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Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

newengland.com

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Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#221

Post by liotier »

dagw wrote: post #211
nicoburns wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

France is good for tomatoes too. I think it's definitely partly about local availability. But probably also a bit to do with cultural consumer choices too. France/Italy/Greece all have big food cultures in a way that isn't quite matched by northern European countries. That said, it seems to be getting easier to get high quality vegetables (including tomatoes) here in the UK. It's not from a supermarket and you pay mo…

France has great tomatoes, but a random tomato you buy on sale at the huge supermarkets aren't any better than anywhere else (in my experience).

In France, standard supermarket tomatoes are standard bad - but we see increasing availability of different species obviously taking genes from heirloom varieties... They taste great and consumers are beginning to understand that weird shapes and colours mean flavour.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#222

Post by _xnmw »

You probably don't even know what real vegetables taste like. As a Canadian born and raised who moved to Ukraine a few years ago, one of the most surprising things I encountered was how tasty a simple salad can be. Then I found out that mineral levels in vegetables in North America are estimated to have dropped 90% since 1914 [1]. Ukrainians who migrate to other countries are often heard to complain about a loss in food taste - and I know exactly what they're talking about because I'm a foreigner who noticed the difference in food taste right away.

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20965771

My old comment on the matter: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20969214

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#223

Post by Eric_WVGG »

colechristensen wrote: post #202
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nearly nobody under the age of 35 is aware that popcorn used to taste like corn. Not like modern ears of corn, which are bred mostly for sweetness; more like tortilla chips, whose corn is still (somehow) cultivated for corn flavor. Corny. [edit] … also I’m baffled by how, every time I “hold the tomatoes” on my burger or salad, someone will invariably say “don’t you like tomatoes?” and I have to go on this dumb rant a…

Sweet corn was cultivated at least hundreds of years ago by native americans, it was never allowed to mature and be used as a grain, it makes up a minuscule fraction of corn production. Tortillas are made from varieties of corn that do fully mature “field corn”, essentially the same as the rest of corn production although there are more restrictions and preferences on which specific seed lines get into human food pro…

Yah, I know the basic elementary school version of the history of corn, just trying to explain that “tastes like corn” doesn’t mean a backyard corn-on-the-cob. My impression of the latter is that they basically taste like sugar now but I guess my memory of childhood cobs is less vivid.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#224

Post by [deleted] »

AfterShave wrote: post #212
idlemind wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sunshine is the other big variable. Most fruit will only get sweet during ripening if it's receiving enough sunlight. This is why red grapes are seldom grown in northern latitudes - their dark skin blocks sunlight and prevents them from sweetening during ripening.

Is it really about sunlight and not heat though? Otherwise one would expect to see more sweet fruit coming from northern europe than is the case. Given the near absence of "night."

[deleted]

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#225

Post by bserge »

titzer wrote: post #104
dnzkw wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to tell you tomatoes are flavourless in Europe as well.

I lived almost 7 years in Germany, and the average tomato at a supermarket was lightyears beyond the US. Then farmers markets are even better.

Funny enough, the further east you go, the better they taste.

But tbf, only for a few months when the many small farmers grow them outdoors and sell them for unbelievably cheap.

Rest of the time it's greenhouse tomatoes like everyone else.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#226

Post by bserge »

hoseja wrote: post #201
watwut wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep. You have to grow own tomatoes to have good ones. Which is something only few people are willing and have option to do.

Except the available seeds are probably decreasing in quality as well.

Is there a market for good tasting tomato seeds? :D

It's actually fascinating - I remember my grandmother scooping out the seeds out of vegetables and drying them, to be used next year.

The villagers also traded them as apparently they had different varieties.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#227

Post by MisterTea »

simondotau wrote: post #198
kook_throwaway wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought I was the weirdo for thinking tomatoes on burgers didn't add any flavor. I love flavorful tomatoes everywhere else, generally, but the kind used on burgers are like mushy water.

You're not alone. I've never liked tomato slice on burgers, always ask to remove if present. Makes the burger wet and slushy for no benefit. Partial to a slice of beetroot as a substitute. (Hopefully you didn't establish this throwaway account to confess your controversial tomato opinions.)

> (Hopefully you didn't establish this throwaway account to confess your controversial tomato opinions.)

Their HN account is better curated than most tomato cultivars.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#229

Post by dkdbejwi383 »

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #218
flycaliguy wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They want the burgers to taste the same all over the place. A shame because here in south western Ontario we have amazing tomatoes. I eat at least one a day just sliced with a bit of salt.

I'm not convinced this is the case: Why would you choose lesser tomatoes for this? I'm more inclined to think that modern "grocery store" tomatoes are generally tomatoes that ship well while still fresh. Anything else means that tomatoes on burgers would not only be seasonal, but regulated to the sorts of places tomatoes can be shipped well from the farms. I'm not even sure how you eat a good one daily, honestly. I'v…

> ship well while still fresh

I think a lot of supermarket fruit and veg is picked underripe, and then ripening is induced in a controlled environment in some warehouse a few hours before it's sent to the shops, so that it's "perfectly" ripe as it's placed on display for sale.

Re: Red delicious apples weren’t always horrible

#230

Post by dekhn »

bserge wrote: post #226
hoseja wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except the available seeds are probably decreasing in quality as well.

Is there a market for good tasting tomato seeds? :D It's actually fascinating - I remember my grandmother scooping out the seeds out of vegetables and drying them, to be used next year. The villagers also traded them as apparently they had different varieties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burpee_Seeds_and_Plants
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