Carrot

A Carrot is a food item that can be planted and consumed. When consumed, it restores four hunger points and 4.8 saturation. However, it only restores three in the 1.8 snapshots. Carrots can be used to breed and attract Pigs.

Carrots are a rare drop from zombies, and are found as crops in Villager farms. Along with potatoes,carrots require farmland in order to grow, but do not have an accompanying seed item. A carrot item is instead planted directly in farmland, and upon maturing will yield 1 - 4 identical carrot items which can again be used or replanted.

A carrot can be used to craft a Golden Carrot, which can be used to make Potions of Night Vision and breed Horses.

Farming
Carrots can be farmed and harvested on farmland. When farmed, they will take 8 stages to grow. However, there are only 4 distinct textures, so only 4 visible stages: every two stages have the same texture, except that growth stage 7 keeps the same appearance as stages 5–6, so that only stage 8 has the final, 'mature' appearance. Mature carrot crops drop 1-4 carrots. Bone meal can be used on carrots, but it will take an average of 2-3 uses to advance the crop to the final stage, and using a Fortune-enchanted tool increases the number of carrots dropped. Also, the Carrot on a Stick can be used to steer pigs, although since 1.6, Horses are a better alternative for riding.

Advantages

 * Carrots can be farmed quickly.
 * Carrots can be used to breed Pigs.

Disadvantages

 * The initial carrot is hard to find unless you spawn near a village.
 * Carrots do not restore much hunger or saturation.