I wonder how old supermarket carrots are?

[BroccoliSpears]

I find that I buy a bunch of carrots in the supermarket, use one or two and then put them in the fridge. When I go to use some more a couple of days later they are soft and shriveled and useless for anything but the compost.

Last month I set up a veggie box delivery with a local place.

Got some carrots delivered the Wednesday before last (9 days ago), put them in the fridge, and only just remembered them tonight. Oops. Opened the veggie drawer with trepedation expecting a liquid mush... found beautiful, firm, delicious carrots.

Grown locally and covered in mud. Tasted delish.

Makes me wonder how long supermarket carrots have been shivering in cold storage in their little plastic bags before they get put on the shelves.

Well, I suppose everyone else has more important things to be talking about on a Friday night than the relative age of carrots.

Don't mind me.

No, I think you make a valid point

I grow my own litle forked carrots all covered in mud, there's nothing as good, you can smell them a good few metres away as soon as you have pulled them. I don't bother with supermarket ones anymore as they seem so tasteless, rather just go without.

We your veggie box ones tasty???

fine then!! You ignore me

and I wanted to know what type of big hairy dog you had (read your profile while waiting)

Sorry! Was in a dead faint that someone else wanted to discuss elderly carrots on a Friday night. Have taken some smelling salts and am okay now.

The veggie box ones were delicious. More carroty than supermarket carrots. And they tasted as thgough they had been grown in the earth - but in a good way. Yum.

Big hairy dog is a lab. She's an angel. A big, hairy, smelly, naughty, greedy, noisy, licky angel.

same with potatoes I find

Perhaps I am growing my carrots wrong! - but I find that my home grown ones go soft as quickly as the supermarket ones (if not sooner)

I noticed that Tesco was selling big bags of muddy carrots the other week. They were much cheaper but I can't comment on the taste as I didn't buy any.

I wonder if it's the mud that helps them stay fresh longer? A bit like leaving cut flowers in water?

Glad you raised this as it's seriously pissing me off!!!! Spuds are covered in roots after a couple of days, carrots and parnips last a week if I'm lucky. Surely root veg should last all winter if stored properly? I think it's a ploy by Supermarkets to sell them just before they go off so we are forced to buy more.

I think it is something to do witht he mud - if you buy unwashed supermarket potatoes they ALWAYS last longer than pre-washed ones.....

And there's something very satisfying about washing off clods of mud before you start preparing your veg. Somehow opening an insiped plastic tub just doesn't give you the same feeling.

I haven't bought veg from a supermarket for two years now but had to the other week as was to ill to go to greengrocer. Honestly the quality of it is shite.

My greengrocer is so lovely to bless him whe he found out i'd had to go to tesco he sadi "next time phone me I'll bring you your order"