Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#21

Post by lWaterboardCats » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 3:09 AM UTC

vlark wrote: post #15

Find a strawberry farm near you that lets you "pick your own". Chances are these will be the best berries you taste that season. Same for any fruit or vegetables, really. There's a farm near me that does pick your own potatoes, asparagus, snap peas, etc. Barring that, buy directly from the farmer at a farmer's market or roadside stand on the edge of their property. The closer you can get from farm to table, the bette…

To be honest, I’ve done strawberry picking at local farms, and I haven’t noticed a substantial difference from a taste standpoint. I think the earlier comment about the “variety” of strawberries likely plays a big factor.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#22

Post by mlhpdx » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 3:14 AM UTC

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

Anyone interested in genuinely delicious strawberries should be in Oregon in June for the Hood and Benton varieties. These berries are too short in season and delicate to be available broadly, and are (my opinion) never a disappointment like more “commercial” varieties.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#23

Post by hodgesrm » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 3:30 AM UTC

GloriousKoji wrote: post #13

hodgesrm wrote: post #10

It depends where you live. I'm in the Bay Area and strawberries are definitely not disappointing. In fact for several months of the year they are like food out of the Garden of Eden. You can recognize when they are in season by the uniform deep, crimson color of all the berries in the batch. And the price: cheap strawberries means there are a lot of them. We usually get Tomatero Farms strawberries. Driscolls is OK bu…

Driscolls is absolute garbage in my opinion. They always look pretty and are ubiquitous in many major markets but the taste has always been lacking. The best strawberries in the Bay Area are from the Japanese-American farms. They're not beholden to the "Big Ag" lab grown berries Driscolls and actually taste good but they're extremely seasonal and sometimes hard to find.

This could be just faulty memory but my impression is that Driscolls was better 15 years ago. They are pretty heavy into optimization for the market and constrain growers to follow very exacting standards for product. [0]

[0] https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/food-cooking/driscolls-stra...

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#24

Post by bankcust08385 » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 4:36 AM UTC

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

Grocery fruits and vegetables are largely pretty cardboard poisoned with industrial farming residues. If you want decent fruits and vegetables, about the only choice is to buy local organic or grow them yourself.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#25

Post by bankcust08385 » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 4:39 AM UTC

CoastalCoder wrote: post #16

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

> because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes things even more complicated I'd be interested to see an independent study of household preferences on this. I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation.

No study needed. The simple experience of selling fruit at a fruit stand and making pies and such with blemished produce is evidence enough. There is nothing wrong with blemished fruit, but because it's imperfect and the buyer doesn't know what signals to look for in produce selection, they fallback to superficial signals. Ignorance is human nature.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#26

Post by bankcust08385 » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 4:41 AM UTC

bsder wrote: post #18

CoastalCoder wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes things even more complicated I'd be interested to see an independent study of household preferences on this. I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation.

> I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation. Your local monopsony grocery chain, however, does not. And they, not you, are the volume buyer who matters. In addition, most consumers, very specifically, will buy uniformly colorful, firm, tasteless fruit over anything even slightly bruised. About the best you can do as a consumer is try to find actu…

Grow your own herbs and tomatoes. It's pretty simple and the upside is worth it.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#27

Post by bankcust08385 » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 4:42 AM UTC

mlhpdx wrote: post #22

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

Anyone interested in genuinely delicious strawberries should be in Oregon in June for the Hood and Benton varieties. These berries are too short in season and delicate to be available broadly, and are (my opinion) never a disappointment like more “commercial” varieties.

Strawberries are also grown commercially between Watsonville and Santa Cruz. There's also some grow on a small scale between Chico and Paradise, hope the fire didn't get them.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#28

Post by janalsncm » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 5:53 AM UTC

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

Not true at all. Bananas are such an incredible counterexample, so ubiquitous that we barely even think about them. In my mind, they are clearly the best fruit. I have never had a banana that looks better than it tastes. Bright yellow bananas will always taste good. This is because the Cavendish is a clone, which leads to their vulnerability to pests but the point still stands.

Another great counterexample is grapes. Grapes almost always taste great.

Apples are all fairly horrible except the Cosmic Crisp. The rest are bland and disappointing.

Mangoes and nectarines are also fantastic when they’re in season. The yellow mangoes, not the red ones.

Blackberries are also great. Our grocery store has some really big berries, albeit on the pricier side.

Seriously though, a bowl full of fresh fruits is vastly preferable to ice cream or any other synthetic dessert. I feel bad for people who are stuck with cantaloupe and gala apples.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#29

Post by janalsncm » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 5:57 AM UTC

I tried growing my own strawberries this summer. Fully organic, full sun. They tasted awful. I won’t be rerunning that experiment. The store bought ones are hit and miss. The problem is it’s basically impossible to tell the difference.

I also tried the “sweetest batch” thing that the All In podcast recommended. Still mediocre. Grapes, mangoes, and nectarines are consistently a far better option.

Re: Why do strawberries seldom live up to their promise?

#30

Post by lhomdee » Sat, Aug 03, 2024, 6:10 AM UTC

TheCleric wrote: post #8

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes t…

I learned this when I had strawberries from the Bon Marche in Antibes. I was there in season, and the strawberries were small and “ugly” by supermarket standards, but my word did they taste like nothing else on earth. When you know, it’s like an awakening.