In Case You Didn’t Already Know, Baby Carrots Are A Big Fat Lie

[Mosby]

Don’t believe your baby carrots.

They are a big fat lie sold to us in convenient plastic packaging, parading around grocery stores as if farmers can grow perfectly-rounded miniature carrots in mass amounts.

We’re here to open your eyes. Most baby carrots — those smooth, irresistible tricksters — are actually, 100 percent made of:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/baby-carrots-are-liars_us_570d98cce4b03d8b7b9ec7f4

[Laurian]

1. Aha! That explains it.....

They are made from a different variety.

While we knew that baby carrots were formed from big carrots, we couldn't understand why they didn't taste te same. My daughter and I did a taste test with baby carrots and regular, big carrots. The big ones were sweeter. From that point on, I started buying the regular carrots instead of the baby carrots.

Baby carrots are more convenient, but no as tasty.

[yallerdawg]

2. Oh yeah?

Then explain to me where "normal" carrots come from?

[TygrBright]

8. GOOD question! "Which came first?" Existential wankery at its finest, well done you. n/t

[Warpy]

3. Figured that out the first time they were out of real carrots and I had to grab a bag

"What the fuck? These are just big carrots with most of the sweet outer layer scraped off!"

What I keep having trouble finding are the big, fat carrots that are easier to grate into salads and kugels. They're also prized by juicers since they have that thick, sweet outer layer. Screw those skinny carrots that were picked before they grew up.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Big thick carrots can be found at local produce stands, or Mexican stores ( in Cal.)

Baby carrots have no flavor, to me.

I always bought my produce, when living in cement in Cal. from the Chinese grocery stores, or the Mexican stores.
Spices are soooooo cheap in those stores also.

Now, down here in the rural South, I get my veggies from produce stands, they are all over the place.

[Warpy]

5. Unfortunately, the wholesalers are favoring skinny carrots

I can't find the big, sweet ones at the international market, either.

[Paper Roses]

6. I have trouble finding the nice old 'big' carrots too.

The skinny ones don't cut it.

I watched some cooking show years ago when the host said not to buy the 'baby' carrots, Yes, he said they were regular carrots, cut and shaved. This same host told viewers to 'wash' the pre-washed salad greens, spinach and whatever else that says "pre-washed" on the package.
I wash everything, always did. I always find sand or some less desirable pieces in the rinse water.

[Warpy]

7. I can't eat those bagged salads

Even after I wash them, they still have that funky, chemical "bagged" smell and taste.

That must have been a good cooking show.

[Paper Roses]

9. I never buy the bagged stuff either. This old timer makes her salads with Escarole!!!

OK, sometimes I use Romaine or green leaf but I like the crunch of escarole and I use it in soups.

I don't remember who was the host of that show, it was years ago, before Comcast dropped the network...along with a bunch of other stations. I think it was Emeril but not sure.

[SheilaT]

11. Plus, the bagged salads are incredibly expensive.

You can buy some real lettuce, and all the other ingredients that are in the bagged variety for about a third of what you pay to have someone else chop stuff up for you.

[Warpy]

12. They were OK when I was taking bag lunches to work.

and I was hungry for rabbit food. They seem to have changed their formula since then, I got a veggie lover's salad last year and couldn't eat it, not even after rewashing it and spinning it dry. It seems every single e coli outbreak, they put something else into it.

I'm lucky, my poor mother used to get the runs from salad bars. The bagged stuff we get now would have killed her.

[Freddie]

14. Agreed, bagged salads have an "off" taste

And if you open one and only use half, it's rotten the next day. Although I'm a big fan of the pre-shredded cabbage for coleslaw, somehow that tastes fine.

[Major Nikon]

10. Essentially, but not quite

I suppose if they let them grow out they would eventually turn into bigger carrots, but they are different varietals that are better suited to the purpose, grown much more dense, and harvested much sooner. I actually prefer them to regular carrots for eating raw, but not so much for cooked carrots.

[eridani]

13. They have caused the sales of carrots to increase, though

Before that, sales had been dropping.

[Mosby]

16. I used to buy them for my dog

It's a great snack for a hungry beagle.

After a while though, we realized that it would be much cheaper to just cut up regular carrots.

I have eaten a lot of both and can't tell any difference, the big carrots might have a little more flavor but that's it.

[japple]

15. Thank god for the internet. If I could grow decent carrots here in

this Georgia clay, I would. But store bought carrots always tasted better to me. Now, I can't find great ole big carrots that I prefer. Not even in the organic section. It's nice to know that I might be able to find them in a Hispanic grocery. I have a large selection in my hometown.