Grocery store peaches

sucks2beme

So when did they start selling baseballs disguised
as peaches? They might look ripe, but they stay rock
hard. If you leave them out long enough, one day they
will magically transform to rotting fruit. Never ripe fruit.
I have to go to a small stand to get anything with flavor.
The guy has real peaches, heirloom tomatoes, and
sugarbaby watermelons. You know, stuff that tastes
like real produce.

mrbigbluelight

I have a heck of a time getting cantelope that tastes like ....cantelope.

For tomatoes: grow your own heirloom.
Night and day from the store bought

marvda1

Bought some strawberries at a corner store in Paris France that were so good and sweet, have never found any in the US that come anywhere near them.

sucks2beme

Chain grocery produce is bad. The guy with the stand has pretty good stuff.
The guys on nextdoor rave about him.
The sugarbaby melons are great. I started buying them this year.
Everyone of them has been full of flavor. The wife has been making
sauce with the heirloom tomatoes.

maxward

That’s because you were in Paris.

Emlyn

This is why Farmer's Markets are popular for locally grown foods. The lack of flavor in, what used to be cheap, grocery store foods extends to beef and chicken too. And industrial farmed Salmon? Mushy. I won't buy it or eat it.

pitdogg2

Emlyn wrote: »

This is why Farmer's Markets are popular for locally grown foods. The lack of flavor in, what used to be cheap, grocery store foods extends to beef and chicken too. And industrial farmed Salmon? Mushy. I won't buy it or eat it.

I tend to agree if its from Chile. I do not like it and their farming practices are abysmal.
I do however like the Norwegian King and Atlantic salmon. The fresh Alaskan salmon in my neck of the woods is hit or miss. Most of the Sockeye is very lean and dry. The "copper" river stuff they think is gold, I refuse to pay $50 a pound.

tonyb

That's the difference trying to feed 360 million people . You have to truck stuff thousands of miles so it can't be picked when it's ripe or it will rot on the way to you. This is why grocery store produce tastes like crap. If our lucky enough to live near farms, support them and buy from them if you can.

I'm in Florida , and it's hard to find fresh fish, you might get that farmed junk everyone sells. Orange juice, fresh squeezed....you'd think....but nahh, few and far between. Was in Georgia, at a farmers market yet, you'd think I could get some tasty Georgia peaches...during harvest season too. Nahhh, their from out west or Mexico. I'm in wine country in California, produce should be top notch, but the grocery store in Sonoma only had Mexico stuff.

Only place I've ever been, in this country, where the local restaraunts actually used the local food, was in Carmel California. You didn't need to search out specialty shops, everyone had food grown locally. That's not to say you can't find the local stuff, but it's not as readily available as one might think.

I'll be in Boston next week, they better not have Oysters from China....

pitdogg2

tonyb wrote: »

I'll be in Boston next week, they better not have Oysters from China....

Don't worry they'll have the best batch from Louisiana, two Floridians already found out how tasty they are......

DaveHo

Buy local. No shortage of orchards around here. Yes, it's pricey, but worth it.

txcoastal1

pitdogg2 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

I'll be in Boston next week, they better not have Oysters from China....

Don't worry they'll have the best batch from Louisiana, two Floridians already found out how tasty they are......

You don't buy gulf oysters till October unless they are grilled or baked

pitdogg2

Only R months.....

Clipdat

Grocery store avocados are **** lately too. They take forever to get ripe and then it seems like even tough they got darker in color and would appear to be ripe, they are still rock hard and never become ripe or edible.

Or, they go from waiting to get ripe to instantly rotten.

tonyb

txcoastal1 wrote: »

pitdogg2 wrote: »

tonyb wrote: »

I'll be in Boston next week, they better not have Oysters from China....

Don't worry they'll have the best batch from Louisiana, two Floridians already found out how tasty they are......

You don't buy gulf oysters till October unless they are grilled or baked

He was referencing a story in Florida about a guy who died from eating Oysters from Louisiana. The dude had a laundry list of drugs in his system though , so blame the Oysters.

mrbigbluelight

Maybe the oysters were on drugs ?

txcoastal1

I read that story. I've eaten oysters from all over at at different places in the US. Never been sick. The people I know that have been sick were early season gulf oysters. Don't get me wrong I've eaten them too, but if you want to be 99% safe and also the best is the fall early winter oysters from the gulf.

Best I've ever had were from the mobile bay complex of AL coast line.

As for ripening, sealed brown paper bag, even the hardest avocado's can be ripened in 3 days by placing a ripe banana in the bag with them.

tonyb

Best Oysters I've had to date was from the Pacific Northwest. Don't think I've had Gulf Oysters yet. Best Shrimp was also from the Pacific NW.

Ron, fill me in on why Gulf Oysters are risky during early season and what makes them ok later on.

txcoastal1

The waters are hot and sometimes bacteria’s are more susceptible especially after heavy rains and fresh water mix causing brackish water conditions

pitdogg2

Bacteria and other gremlins grow better/faster in warmer waters. Oysters also are weaker because of spawning in the warmer waters so it's a double whammy. The old wisdom was to only eat oysters during months that have an R in them. R months are colder which in turn helped keep them cooler in shipping in days before modern refrigeration. So now we have better refrigeration we still can't change the heat of the water and the fact that they are filter feeders bacteria is more prevalent in the water column. When the water temperature drops bacteria and other gremlins die off pretty quick.

audioluvr

I'm sorry, I'd rather lick the bottom of a dumpster ( probably similar flavor) than eat oysters.

treitz3

Clipdat wrote: »

Grocery store avocados are **** lately too. They take forever to get ripe and then it seems like even tough they got darker in color and would appear to be ripe, they are still rock hard and never become ripe or edible.

Or, they go from waiting to get ripe to instantly rotten.

All of the grocery stores around me are like that. You may find one or two avocados(extremely rare) that are edible but I stopped buying them for that very reason....and you had better eat them quick!

My solution? I found a local store that is predominantly Mexican but sells other hard to find international foods as well. It's a local dive that, as soon as you walk in the door? You might as well have been transported directly to Mexico. Every one of their avocados are ready to eat that day and even if you wait a couple of days? They are still good. The joint is called Las Americas and this is where I get many of my vegetables. Fresh cilantro is 10 bunches for $1.00 on sale and normal price is a bunch for a dollar. Radishes are about a pound and a half for $2.00. They have many of the veggies that normal supermarkets do not carry as well.....all at great prices you would never see at a normal grocery store, even on sale.

It's a great resource for our family and the best part? They have a restaurant in the back that serves a plethora of Mexican dishes that are OFF THE HOOK good. It's the only establishment that tastes authentic and everything is consistently just as fresh as can be. The only day I do not go there is Tuesday. They serve .50 street tacos and folks around here will order 20, 50, 100 tacos and I have even seen people order 200 tacos. The line goes out of the front of the store. Every Tuesday, without fail.

It's one of those hole in the wall, town secrets that isn't really a secret anymore. I suggest you take a look around and visit the unfamiliar. You may just find a hidden gem like I did.

Tom

treitz3

tonyb wrote: »

He was referencing a story in Florida about a guy who died from eating Oysters from Louisiana. The dude had a laundry list of drugs in his system though , so blame the Oysters.

You mean, COVID isn't to blame? Two years ago, he would have died from COVID. I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell ya'.

*passes out on floor*

Tom