On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 22:23:00 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Sylvia wrote:
>
>> > school menu and supermarket bagged "baby carrots" are a different animal.
>>
>> I don't know about school carrots, but the baby carrots I buy at the
>> supermarket ARE different from the regular-sized carrots. There is a
>> clear stem- and leaf-end and the noticeable woody area in the middle of
>> larger carrots is missing. Plus, as I said earlier, they taste
>> noticeably sweeter. I can't speak for anywhere else, but I really think
>> the baby carrots sold here are really BABY carrots.
>
>The "baby carrots" that we get in stores here are a variety of carrot that, when
>mature, are short and stubby. They are fully grown. They are not just large
>carrots that were picked before their time.
>
There *are* varieties of carrots that grow as you describe. However,
as the reference I posted earlier mentioned, so-called 'baby' carrots
come from a long, relatively non-tapered variety that is cut into 2-3"
portions and abraded or milled somehow ("polished") to remove the skin
and form into a small carrot-like shape.

http://www.dole.com/utilities/faq.freshveg.jsp#mini
http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodho...291933,00.html