Carrot

A Carrot is a food item that can be planted and consumed. When consumed, it restores four hunger points, and restores 4.8 saturation. Carrots can be used to breed Pigs. Carrots are a rare drop from zombies and are found as crops in Villager farms. The Golden Carrot can be used to make Potions of Night Vision and breed Horses. If you find a village, then carrots might already be planted, making it a very reliable food source.

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. It is fairly easy to make automated Carrot farms with Water, Dispensers, and a Hopper. 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 produced in large quantities - each carrot plant drops 1-4 carrots when harvested, and so from one carrot, a farm can easily be established.
 * Unlike Potatoes or meat, Carrots do not need to be cooked to get the full effect.

Disadvantages

 * Carrots restore less hunger than foods like Bread and Baked Potatoes.
 * Apart from being a food source, carrots are also used to breed pigs and craft Golden Carrots, which both restore more hunger in the long term.
 * Carrots can be quite hard to find; they only appear in NPC Village farms or as a rare drop from zombies.