Baby Carrots vs. Baby Cut Carrots

[DonRocks]

From watching Top Chef at least it seems like carrots are a trend or at least becoming quite popular. They seem to be the focus of a lot of dishes, often seared or roasted. I've not been a huge fan of cooked carrots (mostly because they're sweet, and I prefer savory things) but admittedly I've mostly had them in soups and stews (where they were only ok) glazed with sugar (not a fan) or simply roasted (eh).  I'm curious to see if I like some of the newer preparations. I was wondering-does anyone have any savory carrot recipes that they think might convert a carrot agnostic? thank you.

Are you agnostic or atheist?

Regarding the little guys, there are natural (cultivated) baby carrots, and there are cut baby carrots (technically "baby cut carrots"):

A California carrot farmer started making baby cut carrots in 1986 because he was unhappy with his carrots going bad, so he got a green-bean cutter which cut his carrots into two lengths, and then placed the lengths inside a potato peeler, creating the original branded baby carrot: "Bunny-Luv."

This is amazing - as I'm typing this, the person sitting next to me, who is Googling baby carrots, told me that the Washington Post came out with an article on baby carrots just *three hours ago*. sandynva, I'm wondering if you read this article, and it that's what prompted your original post? If not, there's a weird, telepathic thing going on:

"Baby carrots are not baby carrots" by Roberto A. Ferdman on washingtonpost.com <--- I'm being told this is a good article.

Now, try and forget about baby cut carrots ...

[sandynva]

I'm agnostic--I don't really know if they're capable of being delicious or not, rather than being firmly in the camp of those who are convinced they are not tasty.

that article is a funny coincidence. I hadn't known about it until you posted it (thanks!) my q really was from watching top chef.

[farmer john]

This article is from a publication from Brown University a little while back. The author spent a summer working for me on the farm.

"The Real Dirt on the Baby Carrot" by Lisa Borst on theindy.org

[dcandohio]

Is it just me? As baby cut carrots have taken over the shelves, their flavor has deteriorated. The last two bags (one was organic) I bought contained either tasteless logs, or pieces that were bitter and nasty. I am swearing off this convenience item and returning to whole carrots.

[DonRocks]

Is it just me? As baby cut carrots have taken over the shelves, their flavor has deteriorated. The last two bags (one was organic) I bought contained either tasteless logs, or pieces that were bitter and nasty. I am swearing off this convenience item and returning to whole carrots.

Their flavor has deteriorated.

[MarkS]

They have become a delivery mechanism for Hummus.  Otherwise they are flavorless.

[ktmoomau]

I normally get baby cut carrots and real carrots.  The baby cut carrots are mostly for MK who will just get them out of the fridge and eat them for snacking, but I will use them in a pinch or to use up any stragglers, I don't care that they aren't horribly flavorful because generally if I am using them for a culinary purpose they get tossed in the food processor and finely chopped and are just going in as veggie "filler" to something like soup, taco meat, red meat sauce, etc.  They are part of my beef up the nutritional content of a dish sneakily plans, although I know MK notices and he would prefer if I didn't do it, he understands the purpose and doesn't object.  In the same way that I keep my mouth shut when he orders pizza on the nights I am not home.  I think part of the reason they may not have a lot of flavor is some have quite a bit of moisture.

If I am going to make a stand alone carrot dish I buy the real deal.

[MsDiPesto]

I no longer buy the baby cut carrots because they began to taste terrible a few years ago. I've also heard of "milled carrots". 

[Al Dente]

I guess these baby carrots are made the same way toothpicks are:

[dcandohio]

This weekend I bought a 1lb cello bag of "regular" carrots and ate them raw and cooked. So much more tasty than the baby cut. I have learned my lesson. No more baby cut "carrots."

[mudah]

I talked with my uncle who is a farmer and involved in the carrot industry in California's Central Valley about baby vs. cello carrots just last week. Baby carrots are sometimes held in cold storage for a very long time, whereas cello carrots are sourced fresh from all over. Essentially, if you get cello, they came out of the ground less than two weeks ago. Baby could be a year or more. That would definitely account for the freshness factor.