Organic food you've tried.

[ABQConvict]

I think freshness, proper harvest, and variety (as in the type of fruit or vegetable) contribute more to the flavor of organic plant foods than anything else. A fresh, chemically fertilized heirloom tomato will likely taste better than a month old Roma harvested while still green, wrapped in plastic, and shipped halfway around the world.

The same goes for eggs and dairy. The reason the organic eggs and milk usually have a richer, better taste is because organic farms usually allow them natural grass diet as opposed to cheaper corn based feeds. But conventionally raised animals produce foods with the same qualities.

I buy organic, but not for the taste. Rather the lack of dangerous pesticides on foods I eat whole (like apples) and because it is better for the soil and water.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

My experience with processed organic foods, especially canned food, is that they are inferior products. Canned vegetables were picked over-mature, processed foods are under seasoned.

As for fresh, the difference is between home grown, or locally grown, and whatever has been picked early and shipped. Organic has nothing to do with it.

My home raised eggs are vastly superior to store bought eggs, but I buy regular poultry feed, not organic feed. My home grown tomatoes are not even the same vegetable as the pink cannon balls from the grocery store, yet they aren't organically raised. They are better because they are both a better variety and they aren't picked until they are fully ripe and about to hit the table, still warm from the sunshine.

Commercially raised food has to be able to withstand shipping and that goes for organic as well as standard. If the organic is handled the same way, it isn't going to be any better.

If you can buy from local farmers, fresh picked at the farmers market, or if you grow your own, it will be vastly better, whether it is organic or not.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Adding, I finally switch away from my local dairy because they seem to be having quality control issues. I taste tested several brands to get the best one. I tried both commercial and organic. The one I buy now is organic, but I tested three organic milks. One was excellent and the other two organics were chalky and watery.

There is a commercial brand shipped from the south of my state which is pretty darn good, but sold at a store that I don't get to often enough to buy milk. The organic I buy is shipped out of Colorado, so it isn't even local.

A very long time ago, a little old lady who lived on my street sold fresh Jersey milk from her own herd. Milk was fresh that morning when you picked it up. Best milk ever, but I don't think it was organic, just really fresh from well cared for well fed cows. Also, Jersey milk is vastly superior to Holstein milk, so that was part of it.

[Missy2U]

Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke

My experience with processed organic foods, especially canned food, is that they are inferior products. Canned vegetables were picked over-mature, processed foods are under seasoned.

As for fresh, the difference is between home grown, or locally grown, and whatever has been picked early and shipped. Organic has nothing to do with it.

My home raised eggs are vastly superior to store bought eggs, but I buy regular poultry feed, not organic feed. My home grown tomatoes are not even the same vegetable as the pink cannon balls from the grocery store, yet they aren't organically raised. They are better because they are both a better variety and they aren't picked until they are fully ripe and about to hit the table, still warm from the sunshine.

Commercially raised food has to be able to withstand shipping and that goes for organic as well as standard. If the organic is handled the same way, it isn't going to be any better.

If you can buy from local farmers, fresh picked at the farmers market, or if you grow your own, it will be vastly better, whether it is organic or not.

This has absolutely been my experience as well. We have friends who bring us fresh eggs, we have friends who have a turkey farm (hence fresh turkeys), we have friends who have extensive gardens, we grow some things ourselves - the only difference I've ever noticed is not between organic and non-organic, but between fresh and processed.

[StPaulGal]

I completely agree with those who said it is a matter of fresh, tasty varieties harvested at the peak of their quality rather than produce that is specifically raised within the organic guidelines.

My parents have a farm that produces--among other things--beef, eggs, and vegetables for their own personal use. The foods they raise taste significantly better than anything you could buy in your local Whole Foods in the organic section. It doesn't matter if the chicken was fed a certified organic diet; it matters that it was able to walk around and eat insects and grass as nature intended. The egg yolks are more orange than yellow and just packed with rich flavor. Cattle graze in the fields, and vegetables are selected for their flavors and picked dead ripe and ready to eat.

I buy a fair amount of organic vegetables because they are often superior-tasting varieties. But correlation is not causation. I have no doubt that conventionally-raised versions of those exact same veggies would taste just the same as the organic ones. But organic typically means more expensive, which means you are more likely to find premium products in the organic section. I can only fiend fresh figs and fresh whole baby carrots in the organic section of my local grocery, for example. I don't think they taste better because they are organic, I just can't find the exact high quality items I want in the conventional section.

[Mikala43]

I buy organic milk and eggs because I noticed a difference, plus I read that milk is one of the main items you want to make sure is organic.

Other stuff not so much. I buy heirloom tomatoes, not because they are organic, because they taste amazing.