It's that time of year again - dammit

[Gordon Steadman]

About now, we run out of the fruit we have stored or potted and have to buy some from the supermarket.

HATE HATE HATE IT:(

We bought some pears a couple of days ago and I tried one today. The end was already brown, the rest was still semi crisp and the flavour...... well, there wasn't any. I just couldn't eat the damn thing. In the end, I poured a load of cream over it and added some dark brown sugar. So I had a bowl of stuff that tasted of cream and brown sugar. Pear...not a hint.

Our own fruit won't be ready for four months yet. Jesus, what a long summer it will seem.

Why can't supermarkets get decent fruit that hasn't been in cold storage for months or irradiated to stop it (unsuccessfully) going rotten too soon? Maybe people have lost their taste buds and don't care. If this is standard fare it's not surprising that people don't eat enough fruit.

These tasteless lumps were marketed as Conference Pears. I wonder if I can sue under the trades descriptions act!

Standard Steadman annual rant over:rolleyes:

[Marco]

Hi Gordon,

Tasteless pish being passed off as 'fruit' is the norm in UK supermarkets, but I wouldn't have thought it'd be the same in France - and it certainly hasn't been whenever we've been there on holiday. Which supermarkets are you using?

Also, aren't there any 'farm shops' near you, or folk locally selling the type of produce you yourself grow? Here in the UK, we only buy organically grown fruit (and veg) from local farm shops - and only eat fruit that is in season - thus all of the fruit we eat is always juicy and tasty! :)

Marco.

[Macca]

i grew some tomatoes in the greenhouse on my allotment - fully 100% organic etc - and was hoping for great things but they were not that tasty - although better than the supermarket equivilent they did not live up to the memories of my youth.

Strawberries were equally dissapointing.

I wonder if it is the modern varieties that lack flavour rather than to do with how they are grown or stored?

[Gordon Steadman]

Hi Gordon,

Tasteless pish being passed off as 'fruit' is the norm in UK supermarkets, but I wouldn't have thought it'd be the same in France - and it certainly hasn't been whenever we've been there on holiday. Which supermarkets are you using?

Also, aren't there any 'farm shops' near you, or folk locally selling the type of produce you yourself grow? Here in the UK, we only buy organically grown fruit (and veg) from local farm shops - and only eat fruit that is in season - thus all of the fruit we eat is always juicy and tasty! :)

Marco.

We use our local place SuperU. We don't travel far to shop as we actually buy very little most of the time. The problem is that there is not much fruit actually in season now, the berries and cherries and just forming and the bigger fruits are still tiny. Farm shops and smallholders grow the same stuff we do unless they force it and then you have the same problem with diluted flavours.

We had our first new season peas today. What a joy. Five minutes in and out of boiling water and they were sweet and tender and delicious. This is the problem of course, comparing fresh stuff picked this morning with the inevitable stored or frozen stuff is always going to be a disappointment.

Not much to be done I guess. Salad bits are on the way so it won't be that long before we enjoy the fruits of Ronnie's labour.

[Gordon Steadman]

i grew some tomatoes in the greenhouse on my allotment - fully 100% organic etc - and was hoping for great things but they were not that tasty - although better than the supermarket equivilent they did not live up to the memories of my youth.

Strawberries were equally dissapointing.

I wonder if it is the modern varieties that lack flavour rather than to do with how they are grown or stored?

To a degree I think that is true. So many of today's varieties have been developed for size, appearance and quick growth - just like chickens which are ready in no time with loads of breast and weak bones.

Taste memories are dangerous things of course - a bit like sounds - so many things lead to how we remember stuff. However, our home grown cherry tomatoes just burst in the mouth and the cookers are pretty intense too.

Some of the best fruit we have had was from a friend of ours who has a load of wild raspberry bushes. Tiny things that just hit you with the flavour.

All down to having to feed too many people and most not being prepared to spend a proper proportion of their income on good food. Too much damn hi-fi to buy perhaps:eyebrows:

[CageyH]

Supermarket fruit in France?
We get all of ours from the local market where people seem to care about the produce they sell.

[struth]

only eat apples and get them from supermarket mostly. usually very nice...got a load of pink ladys from Aldi and they are lovely. got a couple of trees in garden and get some late fruit off them.

[Audio Al]

Out of season I always buy tined :)

[Ninanina]

i grew some tomatoes in the greenhouse on my allotment - fully 100% organic etc - and was hoping for great things but they were not that tasty

I did the same thing a couple of years ago Martin and mine were not very tasty either... very disappointing so I've not grown any since :(

[hifilover]

Grow your own! It's very easy :)

I've got all sorts in the garden fruiting nicely so can;t wait for late summer/autumn!

The apple and pear trees have taken nicely and have set some good crops by the looks of it, my strawberries, raspberries, guzgogs, black currents and blackberries have all started to set nicely. The blueberry bush is loaded, never seen it that laden before!

They're just watered well and fed when necessary, and the best thing of all, they're all in pots (bar the apples/pears) and they grow religiously!

[Gordon Steadman]

Grow your own! It's very easy :)

I've got all sorts in the garden fruiting nicely so can;t wait for late summer/autumn!

The apple and pear trees have taken nicely and have set some good crops by the looks of it, my strawberries, raspberries, guzgogs, black currents and blackberries have all started to set nicely. The blueberry bush is loaded, never seen it that laden before!

They're just watered well and fed when necessary, and the best thing of all, they're all in pots (bar the apples/pears) and they grow religiously!
My wife is a professional gardner - if she was here I would say horticulturist:). We have four hectares, about a third of which is given over to produce, including chickens and ducks for meat and eggs. We have rabbits as well, just lurve a good rabbit stew with some Suffolk Sinkers (dumplings to you!) We are self sufficient in vegetables but have to wait for fruit to come into season. For some reason we have run out of bottled fruit this year. This is why the supermarket rubbish comes as such a shock. If that is what most people have to eat, I'm not surprised that so many turn to highly flavoured junk.

I now have another half dozen tasteless pears to do something with. No doubt the animals will reject them so I will have to be inventive in order to make them edible. Shouldn't be necessary.

[Ninanina]

chickens and ducks for meat and eggs. We have rabbits as well, just lurve a good rabbit stew

Oh I just couldn't put a chicken or a rabbit down to eat.... I am probably just too soft though.... ;)

[struth]

Oh I just couldn't put a chicken or a rabbit down to eat.... I am probably just too soft though.... ;)

Its better than trying to eat them alive :eyebrows:

[Ninanina]

Its better than trying to eat them alive :eyebrows:

:rfl::rfl::rfl: