To think the fruit & veg we buy, is bland?

[SukiTheDog]

I bought some Cox’s apples yesterday at a well known supermarket. Although I eat plenty of fruit, I’m not keen on apples but Cox’s were always a firm favourite of mine. We used to live close to an orchard and they were wonderful apples, if a little misshapen at times. I’ve just washed them and had one. It tasted of .... nothing. No sweetness, no flavour. Nowt. Apart from the texture, I could have been eating any of the tasteless varieties of apple, filling our shelves now.

What’s happening to our food, seriously? It’s all so bland and nondescript. I think tomatoes have gone the same way. They look like a tomato and feel like a tomato but frankly, there’s no tomato-iness anymore. You need a ton of salt on it to have it taste of anything?

What’s going on?

I had a home grown cucumber given yo me last summer. It's the first time on 30 years (since my Grandad gave up gatdening) since I have tasted cucumber.
My kids were mind blown as in there world cucumbers don't taste. 3 x teens up until last summer had never tasted what a cucumber should taste like.

Based on this thread I’m going to try Riverford. Never done a box thing before.

Brexit won't make any difference to flavour and appearance just price as the supermarkets can legally sell differently-shaped fruit and veg now, it just doesn't suit them to. EU rules never forbade the selling of "wonky" fruit, just states that similarly sized/shaped fruit should be classified together in different grades. UK supermarkets think the UK consumers prefer a sterile display of uniformly-shaped fruit and veg. You can buy the wonky stuff from greengrocers or market s more readily.

I used to enjoy picking my own berries etc, but all the PTO farms round here seem to have introduced a minimum spend per person so if I take my two DC, I have to spend nearly £10 each time. £10 worth of strawberries is too much in one go as they need to be eaten quickly. I used to prefer to go more often and pick smaller quantities, but that isn't possible now.

If you eat seasonally you have to learn to manage the gluts. Too much to eat in one go?:

• Freeze
• Make jam/jelly/pickle
• Make wine

I think the availability of food out of season means that people have got out of the habit of preserving routinely for family use (rather than as an expensive hobby).

I lived abroad. The fruit and veg was all different shapes, fruit flies, mouldy bits, not always available.

Oh, the taste. Trouble is UK consumers now expect same shape same size and last forever, and hence that's what we get. Look at the fuss on here over not being able to get strawberries in winter or food that needs eating in a few days.

I don't see how (in the UK at least) an open market can have different produce from the supermarkets - surely it's all from abroad and shipped/stored the same way, bought from the same wholesalers?

Used to live abroad, lovely local fruit and veg was ONLY available in the open air markets. It was displayed in pyramids and stacks, looking pristine, but the sellers always used the most amazing sleight of hand to give you the ones from the back which might be damaged/manky etc. Soon learned to open the bag in front of the seller and demand that he change the bad ones. All tasty though! On a market, at lower prices, buyers are more willing to accept the wonky or slightly damaged ones, but when we pick our own in the supermarket then of course we all pick the best. Thus the standard has to be more consistent (and the price higher). Don't get why we need to have stuff out of season though - that's all kinds of wrong.

OP, do you have any good fresh food markets nearby? I live in Ireland and we have some great outdoor food markets around here that sell organic produce, award winning cheese and freshly caught fish etc.
I also have a Polytunnel and grow my own fruit & veg. Last year, instead of planting a few different types of tomato, I only grew varieties of cherry tomatoes to do a taste test so I plan to only use seeds from the tomatoes that grew well and I liked best. It's actually good fun growing your own and even if you only have a small space, you can grow quite a few veg in pots.

I wish we had a good fruit and veg market round here. My only option is supermarkets and everything tends to taste a bit bland. I love self catering when I’m in France or Spain so I can buy big tomatoes and strawberries that actually taste like things.

I don't see how (in the UK at least) an open market can have different produce from the supermarkets - surely it's all from abroad and shipped/stored the same way, bought from the same wholesalers? No it's not all from abroad 1) we still have an agricultural industry capable of growing things other than sheep, cows and wheat 2) generally to supply a supermarket chain you need to be large enough to supply stuff across a good number of branches. Smaller operations need smaller outlets, eg markets.

