Chantenay Carrots are short, blunt, thick carrots. There are several different varieties.
American varieties are longer than UK ones, about 5 to 7 inches (12 ½ to 18 cm) long, about 3 inches (7 ½ cm) wide, and less sweet. They also tend to be coarser, and somewhat dry, but won’t become tough or woody. In America, they are used commercially to make diced carrots. A new variety developed in America, Chantenay #1, is now sweeter and juicier than most other American Chantenay varieties.
Chantenay Carrot varieties in the UK tend to be sweeter than those grown in North America for commercial processing.
History Notes
Chantenay Carrots were developed in the Chantenay area of France. Originally, they had yellow cores inside them, but “red cored” varieties were introduced starting in 1930.
The Chantenay Royal cultivar was introduced in 1952.