Mushy/no taste foods rant-a little long (sorry)

AngelDog1

Hello all! This is more of a personal soap-box rant, but I just wanted to know if you all feel the same way. In today's grocery store markets, we are very fortunate to be able to get produce from just about anywhere in the world. But have you noticed that the quality and taste of the "normal" foods (not the exotic...that's another subject) is just awful? Like for instance, this a.m. I packed two plums to eat as part of my breakfast. And when I bit into one, it was absolutely disgustingly mushy and the other one I honesty could have had more flavor from a styrofoam packing peanut. It's not just one store, it's not just one type of food, because this has happened many times before. Tomatoes, strawberries, cucumbers, peaches, peppers, blueberries, you name it, it's all just so blah. Now granted, during the spring/summer/fall I try to go to the local farmer's markets for the in-season stuff that is grown locally, but I don't get a chance to go every week let alone in the off-season. As much as I'd like to try it, since I live in suburbia America, growing my own food is not a choice. This just all makes it very difficult to incorporate fresh fruits/veggies in my food choices. Sometimes I think I'll just stick to frozen or canned, but then that limits my choices too. Just wondering if anyone else is "fed" up too? (hahah no pun intended)

nehptune

i totally agree!
but i do find that organic food often tastes better... especially plums and tomatoes (that's what i noticed this summer anyway)
organic is a bit more expensive, but if you're careful about not wasting too much, I think it's definitely worth it.

on another, kind of related note:
i also wonder if our taste buds get a bit skewed from all the high salt/sugar food that is pretty common-place now. i cut down a lot on pre-processed foods and definitely noticed that when i ate those kinds of foods again after a few months they tasted way too salty!!

bjberry

Yes! My nose is so important to me, and I can never smell the fruits I am buying! I think they are picked so early, the smell factor has not developed yet!! So, I incorporate my fruits into things--fat-free smoothees, bananas in my cereal, etc. And I also go for flash frozen fruits and fruit juices.
Good luck in figuring out the best solution for you. :drinker: (water)

megamom

When it is hard to get them in the fall and winter months I get the flash frozen. Sometimes they are frozen at the perfect time and the taste is better. Our mass produced produce is not as good as the farmers market, that's for sure. They forgot to grow for flavor, just for yield.

kennedar

I totally agree! I was having a problem last spring with buying apples/oranges/etc and having them go bad within a few days! It was so bizarre! I buy most of our veggies frozen because there is only 2 of us so we do not go through as much as some families. The fruit is always fresh though and its tough to get enough in because of the quality!

If there is anyone from Calgary on here, today's (monday October 4) Groupon is for organic produce delivered to your door. I bought one because it looks pretty awesome.

AngelDog1

Hmmm.... Organic.... I knew that it was less pesticides, hormones, etc, but I never thought that perhaps it would taste better. I just might try it even if it is a little bit more expensive. I've always been concerned about the antibiotics that they use/feed/put into the chicken, beef, turkey, etc. food supplies (not that I can do anything about it buying it from the grocery store because all those butchers in their meat department just package the shipments they get from big companies into smaller sizes for the consumer) and I never never never use pesticides on my own little postage-stamp size lawn or flower gardens because 1) I have pets that play and run through them and 2) heck I even run barefoot to go get the mail at the end of our driveway so who wants to absorb those chemicals directly and 3) I try to attract the butterflies and they are very sensitve to chemicals. But I never gave it a second thought that all that crap might affect the actual taste. Hmmm... food for thought (ugghhh...groan....roll eyes... ok, I know....I'm in a goofy mood today) I'll have to give organic a try.

sgp329

I had exactly the same experience yesterday with a plum. We were travelling and I packed plums for driving snacks. I bit into one and instantly spit it out, then rolled down the window and chunked it out to feed the birds. Disgusting! Tasted like dirty socks smell :sad:

godblessourhome

the biggest one for me is tomatoes. my garden tomatoes taste so much better than any store-bought tomato! even the 'ripened-on-the-vine' tomatoes are poor quality. it bothers me enough that i will rarely buy a tomato from the store (and NEVER during the winter).

i have been trying to get back to eating food in 'season' because it really does make a difference in the taste and texture. i meant to get into canning this year so we had garden-fresh veggies all year, but the only thing i think i will get to is applesauce. darn it!

brityn

I agree with the plums this year..i wonder if the plum crop just had a bad year (: We just finally got a farmers market going in my small home town. It's every friday and I rarely get down there, so, I started asking the local vendors and the market if anyone delivered. I found a guy who drops off a paper grocery bag full of whatevers ripe that week for $12 a week...and it's amazing! I come home from work every monday night and there it is. He has the option of sending eggs too! I'd ask around if I were you