I’m with you on the tomatoes. They all seem to be horrible and tasteless in the UK. I actually stopped eating them except in France at one point. Europe can produce very decent fruit/ veg but it appears they keep the good stuff for themselves and send the shit to the UK! British stuff obviously yummy when in season but that for such a short time.

Supermarket fruit & veg a total waste of money,no taste or flavour at all imo.
Try to find a farmers market or farm shop and you will find a difference for sure.
The first thing we do when we go on holiday abroad is find a local market and stock up on local fruit for our stay delicious.!!

Combination of things, people don’t want to eat seasonally or locally anymore.

Most produce for quick growth vs taste.
Uk imports a hell of a lot of its fresh fruit and vegetables so worse for wear by the time it arrives.
Apples in the supermarkets are very old so some of the flavour goes vs a freshly picked one.

Tbh it's probably the worst time of year for fruit and veg. It's either hardy stuff like cabbage or it's been overwintered or imported.

It’s partly the time of year.
Fruit and veg grown in the northern hemisphere , maybe in poly tunnels, is getting less sun at present (short day, sun further away) also other foods eg apples will have been stored for months. The lack of sun affects the flavour imv.
My criticism is the change to flavours by cultivation eg grapes incredibly sweet , ditto apples some used to be quite sharp. Even Brussels sprouts have lost the bitterness they had in the past which made DCs dislike them. The flavour is nice but have some of the nutrients been lost?

The OP's reference to Cox's made me remember how they were; Cox's Orange Pippins, with a hard skin and distinctly yellow flesh, tart and lovely.

Before I left the UK in mid 2000s, they had already become white-fleshed, no doubt due to consumer "demand".

Tomatoes in the UK were shite then, and just as shite now in
Australia.

I used to grow my own tomatoes, red and green peppers and cucumber in the greenhouse. Also, had pear and apple trees and when we had a glut, would leave in a box for people to help themselves. Now, I don’t have the facilities for this and I suppose over time, your taste buds just get used to the nondescript tasting produce that’s convenient to buy.

My parents lived abroad for years and had a little orchard with nectarines, plums, oranges. Everything grew bigger and juicer and tastier 😊

Thanks for all the tips!

Supermarkets arent interested in stocking the fruit and veg that taste nice, they stock what looks good, what travels well and what keeps a long time. Thats why theres only the same few varieties of apples in all of them when thousands exist. The big tomatoes that look huge and red and pristine are Beefheart tomatoes, they look great for ages and taste of basically nothing, they are usually the huge tomato slices in readymade sandwiches as well.

I'm trying out growing my own tomatoes this year, there are uk nurseries that grow all kinds of varieties of plants to send to you, I've ordered a couple that are "patio/planter" breeds as I dont have much space.

Thanks @Storm. Worth knowing.

I have noticed the same recently too. Maybe I will try riverford. What is meant to be stored in the fridge then? We have a coal fire so my house is really warm at the moment.

New you need to be sure your tomatoes are not hybrids or they won't come good from seed.

One year I carefully planted up 5 different varieties of strawberry plants with the aim of propagating the runners from the tastiest. The second I turned my back toddler DS pulled out all the labels. So I have grown lots more of the tastiest ones but no idea what they are called.

Agree totally. We now buy all our fruit and veg from a local farm shop. The difference in taste is unbelievable and it's not that expensive either. Recommend it if you happen to have a farm shop nearby OP.

I had a lightbulb moment on holiday in Sicily - the peaches.
Have devoted a good bit of the garden to growing edibles ever since and it is staggering how much better things taste. I’m in London so don’t have acres but I have a couple of raised veg beds that I edge with edible flowers and I tuck cabbages, PS broccoli, artichokes etc in our borders.
The (younger) DCs’ friends think it’s amazing that they can eat stuff from the garden. They’re demons at caterpillar spotting too!

@Sleight 😊

I have long thought the fruit tastes better from M&S so worth paying the extra. The ripe and ready fruit always tastes better and I find the Waitrose small tomatoes on the vine taste ok also some of the special edition fruit like plums. It is quite difficult to find a tasty banana though