Fruit & Veg

Gone are the days when you could get decent fruit and veggies, . . supermarkets ship the stuff in from all over when some are out of season, . . they're transported in refrigerated containers from Europe and even further afield, . . even in summer the fruit and veg from this country are transported in this way.

Once stacked on the shelves they're still chilled and when you get them home they go off in 2 days.
Tomatoes, . . I've chucked out many trays of them after only having them 3 days, .. they were kept in the fridge BTW.

Pears, . . when you buy them they're hard as bricks, . . I don't put these in the fridge, . . I let them ripen at room temperature, but again, . if they aint consumed in 2 days they go rotten.

Nectarines, . . got a tray of 6 of these on the Wednesday morning, . . they were soft and fungus had started growing on the underside of them the following day at tea time.

Bananas, . . have you noticed the colour of their skins lately ? . . they're not bright yellow, they look like a darker discoloured yellow, . . this is due to refrigerated transportation.

Potatoes, . . I never buy them from supermarkets no more, . . I go to a local farm and buy a sackful, . . I spoke to the farmers wife and told her the supermarket potatoes were awful, . . she reconed that's because they're washed, .. potatoes keep better if the dirt's left on them.

The only time I get fresh produce is at country fairs in summer, and they keep for ages.

Re: Fruit & Veg

It`s the triumph of economics over sense--many folk would not pay for quality and so good greengrocers went out of business. I could argue the same about fishmongers.

now the supermarkets and a few con artists are reaping the rewards -high prices and rip off prices for `organic`

I`m lucky in having a decent sized veg garden-but I do miss the taste of a decent tomato for many months of the year

Re: Fruit & Veg

Must agree in part. I never eat a tomato from the time the local ones disappear from the market until they're back; although the cherry tomatoes are passable in a salad. I remember as a child you would buy pears at the market and eat one at lunch ... it was ripe. Now as you say, they sit on the windowsill for a week and have started to rot from the inside. Same for peaches ... hard as a stone in the market. I do shop at Whole Foods which is an organic market; true it is pricy but better quality than the bigger chains, and as I'm only buying for one I can afford the luxury. Many can't.

Re: Fruit & Veg

Oh, and about the refrigerated bananas, when I was a girl there was a very popular singing commercial about that, the tag line was "Never put bananas in the refrigerator""!

I don't use too many potatoes, haven't had a problem with them here.

Re: Fruit & Veg

I don't like what's done to our food either - I would love to grow my own.. but only if I lived somewhere warm

Re: Fruit & Veg

You can grow some crops that like cold weather: leeks and Brussels sprouts are better after a frost! Lettuce, radishes and many salad greens like cooler weather too; heat makes them bolt. What's your average temperature there in the Summer months?

Re: Fruit & Veg

Instead of moaning about supermarkets find somewhere else to buy your vegetables and fruit.

Five minutes with Google produced the following farm shop links for Scotland

http://www.farmshop.uk.com/farmshops/scotland/

http://www.scottishfoodguide.com/sco...s/default.aspx

http://thefoody.com/regions/scotlandproduce.html

plus a guide to Farmers Markets
http://www.scottishfarmersmarkets.co.uk/organisers/

simples and more productive than moaning

Re: Fruit & Veg

Sorry Denis, I can't help but agree.

Re: Fruit & Veg

Buzzie, VM, remember some people are limited in choice because of using public transportation.

Re: Fruit & Veg

You can search for all the links you want but fresh fruit and veggies are SEASONAL,. . you're missing the point of the thread, . . farmers do not have a magic source of fresh produce at this time of year.

Produce from warmer climes at this time are transported in refrigerated containers, like I've already said, . . if they did'nt keep the temp so low inside the containers the food would'nt go off so quickly at room temperature when you get it home.

I watched a massive train that travels regularly from Seattle to New York during the summer DM, . . all the cars are refrigerated to just one degree above freezing, . . because you live near NY I wondered if you get the same supplies, the train takes nearly 3 days to travel the 2,500 miles.