We like pretty food

[folivier]

Or do we?
We've been inoctrinated into thinking food from a grocery store has to be pretty. It has to be perfectly sized, no blemishes, no discoloration, etc. All uniform in size, shape, and color.
Citrus has to be perfectly round and orange. Never mind that they are picked green with a rind that is thick to withstand shipping. Peel it and it's so darn small with practically no flavor. Eggs have to be pure white, crack it open and it's a pale yellow with little flavor.
If you live near an agricultural area that picks fruit and veggies not until they're ripe then who cares if it's misshapen or has a few blemishes. The taste is incredible compared to what is typically found in a grocery store. Eggs are similar, if you know someone who has a few chickens and get eggs from them you know what I'm talking about. Flavor!
I'm fortunate in having a good friend who is a retired orchard farmer. His son is the 4th generation running the 80 acre family farm. His fruit and veggies are incredibly juicy and flavorful. We often go pick through his reject bins to find boxes of blemished fruit, some have a worm hole or 2. But the flavor is wonderful.
Maybe this should be in the pet peeve?

 

[aja8888]

You can always buy "pasture raised" eggs (NOT cage Free) for $7.68 per dozen at H.E.B. here in TX with brown shells and get bright yellow/orange yolks .

 

[Ronstar]

I liked when the people down the road sold eggs. We went there for a dozen a couple of years ago. They only had 10 eggs. So we waited in the barnyard for 2 more to appear. None came in a half hour so we went home with 10.

 

[Purslane]

I agree with you. I am just as spoiled as the next person when it comes to wanting what I want when I want it. But there is something lost. Nothing tastes better than eating 'in season', with locally grown fruits and vegetables, picked at the peak of ripeness. This of course, is a luxury few have nowadays. I remember when my grandmothers would sit under the carport in summer peeling bushel baskets of fresh peaches, seemingly unaffected by the Texas heat or the fuzz. Some got canned, some became preserves. Most ended up in the freezer and in winter became mouthwatering peach pies or cobblers.
If my cousins were there too, someone would put together the ice cream mix and we would take turns sitting on the old hand-cranked ice cream maker, licking the rock salt when no one was watching. Good times.

 

[38Chevy454]

Farm eggs for sure have better flavor. Same for ripened on the plant vs harvested early. Agree that appearance of the fruit or vegetable does play a role. My grandfather was an orange farmer, the blemished on the skin was typically no effect on the inside, but people wanted blemish free skin. Nothing like fresh squeezed OJ, those culls were great for that since they were typically harder to sell.

The ripened on the plant is also a big advantage of having your own garden.

 

[MichaelB]

Or do we?
We've been inoctrinated into thinking food from a grocery store has to be pretty. It has to be perfectly sized, no blemishes, no discoloration, etc. All uniform in size, shape, and color.
Citrus has to be perfectly round and orange. Never mind that they are picked green with a rind that is thick to withstand shipping. Peel it and it's so darn small with practically no flavor. Eggs have to be pure white, crack it open and it's a pale yellow with little flavor.
If you live near an agricultural area that picks fruit and veggies not until they're ripe then who cares if it's misshapen or has a few blemishes. The taste is incredible compared to what is typically found in a grocery store. Eggs are similar, if you know someone who has a few chickens and get eggs from them you know what I'm talking about. Flavor!
I'm fortunate in having a good friend who is a retired orchard farmer. His son is the 4th generation running the 80 acre family farm. His fruit and veggies are incredibly juicy and flavorful. We often go pick through his reject bins to find boxes of blemished fruit, some have a worm hole or 2. But the flavor is wonderful.
Maybe this should be in the pet peeve?

My feeling is this isn’t an indoctrination. Just the opposite, it’s consumers demanding supermarket produce that prizes appearance over taste, so farmers and grocers respond.

That’s one reason I like beefsteak tomatoes. They look ugly but taste delicious.

 

[JoeWras]

After 60 years of eating white-washed eggs, I guess I got used to the mild taste. It is a matter of preference.

Visiting an island in Greece last year, we got eggs raised in their back yards. And we got a wake up call from the roosters! Very orange, very flavorful, but perhaps not exactly what I'm used to. It was OK. I could definitely learn to enjoy them. But DW was afraid to try them, even though she is the one who like gamey tastes. So it goes.

