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Old 03-23-2018, 05:00 AM
 
Location: New Yawk
9,196 posts, read 7,181,564 times
Reputation: 15313

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Quote:
Originally Posted by mlulu23 View Post
How can produce ripen properly in an unnatural environment? And how on earth did people who lived in earlier times ever survive without food shipped from another continent, or not being able to go to their local Whole Foods? Yes, there was trade, but that doesn't usually include staples. They ate in season, and had root cellars to store food stuffs in, they preserved foods, and knew which types of foods to grow that would store through the winter. Everybody prepared throughout the warmer seasons for the wintertime. In general all western modern man knows how to do is go to the store for their food.

Anybody who has done any reading at all on this subject is already aware of what goes on in the food industry. If you prefer artificially manipulated, gassed, irradiated, and waxed food that is kept in a high carbon dioxide warehouse then be my guest. I know that we have to eat, and I end up eating some of this stuff too.

All I said in the beginning is to buy in season, buy local, and organic when you can afford to because it's healthier. If you don't agree with my simple premise, then the burden of proof is on you.
One technique to ripen fruit picked too early is to pack them with optimally-ripened produce; the ethylene gases naturally released by the ripe fruit helps the ripen the early picked fruit more quickly. This is not new; it has been done for thousands of years, although the science of why it worked was discovered at the turn of the 20th century

Again, it’s not about preference, it’s about availability. If non-local produce is all that is available, then it’s either that or nothing. That was the whole premise of my post that you originally quoted: when local and fresh picked is not an option.

As for what people did in the past, the fact that scurvy and other micronutrient deficiencies were much more common in urban areas, and those with long winters, demonstrates that they simply did without until harvest time came back around. Not an alternative I’d like to return to.

Last edited by Ginge McFantaPants; 03-23-2018 at 06:06 AM..
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Old 03-23-2018, 05:02 AM
 
Location: Texas Hill Country
23,390 posts, read 13,645,751 times
Reputation: 18582
What I said earlier about Wally World when it comes to fruits and veggies....if one has a choice, they can do better.

As it is, today I bought avocados and mandarins there because I had a lot of errands to do, they were on the path, and they sell day old bread at half price, so I was there already.

The avocados because I need them for salads, sometimes a dessert bread. The mandarins because I was starving and I wanted something good for me, something I learned from a LB(GT) about snacking, and something easy to peel, that didn't need washing (I do wash at home, at work, when I have a sink). They were a touch sour, but I can deal with that.

Any how, as snack food, munchies, I picked up the least costly bag.

Cost, ease, good for you, no washing, a lot of things go into fruit selection, depending on the when and where.

Last edited by TamaraSavannah; 03-23-2018 at 05:35 AM..
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Old 03-23-2018, 06:14 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,772 posts, read 104,081,702 times
Reputation: 49243
Quote:
Originally Posted by TamaraSavannah View Post
What I said earlier about Wally World when it comes to fruits and veggies....if one has a choice, they can do better.

As it is, today I bought avocados and mandarins there because I had a lot of errands to do, they were on the path, and they sell day old bread at half price, so I was there already.

The avocados because I need them for salads, sometimes a dessert bread. The mandarins because I was starving and I wanted something good for me, something I learned from a LB(GT) about snacking, and something easy to peel, that didn't need washing (I do wash at home, at work, when I have a sink). They were a touch sour, but I can deal with that.

Any how, as snack food, munchies, I picked up the least costly bag.

Cost, ease, good for you, no washing, a lot of things go into fruit selection, depending on the when and where.
As much as I am not a Wally World shopper that much, we do use them like you. If I am in a hurry and they are convenient or we have a lot of things in various dept to get, it works well. I am not anti Wally world, How could I be, they are headquartered just about 15 miles from us,but I am not a huge lover of their produce. i will say, when you talk avocados, they are one of the few stores that almost always have ripe ones, they are well priced and probably consistently the best we have gotten in years.
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Old 03-23-2018, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Long Island
9,531 posts, read 15,789,376 times
Reputation: 5948
I'll eat mangoes any day of the week.

And I guess I don't mind a caesar salad with dressing either.
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Old 03-23-2018, 11:28 AM
 
Location: South Dakota
4,161 posts, read 2,520,868 times
Reputation: 8342
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ginge McFantaPants View Post
One technique to ripen fruit picked too early is to pack them with optimally-ripened produce; the ethylene gases naturally released by the ripe fruit helps the ripen the early picked fruit more quickly. This is not new; it has been done for thousands of years, although the science of why it worked was discovered at the turn of the 20th century

Again, it’s not about preference, it’s about availability. If non-local produce is all that is available, then it’s either that or nothing. That was the whole premise of my post that you originally quoted: when local and fresh picked is not an option.

