Recently, my friend Deidre informed me that the so-called baby carrots I purchase so faithfully at the grocery store are actually nothing more than regular, grown-up carrots, cut into the exact size and shape of what the naked eye would perceive to be a baby carrot.I had no idea that this was true, and now I feel duped. It's so obvious-- they don't have skin, or any sign at the top of ever having had greenery attached to them. I don't know if I thought they were just plucked from the ground before their time, held up to be admired-- "Aw, look at the cute widdle baby cawwots!"-- and then packaged and shipped to my local Giant Eagle.
And now I am obsessed with this, and, I admit, a little turned off by the whole baby carrot issue now. Oh, I still eat them. But why? Why not just buy a regular carrot, peel it, and cut it into baby-safe rounded shapes?
Come to think of it, there must be some sort of machine I could purchase to reach this end. Clearly, this is not done by hand; the workmanship is too perfect. But why? At what point did someone say, "You know? These carrots are too big, and pointy. Let's wee them up a little." And where are the pointy ends of the carrots? In the trash? Or maybe turned into matchstick carrots (sold separately, but conveniently, right next door to the baby carrots)?
My whole life is a sham.
7 pipers piping:
Weirdly enough, I remember reading this article in USA Today last year about the baby carrot phenomenon and the man who started it all. http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-08-11-baby-carrot_x.htm. Maybe he'll sell you your own machine.
P.S. To prevent further damage from lies and deciet in the grocery store, I'd like to inform you that chickens don't have fingers. Sorry.
I totally didn't know that! Must boycott fake tiny vegetables!!
I can't believe I never considered the possibility that baby carrots were anything but a miniature variation on the big carrots. Why would grocery stores do this to us? Does this mean that any "baby" vegetable is actually the "parent" vegetable masquerading as a baby? Is baby corn, for instance, a hoax? Just the tip of a huge corn cob and not, as we have been led to believe, a cute little self-sufficient ear of corn? It's all very curious. I think you've stumbled upon a conspiracy, Ms. Shable!
Sweet Irony!!
I can't wrap my head around it all. Are they whittling down ginormous carrots to make the baby carrots, and thus avoiding the carrot core? Because baby carrots are all one color/texture, through and through.
Part of a letter written to Jewel 12-31-09
"I've been noticing a very sneaky, very sinister wave of package design created to assumingly reduce what the consumer buys and to downsize the product overall. This apple sauce container is made of plastic and incorporates not only ridges and cutouts on the exterior, but also on the interior where there are needless ridges taking up valuable space where product should reside. I don't like the dishonesty in the grocery business. It's blatant and obvious. It's no secret that your industry tries it's hardest to trick and decieve customers at every turn, from floorplans to downsizing to package design to purposely targeting children with sweets and junk foods."
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