Now when it comes to oranges or grapefruit. Whoo! I'll take an ugly one off a tree any day. (My experience living in Florida, and getting fresh fruits picked off trees.) I don't think people know how good a grapefruit can taste. The pretty stuff we get in stores is bogus.

 

[Gumby]

If you want perfect, and I mean perfect, fruits and vegetables, go to Japan. I was astounded, when we were there this past November, to see the stunningly beautiful produce at the Isetan store in Tokyo. It was about $30 for a single cantaloupe, but it was really beautiful.

I grow much of my own produce in my large (organic) garden, so it is far from perfect looking. But it is tasty, because I can pick it when it is perfectly ripe. I used to get eggs from a lady in town who had backyard chickens, but she moved away. So now I get "pasture raised" at the grocery as the next best substitute.

 

[Midpack]

There is no question eating fresh in season, unlikely from a chain grocer, is better - fresh corn is exceptional. A friend gave us a bag of mixed lettuces that we gladly accepted. I thought how could lettuce taste better just because it's fresh, I was astonished at how much better it was than any grocery store lettuce I'd had.

Unfortunately there aren't many real farmers markets where we live now, but we buy fresh when we can. There's a huge state farmers market, but those have been found to be largely pseudo farms that buy fruits and vegetables in bulk, and then put them out to look as if they are farm fresh. They even have legit looking trucks with “XYZ farms” on them. Those "farms" are in name only, many of them don't grow anything.

You’re probably in good hands if you find an actual farm with a stand. But there are often more fakes than real farms at “farmers markets.” Doesn’t speak well of the organizers who should know better and screen out fakes.

How to Spot Fake Farmers at the Farmers Market - Fed by the Farm

Learn 5 ways to spot fake farmers and resellers at the farmers market. Also discover how to find real farms at the farmers market.

fedbythefarm.com

 

[JoeWras]

No joke about the fake farmers market stuff. Very disappointing.

 

[CaptTom]

Nothing tastes better than eating 'in season', with locally grown fruits and vegetables, picked at the peak of ripeness. This of course, is a luxury few have nowadays

You’re probably in good hands if you find an actual farm with a stand. But there are often more fakes than real farms at “farmers markets.”

Exactly. There are too many farm stands around here where the produce is trucked in from the wholesale market in the city. Might as well go to the supermarket. At least it's climate controlled in there.

We do have a few legitimate farm stands where they sell produce actually grown on their own farm. Unfortunately, they seem to all read the same agri-business magazines as the big corporate farm managers do.

They still pick produce long before it's ripe. Had one seller "help" me find a ripe melon by digging around in the bottom of the bin to find an old, dried-out one which had been there long enough that it was staring to ripen. When I use phrases like "vine ripened" they look at me like I'm speaking a foreign language.

Same with fresh corn. As a kid my mother (who grew up on a farm) would ask "when was it picked?" If it was within the past few hours, she'd buy some. It was always delicious!

Now if I ask that question, I get something like "I think they pick on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Not sure which batch this is." Yuk.

it’s consumers demanding supermarket produce that prizes appearance over taste, so farmers and grocers respond.

You're probably right. I still keep asking my questions at the farm stands, hoping that maybe some day there will be enough of us that the farmers will see there's a market for good-tasting produce.

I know I would buy. For fresh, ripe produce, I'd be firmly in the BTD camp.

 

[audreyh1]

You can always buy "pasture raised" eggs (NOT cage Free) for $7.68 per dozen at H.E.B. here in TX with brown shells and get bright yellow/orange yolks .

Yes. They’re lovely eggs.

But eggshell color is determined by chicken breed. So nothing magical about that.

 

[aja8888]

Yes. They’re lovely eggs.

But eggshell color is determined by chicken breed. So nothing magical about that.

Right, I had a few Rhode Island Red hens in my small California horse ranch in the 1980's. Beautiful chickens and nice, brown eggs. Oh, the Reds loved the horses.

 

[audreyh1]

Or do we?
We've been inoctrinated into thinking food from a grocery store has to be pretty. It has to be perfectly sized, no blemishes, no discoloration, etc. All uniform in size, shape, and color.

