Baby Carrot

Name: Baby carrot — either a small, young carrot picked early (true baby carrots), or, more often in supermarkets, a “baby-cut” carrot, which is a mature carrot cut into short pieces and polished to a smooth, rounded finish. Both are the same plant as the ordinary carrot.

Description

The ready-to-eat baby-cut carrot was invented in the 1980s by a California carrot farmer, Mike Yurosek, who was frustrated at the large amount of misshapen carrots that were thrown away. He cut them into bite-sized pieces with an industrial green-bean cutter, and the product took off, boosting carrot consumption in the United States.

Baby-cut carrots are peeled and polished by machine, and are often dipped in a chlorine wash for safety, followed by rinsing in water. True baby carrots, picked at 10 to 15 cm long, are sweeter, with a tender, delicate skin and their green tops attached, and are sold in bunches.

Main nutrition value

Baby carrots provide beta-carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A), vitamin K, potassium and fibre, and are low in calories.

How best to be consumed

Baby carrots are ready to eat, and are good raw or cooked.

1. Eat raw as a snack, with hummus, yoghurt dips or peanut butter.
2. Roast or glaze whole, with olive oil, honey and thyme.
3. Steam or boil, and serve with butter and herbs.
4. Add to soups, stews, stir-fries and lunchboxes.
5. Rinse true baby carrots, and leave a little of the green top for looks.

Overconsumption could cause…

Baby carrots are safe and healthy in food amounts.

1. Orange-tinted skin (carotenemia) from eating very large amounts over time, which is harmless.
2. Choking in young children from whole raw carrots, which should be cut up or cooked.
3. Gas or bloating from a large amount of fibre in some people.
4. Added sugar and fat in glazed preparations.

GroupsRoot VegetablesCarrot and parsley family (Apiaceae)Low fatLow sodiumFresh

Related foodsCeleriac / Celery RootCarrotParsnipPurple CarrotJicamaBeetroot

Wikipedia — Baby carrot, used for origin, naming and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_carrot