Carrots DON’T Have Kids

Why is it so trendy these days to eat the offspring of our produce?

Ok. Let me rephrase that; What are so many foods being sold in a “baby” form. It seems like ALL fruits and vegetables sold, now have some midget version of themselves sitting next to them on grocery store shelves.

Do we honestly need 6 different types of miniature tomatoes? I like variety, but this shelf always makes me laugh when shopping at our local store.

Baby carrots have always been around. I belive they are just carved out of full-sized carrots, then repackaged and sold for a premium price. They are convenient though and I see the need for them. How stupid would we all look chomping down on full-grown carrots during our lunch time. It would be awkward if your meal consists of a foot-long carrot and a foot-long sub. If the carrot is anywhere near the size of  the sandwich you are eating as your main course, then I think you need to find yourself a more reasonable sized root to consume (unless you are Bugs Bunny). And that slimy “baby corn,” has been a stir-fry accompaniment since the first wok was used or P.F. Chang’s was franchised (whichever came first). Like the baby carrot, the baby corn’s size is the sole reason for its popularity; a full size cob of corn could never get picked up by a chop-stick wielding eater.  But neither the mini carrots or corn really taste any better than their full-sized counterparts. And they cost more.

But walk around and you will find apples and bananas sold in miniature format. Even fruit like kiwis are getting the bite-size-baby treatment. Then there are the “baby bella” mushrooms, and even baby artichokes.  This is starting to get a ridiculous

Maybe the tapas trend has been taken to an extreme and now farmers everywhere decided to start selling small-plate style produce.  Maybe our appetite has desired smaller produce so that we can easily compact more of it in our over-stuffed bellies. Maybe someone has a shrink-ray gun and is having too much fun….Either way, smaller versions of full-grown produce has SO MANY negatives.

A cheesy name like "Cuties" is enough to convince many of us that these are something we have to add to the grocery cart. But just think how much more peeling is going to be involved compared to a bag of "normal" sized fruit. (In defense of the Cuties, these actually do taste significantly sweeter than regular oranges, and they have been genetically engineered to be VERY easy to peel...but their smaller size means plenty of peeling just to get a mouthful of food.)

Look at an apple. A dwarf apple has practically the same size core as a full-grown one. Your core to edible-fruit ratio is complete crap in a bite-sized apple.

Tiny  orange hybrids(called by the various names like satsuma, clementine, etc) and those trendy  mini bananas that look like stubby fingers, are all so much more labor intensive. To get a solid snack from these baby-sized fruit, involves way to much peeling for my limited patience.

Then there is…the price. Fed Up readers will know that I am stingy, and will search endlessness for a good deal.  BUT, I am willing to pay a premium for something that justifies it. A hand-crafted cheese or a sushi roll made with exotic ingredients for example. “Baby”  fruits and vegetables that are TRULY just an immature versions of an adult crop, should be far cheaper. Produce picked before they are fully grown obviously take less time to produce, so then why the Hell are we paying as if they we some gourmet delicacy? Its like paying more for a 3 moth old bottle of wine, then for that same wine aged 3 years. And while there may be legitimate flavor and nutrient differences from dwarf fruit/vegetables, I always find is difficult to pay more when you are getting so much less food…I know, I know, quality frequently trumps quantity; and quality is damn expensive. But still buying 5 ounces  for the same price as 5 pounds, is always a difficult decision.

Baby Takiis...Ok, now they are just making crap up. These are just shiitake mushrooms that haven't grown. But, because they are called "Baby Takiis" I am sure Mrs. Fed Up will find them adorable, and will want to bring home a few boxes.

I think it is all just clever marketing. Give something a cute name and people will pay extra. Call anything “baby,” and a mother’s instincts and emotions are instantly triggered. And if something seems exotic enough, like “baby takiis”, then customers will line up just for the novelty-factor.

While there are some good reasons to bring home a bag of bite-sized carrots, lets agree to think really hard about bringing miniature produce into our homes.  Just like real babies, baby fruits and vegetables can be freaking expensive and come with a lot of extra baggage.

It says they are the "ultimate in antioxidants," but is a baby artichoke really that much better than a standard artichoke. If the term "baby" does not lure us in, the use of trendy buzz words like "antioxidants," will get many of us interested.