How do they make baby carrots?
Well, there is a difference between a real baby carrot and what they now sell in the stores as baby carrots. Baby carrots used to be small carrots that they pulled out of the ground before they reached their full size. THey were more tender and sometimes more sweet than the bigger carrots, great for eating raw. But that’s not what they do now. There isn’t enough profit in pulling up immature carrots so the pull up big carrots and then shape and cut them so they are all the same cute size looking like baby carrots but they aren’t. Don’t be fooled. They have only been trimmed to look like it, now. They are not extra sweet and tender.
If you look at the package that you buy, you will probably notice that it doesn’t say “baby carrots,” but “baby-cut carrots.” The baby-cut carrots are cut to look like actual baby carrots, which are harvested while they are still small. But at certain stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joes you can find actual baby carrots which are naturally sweeter. Baby-cut carrots are sweeter than whole carrots but they are bred that way using hormones. Hormones are also added to make the baby-cut carrots more orange. They are still a healthy alternative to other snacks, but buying real baby carrots would be better.
Baby carrots are made from larger carrots that no one wanted. The larger carrot is cut into smaller pieces and the small section are then washed and formed to look like little ‘baby carrots’. Philipp Simon was the inventor, check out the article on him at www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-08-11-baby-carrot_x.
