Yes. I'm afraid this is so. The food at the grocery store--and here I am speaking of pretty much ALL food, but most especially produce--is definitely substandard. The good news is that it only sucks if you've grown or made that particular food yourself. So, for example, you may be perfectly happy with your potatoes from the store, as I was for many years, but the moment you taste a potato you grew yourself? Store potatoes suck. Just like that.
I have yet to find an exception to this rule--yogurt, crackers, meat, eggs, asparagus . . . you name it, the grocery store version is totally unsatisfying if you've ever tasted the real thing. Granted, there are things I can't grow myself, so it's entirely possible that, say, a grapefruit from the store tastes just like a grapefruit picked off a backyard tree in Florida, but I really doubt it.
We had a startling example of this truism last night in the form of salad. I'm not a huge salad eater. It's not something I would consider the tastiest part of a meal. I'll eat salad at a restaurant or made from store vegetables, but only in a perfunctory, I-must-eat-my-vegetables kind of way. Last night I made the season's first salad from all the things I scrounged from the garden, including baby Buttercrunch lettuce, arugula, radishes, raw asparagus, and chive flowers. It was so good that after one bite, I stopped eating and said to A.," Damn. That's a delicious salad."
Those are words that I do not utter often. Maybe ever. But it was delicious. And that is the power of homegrown food.
Incidentally, I have discovered this spring that Cubby is a huge fan of asparagus--both cooked and raw--and, oddly, very much enjoys radishes. Not that I am complaining, but radishes, of all things? Weird child. Those French Breakfast radishes are pretty good, though . . .
7 comments:
Cubby will grow up exposed to good wholesome food and lots of variety. Lucky boy.
My son in law won't eat mango from the store because they are tasteless according to him. He should know since he grew up in India and ate mangoes picked right off the trees. Local and in season is always best!
Totally agree! For me (and probably a lot of people), tomatoes are the worst offenders - I hardly ever buy the pink mush that's offered in the off season. But I can't think of anything I'd rather have from the store vs. my backyard.
I can confirm that citrus also follows this rule - my grandma lives in Florida for part of the year, and when we visit we have orange juice. Not the stuff from the white cardboard, but fresh-squeezed from oranges picked that morning, with the dew still on them and just slightly warmed from the sun starting to come up... heavenly.
It really is true about garden fresh vs store bought. It also goes for nutritional value. Never thought about potatoes making a difference, though! You just can't beat fresh picked.
100% agree. It's not just that tomatoes (I think widely known to be awful from the grocery store and awesome from the garden) are better - I think you're right - ANYTHING is better than storebought. Particularly if that store starts with an S and rhymes with "afeway".
And a home grown salad? Delish. Bubba now looks forward to spring and all the lettuces coming out of our garden and regularly requests a "Big Salad" with dinner.
Bless him. Though - less excited about radishes than Cubby. Perhaps 40 years will do that to a person ;)
And tell me, do you do the radishes with butter and sea salt bit? Because it's FANTASTIC.
You are so right. I took photos of our vegies this weekend and had been writing about homegrown food being so much more flavorful than the grocery store version. I am definitely spoiled for several homegrown foods.
Could not agree more - I am always vaguely dissatisfied with anything from the store.
I call it McFood.
It's more and more just something to stuff in your face than food that is delicious and worth savoring.
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