Baby Carrots Have Been Lying To You

Have you ever wondered, while browsing the produce section, where baby carrots come from? Well, a video from Producepedia shows exactly how baby carrots are made — because yes, they are made. Mother Nature doesn't produce anything that comes in out in the same perfectly smooth size and shape every time. Sorry, everyone. Baby carrots have been lying to you.

Despite the labeling, baby carrots aren't so much "babies" as full size carrots that have been cut down into bite-sized pieces and peeled. This comes as a surprise to many people, although ultimately, perhaps it shouldn't; after all, it's unlikely that anything would ever pop out of the ground without blemishes or obvious stems or roots.

But the myth that baby carrots actually are babies isn't the only one kicking around — and some of the others (which, of course, are equally false) are a little weirder. For example, there's actually been a long standing urban legend that baby carrots are deformed regular carrots that have been soaked in chlorine until a white film forms on them. In reality, this is definitely a myth. Baby carrots are made out of carrots that have grown in odd ways and probably wouldn't sell on their own at the grocery store, but there's nothing inherently wrong with carrots that look funny. But more importantly, they aren't soaked in chlorine, and the white you sometimes see on the carrots is just the skin starting to dry out.

The thing about carrots being able to turn your skin orange if you eat to many of them, though? That one's real. Mostly. Just, you know, in case you like having carrot-related conspiracies in your life.

So what does the process of making baby carrots actually look like? Well, you can watch this video and find out.