The Simple Reason Baby Carrots Are Always Wet

Pick up a package of baby carrots at the grocery store, and you'll likely feel some water seep into your hands. Once that pack of baby carrots is in your refrigerator's vegetable drawer, it'll still feel wet. And although not everyone washes baby carrots, if you choose to do so, the carrots will probably be wet to touch before you even put them under water (via DRG News). 

So what keeps baby carrots wet in the grocery store and your fridge? What's the phenomenon that always seems to leave them drenched in water? As it turns out, the fascinating truth behind this adorable carrot has a lot to do with the differences between baby carrots and their larger counterparts, as well as how they're packaged to be sold, per Mental Floss. And if you've ever seen a baby carrot dry out, well, maybe it's a good thing that your baby carrots always seem to be wet.

The reason why baby carrots are always wet has to do with the difference between baby carrots and whole carrots. And one of the biggest differences between baby carrots and whole carrots isn't their relative sizes; it's that whole carrots are sold with their skin on, while baby carrots have their skin removed during the manufacturing process. Carrot skin prevents the vegetables from dehydrating and getting "carrot blush" — the white strands that appear when a carrot is drying out, Reader's Digest explains.

The solution to this problem is simple: Baby carrots have water added to their packages during manufacturing so they'll stay fresh at every step of the process, from distribution to storage in refrigerators. That's why your hands often feel wet when you touch a bag of baby carrots in the grocery store — you're feeling the water that the manufacturer included for freshness. Whole carrots, conversely, don't need to be directly exposed to water — though many are "misted" in-store — because they still have their skin to keep them from dehydrating, Insider claims. The reason baby carrots are always wet is a practical one, and it might have you more than a little bit shocked.

Many people are shocked to learn that baby carrots aren't, in fact, a smaller species of carrot than the larger ones you typically find in the produce section. Truth is, the baby carrots you know aren't some miniature carrot species, and they've only existed for a few decades, per Hughes Private Capital. Although "true" baby carrots are simply "regular" carrots harvested before they are fully mature, the baby carrots that you'll find sold by the package in supermarkets aren't simply "young" carrots. Baby carrots are full-sized carrots that have been cut into two to three pieces, shaved down, and had their skin removed (via 100 Days of Real Food).

Since the baby carrot was invented in 1986, carrot consumption has increased dramatically. Because what's better than no longer needing to painstakingly slice carrots for your children's lunches? That's right; there's not much that's better! Thanks to a savvy carrot farmer, we have an easier — and arguably tastier — alternative to noshing on a single whole carrot.