‘Baby’ or mini carrots aren’t just a staple of Christmas, but make great snacks all year round – or on a delicious roast dinner plate.
But many foodies feel like they’ve been living a lie after learning a harrowing fact – most aren’t actually baby carrots at all. Instead, they are regular carrots that have been shaved down to give it its characteristic shape.
TikTok account NowThis gave social media followers a look behind the curtains of how they are made – and people have been left stunned. “No, they aren’t just small carrots,” they captioned the video.
In the clip, titled “how baby carrots are made”, viewers can see inside a factory where carrots get processed. The voiceover then explains: “They are usually grown as skinny versions of regular carrots. After harvest, they go to a processing facility to be washed. Then [….] stems are removed and they are sent inside.
“Thick carrots get sorted out. And what’s left gets cut into two inch pieces.” According to the video, they are then sorted into different size groups before they are peeled and polished, to give them their characteristically smooth finish. They are then sorted into plastic bags, before being sent off to supermarkets.
And it turns out many carrot fans had no idea. “Really thought baby carrots were baby carrots,” commented one person. “I guess you learn something new everyday,” said another. A third said: “Wait am I the only one that thought they were grown that way.”
Many people came to this realisation after Joe Jonas shared a video where he shared his discovery. The Jonas Brother said: “I just learned that baby carrots are just regular carrots shaved down to look like baby carrots,” adding: “Going back to bed.”
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YouTuber ASB, who admitted stumbling onto the information after the American singer shared the video, said he was “today years old” when he found out. He also said Joe was the “weirdest source you could find out this kind of information from”.
According to some sources, you’ll know if the carrots aren’t true baby carrots if they are described as “baby cut carrots”. A true baby carrot is harvested before reaching maturity, and will most likely not be peeled before being sold.
The baby carrot was actually invented by Mike Yurosek, a carrot farmer from California. Back in 1986, the carrot farmer wanted to make use of all the misshapen carrots – and instead of throwing them out, decided to cut them down. And after seeing its success, other carrot producers started doing the same. In 1987, the year after he started doing this, carrot consumption jumped by almost 30%, according to data from the USDA.
David Just, a professor of behavioural economics at Cornell University, told The Washington Post: “The majority of consumers have no clue what they’re eating or how it’s produced. There are so many people who honestly believe there are baby carrot farmers out there who grow these baby carrots that pop out of the ground and are perfectly convenient and smooth.”
