Baby carrots are usually "baby-cut carrots," which are fully grown carrots cut down to size by a machine, not pulled from the ground in their small form as you might think.

Baby carrots were introduced in 1986 by California carrot farmer Mike Yurosek, who hand-cut misshapen carrots to sell to local grocery stores.

Baby-cut carrots are convenient and require no preparation, making them a time saver, but they may lack flavor and freshness compared to regular-sized carrots.

However, since baby-cut carrots are shaved, they lose their protective peel and thus run the risk of drying out. The water in the bag meant to provide moisture can turn them slimy.