As for what people did in the past, the fact that scurvy and other micronutrient deficiencies were much more common in urban areas, and those with long winters, demonstrates that they simply did without until harvest time came back around. Not an alternative I’d like to return to.
True, or put them into a paper bag together to ripen. That trick has been around for awhile in modern times. But fruit, and vegetables still connected to the plant, and in the sunshine are gaining nutrients that cannot be added by ethylene alone. It's the way they were designed.

It's the present system that is faulty. Factory farms are not really interested in healthier produce, or the health of the animals all crammed together in misery eating soy, and other things they were never meant to eat. Just follow the money.

You can think it's wonderful if you want. I, and many others can see the faults that system possesses. I don't have all day to look up all the research involved on that whole topic. I learned it over many years of reading a somewhat convoluted rabbit trail of information.

For those wanting to learn more about scurvy:

"The knowledge that consuming foods containing vitamin C is a cure for scurvy has been repeatedly rediscovered and forgotten into the early 20th century.[23]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scurvy
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Old 03-23-2018, 11:39 AM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,710 posts, read 25,867,327 times
Reputation: 33793
I think part of the problem is that the varieties of fruit and vegetables available in most stores are not chosen for taste but a long shelf life & durability. Commercial tomatoes have tough skins for a reason they hold up better when people are handling them. IMO the best commercial tomato are Camparis
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Old 03-23-2018, 12:01 PM
 
14,185 posts, read 11,431,159 times
Reputation: 38736
Quote:
Originally Posted by nmnita View Post
I will say, when you talk avocados, they are one of the few stores that almost always have ripe ones, they are well priced and probably consistently the best we have gotten in years.
Speaking of avocados...they are one fruit that doesn't ripen until they are removed from the tree. This makes them completely unlike tomatoes, peaches, etc., which will continue to soften when picked but never reach the full flavor and texture they would have had. So avocados are quite easy to transport, as they can be picked several weeks before they are used.
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Old 03-23-2018, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Colorado
3,990 posts, read 2,666,060 times
Reputation: 7431
I wonder how much of it is also what people learned in childhood.

When I was little, my family was on a budget, so most veggies--green ones, especially--were canned. Peas and green beans in particular, I remember.

Well, the canned peas and green beans were just.....unattractive. They were this dull grey-green color. And to add to it, my mom boiled them down to just shy of mush (to be fair, this was because my dad had severe dental problems, so this was a lot of why.) So they didn't look appetizing, the texture was awful.....so I *hated* both veggies growing up. And most other vegetables in the house were either lettuce and celery (which, eaten raw, I liked well enough), or things like corn and potatoes.

So to sum up.....I ate very limited vegetables for a long time, and few of them green.

But when I moved into my new house (with my big, beautiful, sun-almost-all-day kitchen), I got inspired to start trying my hand more at cooking and homemade meals instead of pre-packaged. So vegetables have been getting second, third, fourth, and come-home-with-me, you big beautiful (whatever) looks from me. And I have found that getting them fresh from the produce department makes a *world* of difference. In fact, I made myself a chicken salad with radishes, celery, green apple, and arugula (the store didn't have watercress, so I substituted), and I'm enjoying it immensely. (And this may sound weird, but it's fun to eat something and think, "I *made* this!" with every bite.) I slip fresh spinach into a lot of other things--I do like fresh spinach, I've found. And a lot of my favorite recipes call for onions.

But again, my stumbling block for a long time was remembering how the vegetables in my house growing up were, and that stuck with me for a *long* time. And I can't help but wonder how many other people go through the same thing. I'm in a position to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, but how many people out there, like my folks, have to get the cheaper canned stuff that can put a bad imprint on kids that lasts for years?

Last edited by Indigo Cardinal; 03-23-2018 at 12:58 PM..
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Old 03-23-2018, 01:13 PM
 
14,185 posts, read 11,431,159 times
Reputation: 38736
Quote:
Originally Posted by Indigo Cardinal View Post
But again, my stumbling block for a long time was remembering how the vegetables in my house growing up were, and that stuck with me for a *long* time. And I can't help but wonder how many other people go through the same thing. I'm in a position to afford fresh fruits and vegetables, but how many people out there, like my folks, have to get the cheaper canned stuff that can put a bad imprint on kids that lasts for years?
You're spot on with your observations. My daughter has been involved for a couple of years with a group that builds and maintains community gardens in Compton, CA. The idea is to get the residents involved with growing and eating fresh vegetables. Of course, it is not enough just to help them make a garden, you also have to show them what to do with the vegetables! Many very low-income urban people have never learned how to cook fresh produce and think they don't like "green stuff" because they have so little experience with it.
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Old 03-23-2018, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Washington state
6,972 posts, read 4,807,330 times
Reputation: 21741
I hear in Hawaii these days you don't want to be eating anything raw unless you scrub the heck out of it because of rat lungworm.
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