Baby Carrots

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Small, minature-sized carrots that offer convenience and ease of use as a vegetable. Baby carrots are available in several styles. Prepared carrots that are ready to eat out of the bag are one option available, making this vegetable a quick and easy snack or a good choice for use on an appetizer tray. Prepared baby carrots are grown as small carrots by the planting process used to keep them small and narrow so they can be cut and shaped into the smaller size. The are grown similar to the traditional long carrots but closer together, They are harvested, washed, and then sent through automatic cutters that trim and shape each carrot into approximately 2-inch pieces. The 2-inch pieces are then sorted for imperfections and processed through automatic peelers to scrape the skins off so they can be packaged for distribution.

Producers of Baby Carrots actually plant the carrots close to each other in order to keep them smaller in size so they can be cut into a smaller-shaped vegetable to make them easier for processing into the Baby-Carrot sized variety. A second option available is the fresh version of baby carrots that are actually grown as a small variety of the larger relative. Tender in texture and mildly sweet in flavor, this version does require preparation to remove the stalk and the skin if desired.