Baby carrot
A baby carrot is a carrot harvested before reaching maturity and sold at that smaller size. A baby-cut carrot is a small piece cut from a larger carrot; baby-cut carrots are often marketed as "baby carrots", leading to potential confusion. Baby carrots. The immature roots of the carrot plant are sometimes harvested simply as the result of crop thinning, but are also grown to this size as a specialty crop. Certain cultivars of carrots have been bred to be used at the "baby" stage. One such cultivar is 'Amsterdam Forcing'. This process was developed at Beechnut  Farms, bought by Zellwin Farms. These farms originally developed food for World War II, but wanted to sell food for civilians. A team of two led the research. According to Dole, baby carrots are sweeter and more tender than full-grown carrots. Section::::"Baby-cut" carrots. Taking fully grown carrots and cutting them to a smaller size was the brainchild of California carrot farmer Mike Yurosek in 1986. In 2006, nearly three-quarters of the fresh "baby-cut" carrots produced in the United States came from Bakersfield, California. Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms are the world's two largest growers, processors , and shippers of "baby-cut" carrots. Production. To make "baby-cut" carrots, large carrots are put into a machine and cut into sections, then abraded (scraped) down to size, their ends rounded by the same process. The white blush sometimes visible on the surface of "baby-cut" carrots is caused by dehydration of the cut surface. "Baby-cut" carrots are more prone to develop this because their entire surface area is a cut surface. Low-temperature, high-humidity storage can minimize the white appearance. Marketing. In September 2010, a marketing initiative was launched in the United States by a group  of nearly 50 carrot producers led by Bolthouse Farms (calling themselves "A Bunch of Carrot Farmers") that sought to promote baby-cut carrots as an alternative to junk food. The campaign mimicked tactics typically employed by snack food marketers, including snack-food-like packaging; futuristic, sexual, and extreme sports-themed TV commercials; carrot vending machines in schools; and an iPhone game and website.