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?

Fruit is one food I've been most disappointed with since moving to the UK. I love a big juicy plum, pluot, or plumcot, but the plums here have all been tiny and often not very sweet or sour even after they've ripened.

I haven't been able to find any pluots or plumcots. :/

The apples are hit or miss, same with strawberries although the same goes for strawberries in the US. Bananas seem about the same as do most vegetables I've tried. I love that you can easily buy pre-washed potatoes here.

I can't seem to find a peach that isn't mouldy where I live.

I have had plumcots from Waitrose but I think they were in the speciality fruit which is only in store for a short while and not much of it.

YANBU. We were on self catering holiday in France a few years ago. The fruit and veg from the small Carrefour store in town were amazing, especially the tomatoes, let alone the stuff we got at the market.

I've just moved house and started with a Riverford fruit and veg box this week. The difference in taste is unbelievable.

We always get Riverford boxes for fruit and veg. The taste is exceptional and the variety makes cooking interesting. We often receive veggies that we would not normal chose in a supermarket. Grapes from them are as sweet as lychees and the apples are so delicious. Their carrots taste like they have been glazed when they are simply steamed! I could go on but I'm starting to sound like an M&S advert

I think it's most noticeable at this time of year. In home grown terms we are heading into the hungry season. There isn't much standing on the allotments at the moment.

If you want something other than leeks and sprouts then either it comes from further afield so has to be grown under lights.

I've just cooked the broccoli I had delivered yesterday. Superb.

We grow a lot of our own. Still eating carrots, & swede from the garden, onions and potatos stored in the shed, peas and beans in the freezer.
Last year think we had too many rows as we have LOADS left!

Think you problem is cox apples. Try a katie apple. Cox apples are bland.

Would people be willing to actually eat seasonally though?

There is nothing wrong with eating seasonally. Generations have survived by doing so, and have learnt techniques for extending the use of produce when there is an excess (jams, pickling, etc). I spend a lot of time on a small island that has bans on importing most fruit and vegetables, so you get whatever is available. You quickly adapt to eating what is fresh and it just makes it more exciting when the seasons change and you get to eat something you haven't had for a while.

It isn't Apple season. They had probably been in storage since October. Try buying seasonal fruit and veg.

Asparagus illustrates our stretched growing seasons nicely. It's delicious in Aoril and at the start of May. It's stil kicking around at the start of June and you keep buying it, if you can afford it, but it's gritty and bitter. Then you accidentally buy some of the peruvian stuff and realise that it's actually better, which isn't saying much.

For strawberries, look for the vairous Driscolls varieties. Much more aromatic, which is where the flavour is. (Sadly, I've had to stop buying them because DS1 loves them but is really obviously allergic and they make him so ill).

Yet another recommendation for Riverford - we couldn't get our delivery last week in the snow and I have had to buy supermarket (Waitrose) carrots, they are so watery, such a come down. I cook loads of veg that I would never have looked at before. They've just gone employee owned as well 😀

I think you're right. We live in Spain and buy a mix, some from the fruit & veg shop and some from a local organic delivery service. Whenever I visit the UK (several times a year) it always shocks me how tasteless (and expensive) fruit and veg are.

I had fancy brand tiny tomatoes on the vine from Asda today. They were a treat to keep me away from biscuits. They were delicious. The smell took me right back to my dad's greenhouse when he grew his own and the taste was as it should be.
My usual Lidle tuppenny punnets are like water with a skin on by comparison. They are 1/5 of the price and 1/5 of the taste so I guess you get what you pay for mostly.

I have found this thread really interesting. I would love to grown my own but don't know the first thing about gardening so will have to learn the basics first .

Would anyone be able to guide me as to where I can find local produce in Birmingham please?

Look on YouTube, say, Project Diaries, for tips on how to grow your own. Or Home Grown Veg.
I'm sure others have suggestions.

Tomatoes on the vine are a bit of a con. You've probably noticed that tomatoes don't really have a strong scent, unlike the foliage , hence those sold on the vine have a noticeable smell. The vine is dead, it doesn't provide anything to the tomatoes, other than make them look good.
As to taste in general, I'm sure someone with a botanical background is better placed then me, but I find I get a stronger flavour when growing them myself if I restrict the number of vines that develop ripe tomatoes. It's almost like there's a finite amount of 'tomatoeiness' in a plant. I suspect commercial growers won't do this as they are after maximum yield.

There is a massive difference in the nutrition of fruit and veg also. All farming practices are now to grow big and fast and in the greatest volume possible not giving the plants time to absorb nutrients from the soil. You could grow your own but even the seeds are now created and gathered from plants that have evolved in line with fast and disease hardy strains. Yourbest bet for flavour and nutrition is to grow your own but find seeds from rare heritage plants that have not been nutritionally destroyed by industry.

I agree with the OP. There is a limited market on a Saturday so at least we can get some decent fruit and veg from time to time. Supermarkets truck stuff long distances, even that grown in the UK.

Would anyone be able to guide me as to where I can find local produce in Birmingham please?

There are still indoor and open markets in the Bullring. I don't know how local the produce is but it's probably the best place to start. The indoor market might be focused more on exotic stuff, so start outdoors.

There are loads of fruit & veg wholesalers in Birmingham but I'd imagine the majority of their clients will be local shops in areas with large Asian, African & Caribbean populations. These are always worth exploring, as their customers are typically much more demanding than the people who shop at supermarkets. I haven't been there for years, but I recall a fantastic shop in Smethwick overflowing with properly ripe fruit. I'm afraid I can't remember any details.

Fruit and veg abroad is very different. We had melon in Italy and were blown away by the flavour having never really thought much of them beyond a vague watery fruit. Turns out foreign melon buyers are mystified that the UK actually buys the crappy melons as no-one abroad would put up with that quality.

We've recently started a Riverford box. Had a cucumber last week - it really tasted lovely. I've never eaten a cucumber taste of much before. We will not be going back to supermarket veg even though it is more expensive.

I used to live in London where there were greengrocers serving the Asian/Turkish/Caribbean communities. Again much bigger choice of fruit and veg than you got in the supermarket and the shoppers were clearly more demanding. Stuff was cheap and flavourful.

I was sick of wasting money on tomatoes and tangerines that tasted of nothing but water with a floury texture so went organic for those and have never had any without flavour apart from once with tangerines which I took back to Tesco and got my money back - not spending £2.50 on 5 tangerines and wasting them, the fruit & veg manager agreed and refunded me without arguing. Organic is more expensive but I waste nothing.

Just looked up Riverford due to all the people recommending them and see they're organic, and that's probably why they taste good.

Totally agree - I went to Spain a couple of weeks ago and brought tomatoes back with me as they were so tasty!