Are "baby carrots" a separate breed of carrots, or are they normal carrots that have been robbed the opportunity to grow to full size?

They are aborted carrots.

They are normal carrots that are too ugly to sell and have carved down into their tiny, more acceptable appearance.

@hello321
So they are Instagram carrots.

I’ve read that there are two ways to get them – that full-sized carrots are shaved down, and also that normal carrots are just harvested when they’re little. Personally, I do love them, they seem more tender than full grown ones.

@hello321 Thanks for the link! A few of those recipes look pretty good!

The ones to watch out for are the ones labeled “baby-cut” carrots. They are thick, stubby, peeled-down sections of full-grown carrots, often relatively hard and tasteless. Actual baby carrots, harvested young, are tapered and tender, with plenty of flavor.

The cut ones will do if you’re cooking them, but for eating raw, look for the actual baby carrots and not the impostors.

What @Hawaii_Jake said.

I guess there is no right-to-life lobby for the carrot world.

Fact: Did you know that carrots didn’t get their color because farmers, who wanted to honor the then (and still) reigning royal family, the Oranges, cultivated them to be orange?