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Post by Henrik on Mar 5, 2003 7:50:50 GMT -5
Some talk on the mozzarella thread reminded me of a topic I wanted to bring up here since some time, and that is a rant on fruit and vegetables today!
Now, I'm not sure if this is a universal thing, or if it simply confined to our area, but over the years, fruit and vegetable producers have been focusing exclusively on producing crops that look good. You go to your local supermarket, and the tomatoes are perfect, smooth with a nice red color. The apples all have a perfect shape, and the color catches your eyes. The paprika/peppers are large and look great, in vivid red, green, yellow or orange colors. Pears are smooth, and peaches flawless in appearance. It looks great! But all are entirely tasteless! I hate it! It seems it only gets worse too.
A few years back I remember being in Italy and having some tomatoes. It was amazing! They actually tasted like tomatoes!!
Oh, and bananas! Hell, when you see them in the shop, they are almost still green (sometimes actually completely green), but after two days at home, they are over-ripe! They also taste less and less, or taste like banana liqeour once too ripe. I can still remember on a trip in Tanzania, we stopped in a village and bought some huge red bananas. They were totally unforgetable!! Tasted like heaven, perfect consistency..mmmmmmmmmm! Why can't we get fruit like that here?
So, what's it like where you all live?
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Post by Topcontender on Mar 5, 2003 9:41:25 GMT -5
Hen- they must be growing with pesticides or something like that. Are they bigger than the normalfruits and veggies? Here in the states bigger is better, but these retards can't figure out that it takes all the taste away when you grow all that crap. Thats why i stick to organics if i can, they dont look as good, but taste better.
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Post by Cine_Man on Mar 5, 2003 15:49:42 GMT -5
Of course with our extremely short growing season, its very difficult to get "local" produce (one word = fruits/veg). There are a number of "hothouse" growers who bring a nice range of products to market... cucumbers, tomatoes beefsteak and cherry, peppers ROYG, and sometimes violet, eggplant, etc. I buy organic if I can -- and the organic growers are starting to bring product to market that is very attractive cosmetically. We started with carrots -- that actually seemed to remember what it was like to be grown in the earth. Organic bananas are the ONLY way to go.
What is bothering me is that the big companies are starting to buy into the 'organic movement' and starting their own lines.... DOLE is one example, but the "in-corporation" of organic food is starting.
Well, if it gets rid of the xxxx-icides, great... otherwise, get ready for 'organic' Franken-foods--- genetically modified to have pesticides, etc biologically programmed into their cellular structure. Don't know how this fits into the international agreements that define organic
Maybe this would be another thread...."ORGANICS".
Cine_...
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Post by Topcontender on Mar 5, 2003 16:14:11 GMT -5
cine this year the FDA set guidelines for organic foods. Get ready for a ton of stuff in the USA and i bet it will find its way to your place.
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Post by eso on Mar 5, 2003 22:06:09 GMT -5
Here in California we are gifted with exceptional growing seasons, but the mega-farms produce vast quantities of beautifully tasteless products.
One of the benefits of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Act) is that many products are brought up from Mexico and further south for a wide variety while keeping prices low. Of course the low prices are the result of Our chief export, Poverty, but we won't get into that here.
My wife, Jill, is a vegetarian, and so quality of veggies is a big deal with us. The biggest problem is finding tomatoes with flavor. I use a lot of roma tomatoes for some pastas I make and when I can find really good ones, the results are so much more satisfying.
eso
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Post by Danny Boy on Mar 6, 2003 2:16:50 GMT -5
eso;
Strange as it may seem, tinned tomatos are realy good for sauces, far better than most "fresh Tomatos".
A friend of mine was out from the UK the other day and I made him a cheese and tomato sandwhich, he almost had an orgasim over the tomato which was grown in my own garden.
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Post by Cine_Man on Mar 7, 2003 0:59:43 GMT -5
Ewwwwwwwww.....
make-your-own "mayonnaise".
Okay, lets not go there.... back away easily, no one will get hurt.
Hat....
Coat...
Gone.
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Post by Wycco on Mar 11, 2003 11:10:12 GMT -5
I buy organic if I can -- So, is it safe to say you like to masticate organics my thespian friend?  |
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Post by Henrik on Mar 11, 2003 16:30:23 GMT -5
About the organic, I guess that's what the call "bio" here. Only difference between bio and normal vegetables here is the price. They are both tasteless!!!
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Post by Cine_Man on Mar 11, 2003 21:32:36 GMT -5
I masticate everything 32 times, three times (or as many times as possible) thruout the day. Then I floss and brush.
(Musical interlude: to the "toreador" aria from CARMEN)
"...last night, I stayed at home and masticated....
it felt so neat, I used my teeth...
Oh thats enuff.
Cine_...
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Post by smokingun on Apr 2, 2003 6:59:32 GMT -5
if any one is visiting Goa during the month of May, eat as many mangoes as you can. we get a whole variety of mangoes here, and my personal favourite is called "maldes" in konkani. i don't know the english name. but it has a green skin with a pink patch on it and tastes awesome.
home grown tomatoes taste really good, we get some really small size tomatoes in our garden, but they are sweet and could even be eaten as a desert rather than in say a salad.
my favourite dish in the summer is a salad made of sliced cucumber and grated carrots, with a pinch of salt. keep it in the fridge and serve cold with some sweetened sour cream. it tastes good, and raw carrots are supposed to be very good for you.
smokingun
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Post by Wycco on Apr 2, 2003 9:32:27 GMT -5
The one vegtable that makes the most difference between home-grown and store bought...
Peas...
Over Half the single sugars contain in peas form into starches just an hour after picking... If you want to get the best sweetness from peas you have to eat them straight from the plant!!!!
Unfortunately, the climate doesn't stay cool long enough in Carolina- we get launched straight from winter into summer! (well we do get an autumn- but Spring lasts less than a month! LOL)
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Post by OT on Apr 9, 2003 22:11:07 GMT -5
...oooohh yeah ....gotta agree with you Wycco. When I was a kid - mum and dad used to grow veges in the back yard. The peas never made it into the house...
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Post by OT on Apr 9, 2003 22:18:20 GMT -5
smokingun - speaking of tomatoes - my dear old mum used to grow her own (Tom Thumbs- those delicious little ones) and a couple found their way into my back yard (as seeds). The next year I needed a machete and chain saw to try harvest the tonnes of tomatoes that were sprouting up every where.
But they too were beautiful straight off the vine.
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Post by JWK on Apr 17, 2003 1:26:29 GMT -5
When it comes to fruit im a bit different then most;
Instead of liking ripe fruit i like it sour, and hard... it dosent matter what. Nectarines the consistency of crispy apples, Strawberries with a tad of green(white) on them are the best, Peaches that are still a bit sour mmmmmmm, Tomatoes before they get soft, firm Feijoa's, Guava's...
Lemons straight off the tree. Love it!!!
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