When I was first introduced to baby carrots I thought they were the best thing since sliced bread. No need to peel, cut, etc. and you had a crunchy healthy snack ready to go. As I started trying to reduce the toxins in my life I started hearing rumors about how baby carrots were processed and decided to give the old fashioned carrots another chance. I found that they have more flavor, last longer, and when I remembered my grandma’s “trick” of always have peeled carrots in salt water ready to go in her fridge and I hadn’t bought baby carrots since (more on this grandma hack later). But on one of my grocery orders during this lock down, the only available carrot was a bag of baby carrots and so my curiosity was intrigued and I wanted to get the down and dirty on the baby carrot…
According to most of the sources, the baby carrot is attributed to a California carrot farmer, Mike Yurosek, who in the 1980s grew tired of wasting many of his carrots because they were not “pretty” enough to sell and so he decided to see what would happen if he took the funky looking carrots into a bean cutter to make smaller uniform pieces. The baby carrot was born. He created a legend and now it is estimated somewhere between 50-70% of all carrot sales are baby carrots. The invention has dramatically increased the numbers of carrots consumed in the U.S, did a great job of reducing the amount of carrots wasted because of their appearance, and grew a new industry. All of that is the positive side.
So where does the concern come from? In my research I found two major concerns. The first is that most of today’s baby carrots are grown to make the process easier (think modifications) and after shaping them they are washed in a chlorinated solution to kill bacteria. While most experts (EPA and FDA approved) currently say that the solution is harmless others question whether it is indeed safe. Additionally, according to the carrot museum (yes it is a real thing) the goal of modification process is to grow longer carrots. “The target which the main producers have is 4 babies from each long carrot. The average length of the variety of carrot used (Imperator) is now about 10 inches, so after "topping and tailing" they achieve 4, 2 inch babies. The whole process is governed by computers and lasers and these machines decide on the optimum cut for each individual carrot - yes! The growers and seed companies and constantly working ion the development of longer varieties together with the desire to have a cylindrical carrot of even circumference all the way down. That would mean less shaving and scrubbing required. Most of the goodness in carrots is in, or just below, the skin.” In addition to the longer carrots, many of the baby carrots are bred to be smaller in diameter, have a uniform color, be coreless and sweeter than regular carrots. Most of the companies claim that the modifications are natural modifications. Read more here.
The second concern is that in the cutting and shaping the carrots lose some of their nutritional concern. According to Food Network, one baby carrot has 5 calories and 1 gram of carbs, and is free of fat and cholesterol and has close to 30 percent of the recommended daily amount of Vitamin A. And Healthline claims that one medium, raw carrot (61 grams) contains 25 calories, 4 grams of digestible carbs. In a cup of raw carrots you get 113% of your daily Vitamin A. So there does not appear to be a major difference nutritionally speaking.
Now back to the hack. One of the things that kept me from eating regular carrots more often was pure and simple laziness. When I wanted a snack I was often too lazy to wash, peel and cut the carrots. However, when I remembered my grandma’s habit of soaking her peeled carrots in salt water I decided I would give it a shot. And I love it! You do all the work at once: wash them, peel them, cut them and put them in salt water and then whenever you or your kids ask for a snack, they are there ready to go. I love the extra salt taste, the fact that they are crunchy and cold, and that they last for as long as it takes us to eat them. So now our go to (when we can find them for delivery) is a 5 lb. bag of traditional carrots, peel about half of them and soaking them in a glass container with a lid. It’s that easy.
An additional little fun fact, mainly because I love that I can use the word turgid… According to sciencing.com, the turgidity (aka stiffness) of a carrot depends on the water content of its cells. So when the cells are full of water, the cells grow larger, are closer together, and therefore make the carrot turgid. When you put a carrot in salty water: “when the concentration of water molecules inside the cells matches that outside, the carrot stops shriveling, and when you remove it from the water and taste it, it has a stronger flavor because it contains less water.” You can read more here.
This is getting long, so just a few more pros and cons of the traditional vs. baby carrot:
1. Slimy carrots: When I did some research on this, I found that it is from moisture and happens to baby carrots more than regular ones and if you eat them you run the risk of food poisoning (usually from ecoli or salmonella bacteria).
2. There is some research to suggest that a salt-water bath can rid vegetables of pesticides. Don't have enough research to prove this one, but if it’s true it’s a win win!!!
3. A potential down side I have read about soaking the carrots is that some of the vitamins found in carrots are water-soluble, and while minimal, soaking raw vegetables will reduce the quantity of these vitamins.
4. The cost comparison: A local search shows that today traditional carrots are 68.8cents/LB while baby carrots are 98.0cents/LB. So traditional are cheaper.
While most people agree that the processing and growing of baby carrots is on the safe side, I would prefer to be sure, to save money, and I prefer the taste. So for this family, the traditional carrot is the winner.
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