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A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

nytimes.com

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Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#101

Post by hexane360 »

khedoros1 wrote: post #57
scruple wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hilarious. I grew up in the rural midwest and I was taught to make "popped corn" on the stove in a pot with a little bit of oil by my grand mother. I love it this way, so does my wife, and I still prefer to make it this way to today. However, we had a very good friend over recently and I made popcorn for the 3 of us on the stove and she thought it was way beyond weird. She actually bought us one of those air pop…

My parents had a pot with a top, and a crank in the handle that could be turned to stop the kernels from sticking. I suppose it's the more commercial version of what you grew up doing. It looks like they're still available for $20 or $30.

And from experience, they're hands down the best option in every factor but convenience. Air poppers are basically flavorless (you need the oil), and electric auto-stirring machines are bulky and don't get hot enough.

The brand we've always had is Whirlypop.

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#102

Post by imaginenore »

foxhop wrote: post #93
psadri wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish there was a brand dedicated to optimizing for taste of fruits and vegetables vs appearance. And by taste I don't mean sweetness. I'd actually optimize for less sweet fruits.

Shop local and "real" fresh, like picked that day.

"Local" is grown from the same exact seeds as the large farms most of the time. Because of market forces local farms actually have higher overheads due to the laws of scale.

You might have to pay double-triple for the variety you like.

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#103

Post by tornadoboy55 »

abrookewood wrote: post #88
tornadoboy55 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pro tip: never eat canned goods. The coating inside of them is loaded with endocrine disruptors. Edit: nice to see downvotes without any discourse. Keep it up HN! https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/

Do you have anything showing that these are used in canned foods?

... are you seriously too lazy to do ctrl+t->'canned food endocrine disruptors'->enter ?

And don't use the argument that the onus is on me for giving more links. If googling it is too much effort for you, how can you expect me to do it for you..?

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#104

Post by abakker »

mattw wrote: post #72
jdironman wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about others, but I for one would like to learn more. Do you have any links or further info?

http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.php I've been roasting coffee stovetop for about a year. Takes me about 10 minutes to roast 12 ounces, the result is great, and it only ends up costing about $1/lb more than what I used to pay for roasted beans at Costco. If you like coffee at all, I highly recommend giving it a try!

Yep - me too, and I've used a variety of beans from that same source to great effect. Good luck. Also, if you're in the bay area, I'll be happy to give you a demo if you need it.

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#105

Post by Baeocystin »

tornadoboy55 wrote: post #75
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #10

There's a similar problem with popcorn. Showing my age card here, but back in the 1970's popcorn actually tasted like corn , which seems to be a difficult concept to explain to anyone under 40. It all went south around the same time that microwave popcorn became popular. People always ask if I don't like tomatoes when I eat around them in salads or remove from burgers. Nope, I love tomatoes, that's why I don't eat fl…

Pro tip: never eat canned goods. The coating inside of them is loaded with endocrine disruptors. Edit: nice to see downvotes without any discourse. Keep it up HN! https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/

Those are good links, and you shouldn't be downvoted.

That being said, it's a little more complex than that. From http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/29/health/canned-foods-bpa-risk/ :

>Now, a study published in the journal Environmental Research on Wednesday not only reveals that consuming canned foods can expose our bodies to BPA, it pinpoints the worst offenders. The study suggests that canned soups and pasta can expose consumers to higher concentrations of BPA than canned vegetables and fruit -- and although those foods are tied to BPA concentrations, canned beverages, meat and fish are not.

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#106

Post by Baeocystin »

abrookewood wrote: post #88
tornadoboy55 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pro tip: never eat canned goods. The coating inside of them is loaded with endocrine disruptors. Edit: nice to see downvotes without any discourse. Keep it up HN! https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/

Do you have anything showing that these are used in canned foods?

Sure. Here you go.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/29/health/canned-foods-bpa-risk/

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#107

Post by tstactplsignore »

samirillian wrote: post #78

Tomatoes are practically weeds. They grow like crazy, and you can eat heirlooms as sweet or as savory as you like. Sometimes I think I didn't know wealth until I had a cherokee purple straight off the vine. You can practically make sashimi with it. Now I'm just gonna come out and say it: fucking with genes worries me. It only takes one unforeseen toxic externality for the whole thing to turn out very poorly. (dangers…

>dangers of monocropping

Nothing to do with biotechnology or genome editing. In fact both technologies can and will be used to make crops more diverse.

>turning plants into intellectual property

There are specific plant breeds that are already closely guarded IP. Not to mention, this is like being against software because software patents exist.

>whatever the hell happened to pugs

Selective breeding? That's what is responsible for every vegetable you have ever eaten, ever, without exception.

>Now I'm just gonna come out and say it: fucking with genes worries me. It only takes one unforeseen toxic externality for the whole thing to turn out very poorly

"Fucking with genes" is what enabled the agricultural revolution, the green revolution, and is responsible for all of the food we eat today. Now we have the biotechnology and understanding to edit genes in ways that are inherently safer, more targeted, and less random. Are you not concerned that your conclusion (biotechnology is too scary to ever use) is not held by the overwhelminh majority of plant scientists and geneticists? Is there anything you and I can talk about that would convince you of not being anti-biotechnology?

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#109

Post by contingencies »

psadri wrote: post #67
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #10

There's a similar problem with popcorn. Showing my age card here, but back in the 1970's popcorn actually tasted like corn , which seems to be a difficult concept to explain to anyone under 40. It all went south around the same time that microwave popcorn became popular. People always ask if I don't like tomatoes when I eat around them in salads or remove from burgers. Nope, I love tomatoes, that's why I don't eat fl…

I wish there was a brand dedicated to optimizing for taste of fruits and vegetables vs appearance. And by taste I don't mean sweetness. I'd actually optimize for less sweet fruits.

One of the interesting areas our startup http://8-food.com/ hopes to explore is allowing for the effective distribution of short-run/seasonal/non-standard produce which would normally be unavailable due to conventional distribution chains / market forces. We are able to look at this seriously because of our emphasis on consumer choice, custom products, and dynamic pricing... whereas established chain restaurants seek reliable perennial large volume suppliers and supply-chains first (usually to support a year-round stable, unchanging, generic product), and optimizations for marketing (color, taste, etc.) a distant second.

Re: A Genetic Fix to Put the Taste Back in Tomatoes

#110

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

mattw wrote: post #72
jdironman wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about others, but I for one would like to learn more. Do you have any links or further info?

http://legacy.sweetmarias.com/stovepopmethod.php I've been roasting coffee stovetop for about a year. Takes me about 10 minutes to roast 12 ounces, the result is great, and it only ends up costing about $1/lb more than what I used to pay for roasted beans at Costco. If you like coffee at all, I highly recommend giving it a try!

I used that for a while, eventually we switched to a hot air popper which seemed to do a better job with less fuss. Then, in December, I got a Behmor 1600+ which is really nice.
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