I think it’s human nature to pick the best looking ones out of a pile of vegetables at the grocery store or any market. I don’t care about uniform sizes though.

And fruit is a real challenge as it is indeed usually picked too early and many varieties are bred to be tough for shipping, and end up tasteless. So quite a few fruits I only buy in season and some of them only when locally grown and in season.

 

[Midpack]

You're probably right. I still keep asking my questions at the farm stands, hoping that maybe some day there will be enough of us that the farmers will see there's a market for good-tasting produce.

I know I would buy. For fresh, ripe produce, I'd be firmly in the BTD camp.

WADR I doubt you would except maybe on an exception (product) basis. If there was a demand, we’d already have that.

Convenience, (low) prices and appearance all trump taste for the vast majority of consumers. If anything, more true today then ever. I know first hand that fresh tastes much better, but I would never drive from farm/dairy to farm/dairy to get my grocery shopping done - I doubt 99% would. Your BTD would include far more time and personal transportation costs along with higher product prices. Instead of a 30 minute trip to the chain grocery store, you could spend all day buying everything on your shopping list…

 

[Dtail]

Guilty about the no blemish fruits I look for.

 

[ncbill]

Used to get a community farm box via spouse's work.

Forced us to eat more veggies.

Sadly, after a couple of years too few people willing to signup to make it worth the farm's while to deliver there.

 

[StillFiguringItOut]

I’m in NJ and am very fortunate that I can pick my own veg and some fruit in season a few miles from my house. Very tasty!

 

[Koolau]

I did some research w*rk in a lettuce field not far outside of Yuma AZ. It was picking time and the w*rkers swarmed over the field and picked at an amazing rate. IIRC the good heads were boxed immediately. But off to a side, there was a literal "wall" of rejected heads of lettuce. It was at least knee high and ran the length of the field.

I asked the research leader what that was all about. He said that the w*rkers and field inspectors had rejected the heads based on some internal requirements. The whole wall of rejected lettuce was soon to be plowed under.

As far as I could see, there was no significant difference in the heads, but I'm no expert. I couldn't estimate the percent of waste but it was not trivial. SWAG was maybe 10% or more.

I do recall picking oranges from my grandmother's tree in Florida. I thought they were grapefruits at first! They looked little like the fruit I was used to in the store. The flavor was indescribably better than store-bought "orange" colored fruit called "oranges."

 

[Zona]

If you want perfect, and I mean perfect, fruits and vegetables, go to Japan. I was astounded, when we were there this past November, to see the stunningly beautiful produce at the Isetan store in Tokyo. It was about $30 for a single cantaloupe, but it was really beautiful.

Years ago a friend moved to Japan as an expat spouse. She said that she could not believe the fruit prices there and was complaining to a fellow expat who had been there a bit longer than she had. The person explained that she had been accidentally buying the "gift fruit" for home consumption. Yes, it's beautiful and blemish-free but when it comes in the fancy packaging it's meant to be given as a gift. My friend was so relieved when she found the larger grocery store that had reasonably priced normal fruit, similar to our setup in the US. This article has a good explanation of gift fruit with photos. It is beautifully packaged and displayed.

 

[Koolau]

"Gift Fruit" is beautiful as presented in that article. What a unique gift idea. Though we have a significant Japanese influence here, I've never seen the equivalent presentation in stores. It may be unique to specialty stores that I've never shopped or perhaps the fruits are simply not available here. Most of our fruit is shipped in so would be doubly expensive if sold as gifts.

 

[audreyh1]

Wow the gift fruit stores looks like those fancy chocolates stores in Italy which look like jewelry stores!

 

[Zona]

Wow the gift fruit stores looks like those fancy chocolates stores in Italy which look like jewelry stores!

On our last trip to Italy we bought a sampler of the fancy "jewelry store" chocolates and they were luxuriously delicious. Definitely a minor blow that dough!

 

[Winemaker]

That's why "baby carrots" were invented. Ugly carrots, and I've grown a bunch, are peeled and trimmed to make ugly carrots attractive and profitable,

 

[audreyh1]

On our last trip to Italy we bought a sampler of the fancy "jewelry store" chocolates and they were luxuriously delicious. Definitely a minor blow that dough!

I just remember my first trip to Milan in the 90s, and my jaw just dropped when I realized that it was a chocolates store!