To think fruit and salad taste horrible this year?

[FlamedToACrisp]

Lettuce and grapes particularly - I really love grapes, but this is the seventh box in a row where I have had a couple and just thought eww! They are sour. I know winter grapes taste kind of rainy, where summer grapes are sweet and bursting with delicious juicy-ness... but these are really unpleasant. I've tried washing them, I've tried leaving them in the sun, I've tried buying from other shops. And the lettuce is the same - all dark green with a miserable sliver of nice pale green middle, all the rest tastes rank. Anyone else noticed this?

I did at one point. It was hard to get hold of fresh produce so only the stuff that wasn’t all that nice was left in the shop.

I've found that Tesco is awful for fresh produce at the moment, tasteless, mushy fluffy juiceless fruit, labels that hide that half the pack is already mouldy. So swapped to buying from Marks and Spencer which is much more expensive, but at least enjoyable to eat! And the queues much shorter to get in.

Oh yes, and strawberries taste nasty, too, and the last lot of pears we had went straight from rock-hard to mouldy. Perhaps I should be grateful people are prepared to pick and transport them, but I just can't see the point if they don't taste nice. Must admit I haven't tried M&S as it's 8 miles away.

Are you sure you don’t have Covid, OP? Altered sense of taste is a common early symptom... !

I've noticed this op. I bought some British strawberries in Lidl today that were lovely though.

I’ve just bought some locally grown strawberries and they’re amazing.

I’ve had some nice fruit from Waitrose - really good British royal gala. I was really pissed off that someone had eaten the last one and I’m not shopping until Saturday 😑

Yup. Agree on grapes - we've had some horrible ones from Coop and Ocado the past few weeks. This week they're really small and all have black dots on them.

Strawberries - now we're starting to get English ones they're a bit sweeter but it's not really the season yet.

I’ve thought this too! Also went through a spell of getting rubbish potatos that were more black than white.

We buy from the greengrocer now, lovely stuff!

Maybe they are being cold stored for ages.

I know I had some daffodils a few weeks back and for 3 weeks in a row they didn't open.

I've had box after bix of beautiful grapes and perfectly good strawberries (Aldi). Lettuces have been a bit rubbish.

I’ve noticed that the carrots I’ve brought taste of nothing (and don’t worry I’ve not got
Covid, I can still taste chocolate and wine just fine!). I’ve decided I’m going to make a veg patch and grow my own.

I've noticed this as well.

Well they are not really in season yet and the international supply chain was always going to be disrupted by Brexit, but that's (luckily for the government) been completely obscured by the other more pressing and catastrophic news. It's not rocket science.
Try buying local produce that is in season.

There's not really much stuff in season at the moment so must fruit will have been cold stored for a long time or travelled from the other side of the world. Strawberries are just starting to come in (grown under glass) so they should start to improve, and it's mango season in India so you can get Alphonsoes - my absolute fave! You won't be able to get them in supermarkets but Asian greengrocers might have them.

I’m really picky with grapes and haven’t noticed any problems this year. Maybe try a different variety?

Yes, had some really bleh fruit and veg recently, M&S is more expensive but like a PP said, they actually taste as you would expect so I’m having to go there instead. It’s hard enough to get DS to eat them at the best of times without them tasting off.

I’ve noticed this with Sainsbury’s bananas. We get our shopping delivered, and the bananas have be bruised on arrival. They are disgusting after a couple of days. I noticed the same last year but it was earlier in the year and by May they were much better quality whereas this year they are awful.

The last few lot of Marie pipers I’ve had have been more black than white and really nasty tasting. I had to throw more away than I used.