191–200 of 219 posts
I am Croatian, and I know exactly what the article is referring to. So much that we decided to grow our own tomatoes this year. The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. We were very lucky to have a great harvest of cherry, monte carlo, and plum tomatoes this year, all of which serve a differ…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Croatia has horrible food Anthony Bourdain disagreed[1]: > This is world class food, this is world class wine, this is world class cheese. The next big thing is Croatia. This was in 2012, before Croatia joined the EU, but the culture of quality cuisine doesn't change in a decade. I can't speak about the prices, but I'm sure there are affordable restaurants and markets outside of touristy zones. Go to any popular pl…
There is a lot of quality perhaps. But two things I noticed about Croatia (and maybe wider Europe) food: 1) They don't know coffee. There is no equivalent of the American half&half creamer. 2) I find that there is not that much in the way of vegetables when eating out. I wonder if perhaps it's a cultural thing where you give your guest the best, i.e. most caloric/tasty food possible. The tavern/grill places are espec…
Here in (northern) Spain is pretty much the same. Outstanding meats, cheeses, wine, etc. but you'll be lucky to set your eyes on a salad, and the only actual vegetable on most menus is grilled peppers.
I do forewarn vegetarian friends before they come to visit, but in general I don't think "light on veggies" translates to "bad". Most European nations have gone through low veggie diets at various times.
ah, the tomato supremacy chauvinism prevalent in Europe. Deeply rooted in all countries south the Alps. It is one of the last bastions standing hindering true unification. I have faced it so many times. It goes like this: - be from north of Alps, e.g. Germany - be on visit in south of Alps, e.g. country bordering Mediterranean Sea such as Spain - order dish containing tomato - unasked, get lectured by local acquainta…
Since the tomato (though not our modern varieties) first evolved in Mexico, isn't there some sense in the idea that it would grow better in hotter countries? (I'm sure that's not the only factor to which the "our tomatoes are best" advocates would attribute their tomatoes' quality.)
Tomatoes also need a bunch of water, of course, which makes them a delicate balancing act in the more southerly (and steadily more drought stricken) regions of Europe
I am Croatian, and I know exactly what the article is referring to. So much that we decided to grow our own tomatoes this year. The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. We were very lucky to have a great harvest of cherry, monte carlo, and plum tomatoes this year, all of which serve a differ…
What does that mean, tourists steal your tomatoes at night?
I am Croatian, and I know exactly what the article is referring to. So much that we decided to grow our own tomatoes this year. The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. We were very lucky to have a great harvest of cherry, monte carlo, and plum tomatoes this year, all of which serve a differ…
I'm from the Netherlands and > The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. This hurts, and it's absolutely true. Makes me wonder why we spend so much in subsidies for the dutch tomato growers, if nobody actually likes eating them. For what it's worth, I get them in the supermarket, grown in spa…
The problem is not that they can't make delicious food, it's that no one is willing to pay for it. Strawberries are already expensive, and perfectly ripe strawberries would be even more expensive.
You have the slightly tastier "Tasty Tom" tomatoes that are 30% more expensive that are already a tough sell.
The harsh truth is that people keep buying the trash tomatoes, so the growers grow them.
There's also a weird spiral going on where life has become more expensive, which made things like farming good tasting tomatoes on a Croatian island infeasible, which in turn made good tasting tomatoes too expensive to buy for people living on a Croatian island.
But one thing that surprised me after a little while gardening is that there is a similarly stark difference for homegrown carrots. Everybody knows what a carrot tastes like from the store, but I had never tasted a carrot that stopped me in my tracks until I took up gardening. It's just like with tomatoes: a richer, sweeter flavor that is virtually nonexistent in the supermarket. If you love growing your own tomatoes, I can't recommend growing your own carrots highly enough.
It's hard to describe how drastic the difference is between a store-bought tomato and one that is homegrown. It's something you immediately miss once the season is gone and the tomato plants are composted, and you're hoping you saved enough jars to make it until next summer. But one thing that surprised me after a little while gardening is that there is a similarly stark difference for homegrown carrots. Everybody kn…
It's hard to describe how drastic the difference is between a store-bought tomato and one that is homegrown. It's something you immediately miss once the season is gone and the tomato plants are composted, and you're hoping you saved enough jars to make it until next summer. But one thing that surprised me after a little while gardening is that there is a similarly stark difference for homegrown carrots. Everybody kn…
As a fellow gardener, this probably has to do with the type of tomato/carrot that you grow. For example, the carrots in your garden are probably of the sweeter variety than store-bought carrots.
(anyone tasted a potato fruit? Toxic and like little green tomatoes, but I wonder at their taste)
I am Croatian, and I know exactly what the article is referring to. So much that we decided to grow our own tomatoes this year. The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. We were very lucky to have a great harvest of cherry, monte carlo, and plum tomatoes this year, all of which serve a differ…
I'm from the Netherlands and > The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. This hurts, and it's absolutely true. Makes me wonder why we spend so much in subsidies for the dutch tomato growers, if nobody actually likes eating them. For what it's worth, I get them in the supermarket, grown in spa…
When I grow my tomatoes, they are usually picked at their peak ripeness, they were being pumped full of sugar and nutrients by the plant until the last second when I picked them and cooked with them. The ones that have to travel are picked before ripe, and "ripen" sad and alone in a truck with no extra nutrients, and when they reach me looking "ripe", it's usually a facade. Local market fruits and vegetables stand somewhere in between, depending on volume and channel it's being sold in.
There is a difference though between fruits and vegetables imported for year round availability, and those imported as a seasonal bounty; the later ones maintain quality as it sells relatively quickly in season and doesn't need to be picked as much in advance.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Best beef isn’t fresh actually, it is aged for several weeks. Similar with a lot of fish like tuna. Sometimes it’s not about as fresh as possible, but how it is grown and processed.
Without meaning to be critical, but just to expand the conversation a bit, what does the word "beef" mean in your comment? Let's broaden the scope, and consider lean and fatty versions of say "grass fed beef" vs. "industrial beef". The word "fatty" here is just a placeholder for "less than 85% lean" ("lean" is problematical, as is "fatty", too). (How those map to "tough" and "tender" is related but of course the skil…
1. There is a big difference in how between how packing plants process beef and how small butcher shops do it. Carefully processed beef that's not aged is better than aged stuff from the packing plant, especially ground beef. The beef that jklinger410 ate was probably both aged and carefully processed.
2. Most people who are used to grain-fed beef do not like grass-fed beef. It's an acquired taste, though I can definitely imagine how someone who is used to it would not like grain-fed beef at all.