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Does anyone else know about these, what are they and are they healthier or better? How?
heirloom foods refer to foods that were grown earlier in human history but have been mostly replaced by modern mass-produced, usually ultra-productive hybrid varieties.
in terms of consumption, these foods tend to be healthier and better for you ,yes. first of all, most are organically grown, with no pesticides or herbicides. second, they are NOT GMO foods, so you don't get these stray DNA/RNA floating around in your bloodstream doing god knows what. third, by buying these foods you usually are helping some small farmers continue their livelihood in the face of very large profit driven corporations.
Although most heirloom food tend to be vegetables, there are several staple foods that are heirloom too:
You haven't had a tomato until you've tried an heirloom tomato. The differences are quite striking, especially in terms of flavor.
Heirlooms also are not just produce, it extends to livestock. 99% of the chicken you buy at the grocery store is comes from the same breed of chicken, chickens that are bred to grow as fast as possible to produce the most meat as possible, regardless of how it tastes. Chickens are now bred to grow so fast, that their breasts overdevelop before their rest of their bodies do, so much so that they can't even walk because their legs can't support the weight of their bodies.
If you ever buy heirloom breeds of chicken, one of the things you will notice is that the breasts on the chicken are definitely smaller. You may feel like you just paid a whole lot of money to get ripped off, but when you actually try the meat, you'll notice that it has more flavor. The fat that is on the chicken is quite different too, you'll see much more yellow fat than the white fat you normally trim off regular grocery store chicken.
You haven't had a tomato until you've tried an heirloom tomato. The differences are quite striking, especially in terms of flavor.
I saw some heirloom tomatoes at a stand once. One thing I noticed is they looked physically different, more "rough", than the ones in supermarkets, which is also case of the heirloom rice we buy - the grains look somehow different than the ones you see in main grocery chains. But both are more expensive than the non-heirloom types, probably because of the use of "fair trade" in their production.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fibonacci
Chickens are now bred to grow so fast, that their breasts overdevelop before their rest of their bodies do, so much so that they can't even walk because their legs can't support the weight of their bodies.
I believe that, considering the size of some chicken breasts you by nowadays! Some are huge!
My "pet peeve" is when they put 3 breasts in a package, and they are all different sizes....either make them all HUGE or regular....don't give me 2 Dolly Partons, and a teensy, scrawny breast...not fair to anyone!!!
Heirloom tomatoes are the best. A meat market here has a small selection of locally grown produce and they often have heirloom tomatoes. They are heavenly. They taste like what tomatoes are supposed to taste like, not like the bland, tasteless things you buy in the supermarket.
Honestly, I think any garden-grown tomatoes taste awesome. Even if you just get the run-of-the-mill better boy or beefsteak or any of the ones you would find at freaking walmart taste great when they are grown in your backyard. I think the pink ones that you find in the store are mostly selected for skin toughness so they can be transported. This results in a horrible, mealy tomato.
Honestly, I think any garden-grown tomatoes taste awesome. Even if you just get the run-of-the-mill better boy or beefsteak or any of the ones you would find at freaking walmart taste great when they are grown in your backyard. I think the pink ones that you find in the store are mostly selected for skin toughness so they can be transported. This results in a horrible, mealy tomato.
I agree. It's just hard to find those garden grown tomatoes. We've never had any luck growing them ourselves. We can grow all kinds of beautiful plants, but have never been able to grow decent tomatoes.
Even at the farmers market here, you have to really pay attention, because they will just go down to a produce wholesaler and buy tomatoes by the crate and sell them at a premium because they are at the Farmers Market and people assume they are home grown. They're the same horrible tomatoes they sell at the supermarket. I've figured out which are the real farmers and which are just resellers, so if the farmers don't have them I just don't bother.
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