I'm referring to vegetables like baby carrots, baby spinach, baby cucumber, etc. Supermarkets sell quite a few "baby" varieties of vegetables and they seem to be priced more expensive per ounce than their "regular" counterparts.
Am I naive thinking that (for instance) baby carrots are simply carrots harvested early? Or are they a different kind of carrot, just small?
I'm looking for nutritional as well as culinary differences. For instance, if a recipe calls for a "baby" vegetable, can you substitute it for a finely chopped regular vegetable?
Best Answer
Talking about nutritional value on here can be tricky, because this site about cooking
Yes they are harvested earlier, or even grown more closely. However nowadays they have developed miniature strains which are mature when small in stature. This page contains lot of information about baby carrots, an even a video, so you can try growing this in your garden.
Baby carrots are not as nutritious as full whole carrots, because a lot of the goodness in carrots is contained in the skin and just below it. This is removed in the baby carrot making process. A pack of baby carrots look more aesthetic and they are more tender/sweeter, that is a selling point.