellow heart”. rareseeds