to think that satsumas aren't what they used to be

[WitchyWooWoo]

I have wonderful childhood memories of satsumas, juicy, sweet, I could eat a whole bag of them. Now when I get them they are hard and tasteless. cant stand the things. even when they feel like they are ripe and ready to eat they are vile. Are all satsumas like this now or is it just my local grocers/supermarket have bad stock?

Agree! It's hard to get really nice ones.

Tomatoes are also mostly crap and apples just taste like slightly sweet water. I think food is now grown to look good, but taste is almost of no relevance.

witchywoo
you are lying or you are deluded. They were never any good.

It's too early for them to be good - wait til end of November or December and they come into their own.

The skin just falls off then rather than being too thin and annoying like now.

I don't know the difference between a satsuma and a clementine. and the greengrocers have now introduced yet ANOTHER variety - minetola or something very un -ornagey sounding. It's a minefield

ooh but they were good. agree witha apples and tomatoes too! But i so miss my bags of satsumas. With my 1st pregnancy i craved them but couldn't find one that would suit the craving...

(Conscious that this will kill what is probably meant to be a jokey thread but here goes nothing... .)

What you're probably experiencing aren't actually Satsumas. Check the label and you may find you've been consuming 'Mihowase', 'Fortuna', 'Hernandina', 'Nova' and lots of other varieties. In the old days the Satsumas you'd have eaten would have been available for a relatively short period in the winter from Spain. Now they come from South America, South Africa... all over... and the varieties have to suit the terrain and climate. Supermarkets lump them all together and call them 'Satsumas' (if they have pips) and 'Clementines' (if they don't have pips). Supermarket buyers have a low regard for the intelligence of the average UK shopper...

Just so you know...

i usually buy them in nov/dec as they are christmassy fruits in my mind (don't know why) but still i get hard and tasteless...

YANBU - back in my day before facebook, my lovely mother in law would bring me a huge bag of satsumas. You see I was on benefits but she just loved to pop round to mine because I was one of the first to get a flat screen TV. She always did know what was best for me, advised me on my wedding and encouraged me not invite any children, except my son...but definately not my daughter.....

it is partly a jokey thread, i found satsumas mentioned on another thread and it got me thinking.

I agree and because of this I buy the Tesco finest ones which are ridiculously more expensive but taste like proper satsumas (or clemintines).

Strawberries are the same, all force grown in other countries and taste of nothing.

Should add that 'hard and tasteless' is usually because the fruit you're eating is old and has been stored too long. The moisture evaporates through the skin and the segments become tough and 'empty-looking'. Wait for new season Spanish - fresher = better.

ooh thanks chil, will look out for them! also thanks for the tip stripey, i shop at tescos but never really looked out for the finest selection of fruits, shouldn't have to really.

how do you know if they have pips or not? I don't do pips.

I am put off orange citrus fruit in general. Either they are so bloody lovely I go crazy for them, skip right back to the shops to buy a whole bunch more, to find they are either dry, watery, tasteless, really old and manky - it's such a disappointment.

Normally now I just pay over the odds for an M&S orange as a rare treat as at least the quality is pretty good. (apologies to the Hooters boycotters but I'd be stuffed at lunchtime without my M&S)

but I do disagree about apples - you've just got to know what to look for (ie avoid any with any yellow on at all costs & don't buy English/French apples in spring/summer or Southern hemisphere apples in winter - you can still get a few good NZ Jazz now but it's nearly over. They will start dragging them out of long terms storage now & they turn very quickly)

You are right. They are not anywhere near as nice as they used to be

You could always buy them in tins. We had tinned mandarin pieces and evap for pudding yesterday. It really took me back to Sundays as a child

theres an apple that is only available in winter, cant remember the name unfortunatly but they are amazing. shiny, soft, sweet and absolutely delicious, all fruit should taste great, i just find it sad that you have to pay over the odds for them :(

I think assume they have pips unless it clearly states it on the packet. Kids ones often don't have (i.e. Disney branded)

Chil is right about winter season ones, we only ever used to be able to get them around Christmas and usually they do taste better then, especially from Spain / Portugal.

Witchy agree we shouldn't have to buy the 'Finest' range to get something that actually tastes of fruit!!!

Tangerines are better,but they do have loads of pips in.Satsumas i find,taste powdery.Deffentley not like they usedcto be

And strawberries and raspberries...so dissappointing when they're watery and tasteless...or is it that my palate has jaded after years of red wine and fags!!

Witchywoo...was it the one about fighting with MIL over a satsuma or something like that?

Have to point out that the tasteless strawberries, tomatoes etc can be avoided by buying local and in season . Big supermarkets select growing types for ease of transportation, shelf life and price, not taste.

But satsumas are a swizz and I refuse to be palmed off with horrid mandarins or clementines. They had better sort themselves out by Christmas is all I can say.

You need Waitrose Mini Easy Peelers.

They are unbelievably juicy, almost tooo juicy.

Yes, they used to be so delicious, now they are horrid. Much preferred them to clememtines.

agreed - clementines are often better but you can get a bad bag of them too

Tomatoes are rubbish and apples are only OK from farm shops