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That depends -- the answer isn't black and white, but rather shades of orange. True baby carrots of the Nantes variety are full-grown but have been bred small. Most baby carrots, however, are of the Imperator variety -- a long, slender carrot that is peeled and chopped into smaller pieces. Bred to ripen fast and grow long, they look small once chopped, but they weren't born yesterday. How did we learn this? A Yahoo! Search on "baby carrots" resulted in this helpful definition from a produce vendor called Melissa's. The Reno Gazette-Journal also
notes that most baby carrots sold in supermarkets are in fact Imperator carrots. For a fascinating explication of how most baby carrots are produced, we refer you to Grimmway Farms. All manner of technology is employed in making these tasty natural snacks, including optical sensors that weed out green carrots, and massive rotating blades that peel the freshly chopped beta carotene nuggets. And for all you health nuts, keep in mind that while carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, baby carrots have less of it, because they haven't had as much time to mature.
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