To say that the majority of UK fruit and veg is awful in comparison to other countries?

[MissHoneyPenny]

Why is it so expensive and (mostly) of poor quality when compared to places like Spain and France? I understand climate obviously plays into this but even things that can be grown well here like carrots and potatoes seem poor quality unless you pay top price at a farmers market or organic store.

I shop at a range of supermarkets from Aldi to M&S and none seem to be particularly great.

Move to Spain/France, then you can live happily ever after with your superior vegetables! Bye.

Yes they all taste watery unless homegrown.

Absolutely. I was in Latvia recently and the markets there had the most amazing fruit and veg. Most of Europe has better fruit and veg in my experience.

Yes UK fruit and veg is inferior for sure. Our weather isn’t great either.

Agreed. I lived in Oz for a long time and the quality there was so much better.

What are the price comparisons? That might answer some of your query OP.

The UK population expects food bills to very low. If other countries can buy on the open market at a higher price they will get the better quality produce.

So a real comparison might be to compare prices, they might be similar to organic over here.

I wonder whether you're eating fruit and vegetables that aren't indigenous? Anything imported will always be a more expensive inferior product.

It not just you who thinks this. Coming from a family of greengroucers (although none of us have been in the business for 30 years) I have some ideas as to why they are so poor.
You used to buy veg from the greengroucer near you who DIDN'T refrigerate everything, which means that the veg you pick up isn't as fresh and will be much older than what your local shop had. They would have picked it up from the market at about 5 this morning, the grower would have picked it yesterday.
We ate seasonally. When did you last see spring greens. Now food is flown in from spain/North Africa and further afield...again not as fresh.
The excellent old varieties which were packed with flavour have been replaced with crops that are more likely to be uniform and be ready all at the same time. Flavour is secondary to this.

Only thing is to grow your own.

It's a tough one isn't it? A small north atlantic island with unpredictable, often cold weather patterns, reliant on importing food. And yet that food doesn't taste as good and fresh as that in large, sunny agriculturally based economies. Hmm need to get our finest minds to work out this one.

Good strawberries are early this year though. Sainsburys stock some nice Finest ones from a New Forest grower.

What did people think would happen when you buy by weight ?

That's not been my experience. Fruit and veg that I've bought in Spain, Italy and the Canary Islands has often been very inferior compared with what I can get in my local supermarkets in the UK. However, I was not buying in big towns/cities but in very isolated rural communities with tiny shops where the fruit and veg section is one little mesh shelf with maybe half a dozen slightly squishy tomatoes, a couple of brownish bananas, a few potatoes, a couple of giant onions and maybe a beetroot or two. None of it would be deemed fit for sale in my local Sainsbury's!

Agreed 100%. Ours look pretty and uniform but taste like water. When I go abroad my tastebuds go crazy over fruit and veg.

It depends on the fruit or veg. Italian apples and strwberries are generally not as good as ours but the peaches and melons are a lot better.

“Unless you pay “…

food in the uk is cheap compared to the countries you listed

Totally agree.

Much better quality in France and Italy and I also noticed it when I travelled to the Netherlands.

However it is mostly noticeable in supermarkets. I live on the Kent coast and you can still get some great suits and vegs through local greengrocers.

''@HoskinsChoice · Today 17:24
Move to Spain/France, then you can live happily ever after with your superior vegetables! Bye.''

You are embarrassing yourself with your petty comment...

I'm guessing you weren't familiar with the fruit & veg available in the 60's 😂😂😂

Even before it was stewed/overcooked to death

The UK population expects food bills to be very low.

If the UK consumer is so powerful, we can demand and get cheap food, how come it doesn't work the same with other commodities like housing or gas?

There is markedly less nutritional value in our vegetables/foods since the 1950s. You can research it online. Soil erosion has not helped but the drop in nutrients is quite startling. I am sure food tasted better when growing up for example apples. I can remember the flavour!

Everything tastes like cardboard! Not just fruit and vegetables even.

We have way better turnips. Best turnips in the world, probably.
Eat more turnips.

Yuck lol.

Yes it is awful. As to why,
BREXIT

we now have border delays so fruit and veg is days older by the time we get it.

I bought some carrots when I was in Australia and when I bit into it it literally tasted of absolutely nothing. I think it depends on which fruit or vegetables you’re talking about.

I think supermarket veg is about supplying a large population at a price they can afford, all year round more than flavour.

I do think some things taste nicer abroad because they are local plants, in season, in abundance.

Yes! I don’t have a greengrocer near me but am going to start going to one on the way home from work to see if that makes a difference from what’s in the supermarket.