Taste of HI Food vs Mainland? (home, neighborhood, buy) - Hawaii - City-Data Forum

matrium · 12-25-2011, 01:25 AM

Hello everyone,

At present I live on the mainland and was just wondering if the taste of foods like beef, pork and seafood carry a better taste that what you would get in the states? Is there anyone who lives in HI or have visited noticed a big difference?

Many of the so called natural and organic meats (beef and pork) as well as the seafood is lacking in taste in the mainland. Hardly, anyone talks about the lack of taste of food these days.

hotzcatz · 12-25-2011, 02:56 AM

How would we know, all the food we get here is also from one of the states in the United States of America. Hawaii has been a state for over fifty years! We are NOT a foreign country. Sigh!!!

But, okay, so you meant "the mainland" instead of "the states".

A lot of our food here, especially on the islands other than Oahu, is grown here so it's fresh and tastes better than food flown 1,500 miles to get to your plate like most of the food on the mainland. A lot of our beef is grass fed since nobody can afford to ship in grain to feed to cows so it's a bit leaner and has a different flavor than corn fed beef. Less fat on it, too. A lot of the seafood comes from boats in the harbor so it's fresh and never been frozen. Pig, if you know a hunter, tastes better than factory farmed pork. Feral pigs wander around, get lots of exercise and eat a variety of things. They taste different after guava season than after avocado season, too. Back yard chickens and backyard eggs from truly free range chickens are so much tastier. The eggs have yolks that are dark orange. None of the pale yellow color of egg factory chickens. The free range backyard chickens eat bugs, grasses and all sorts of things factory egg farm chickens never see.

Then we get to all the fresh fruits and vegetables. Right now in our neighborhood it's navel orange and tangerine time along with mountain peaches and some of the smaller avocados. The lemons are fresh as well as many of the cooking herbs and spices are growing in the yard year round, too. I've been swapping lemons for lettuce with my neighbor so that's fresh, there's tomatoes growing in the back yard so they are fresh, too.

But it's not just us, you can do it too. Find sources of food produced locally to you. Produce food of your own, even if you have to grow it in cold frames. Dig a garden, add in a lot of compost and keep composting, your food will taste better and be more nutritious. Big corporations which manufacture food are not in the business of making food good, they are not in the business of making food nutritious. They are in the business of making money. Any shortcut they can take which will save them money is one they are likely to take. So what if there's less flavor or nutrition as long as their bottom line is good. Is that the sort of entity you want to be in charge of your food? So by producing your own food, you not only get much tastier stuff, but it's better for you, too.

Tiger Beer · 12-25-2011, 04:27 AM

I can't speak for hawaii, but Korea/Japan, you can taste an obvious synthetic taste to mainland American meat. They pump things up with way too many chemicals.

American beef is currently banned in Europe and japan. It was banned in Korea, but the u.s. coerced them to open up their markets back again to them.

Mostly because of all the hormones injected, the bovine scare, etc.

Vegetables and fruits out of the mainland is equally so pumped up with synthetic chemicals, it's all presenting and no taste.

That's great news to hear that Hawaii hasn't gone down that bad path as the mainland.

winkosmosis · 12-25-2011, 02:15 PM

Hawaii imports 85% of its food. We're eating the same crap you are.

I'm from Trinidad and the first time we went to Houston, when I was 6, I thought the chicken was nasty. It had a weird flavor that Trinidadian chicken didn't have. Over there the chickens aren't grown in huge factories, but by farmers. You'd go and buy one and they'd kill it for you right there. But I didn't notice any bad taste when we moved to Houston when I was 11, or ever since. Hmmm....

hotzcatz · 12-25-2011, 09:44 PM

However, if you shop carefully, (or rather try not to shop at all) you can eat mostly from the 15% that isn't shipped in. Ya gotta work at it, though.

whynot? · 12-26-2011, 06:35 AM

We find the local fruits (especially mangoes in season and strawberries all year long) to be far better than what we find on the mainland. Same goes for local (Maui, anyway) white corn. What is advertised on the east coast as Silver Queen or white seems to turn yellow when cooked. (It didn't do that several years ago.) Our local asparagus is very good, too.

We eat a lot of shellfish when on the east coast, but hardly any fish (except Pacific salmon in season) because what's caught in Hawai'i is so much better. The local meats are good, but so are select mainland brands. I agree wholeheartedly about chicken losing its character, but it's hard to find decent poultry anywhere in the US unless you know a farmer or pay a premium.

We always wish tomatoes were better everywhere, though.

UHgrad · 12-26-2011, 07:15 AM

When we eat locally grown produce that is in season here on the "mainland" it tastes fresh, when we eat locally grown produce in season in Hawaii it tastes fresh too. When I go fishing offshore and catch a bluefin or yellowfin here on the "mainland" it tastes fresh, when I go fishing offshore and catch a bluefin or yellowfin in Hawaii it tastes fresh too.

In fact, there are a few "mainland" farms about 10 minutes down the street from where we go fishing so I can eat fresh "mainland" produce and fresh "mainland" fish on the same day sometimes. I had some "mainland" scallops last week that were awesome. There is even a "mainland" free range farm in the agricultural section of my city where I can get fresh eggs and poultry. It tastes great, even though the chickens live on the "mainland".

Yes there are fresh, locally grown, organic options in Hawaii. There are also these options in many different locales on the "mainland" as well. There are some seafood options that you can get fresh in Hawaii that many "mainland" locations do not have. The growing season is also longer in Hawaii (basically year round) compared to most "mainland" areas (except for California and Florida probably) so you can get fresh veggies year 'round. But if you go to Foodland or Star Market in Hawaii you are getting the same basic stuff that you would get at Kroger, Farm Fresh, Piggly Wiggly, Schnucks, Stop and Shop, Food Lion, or Sack and Save on the "mainland". In fact, it is probably less fresh in a lot of cases because it was frozen and shipped from the west coast. So no, at the end of the day it is not much different. If you make it a point to eat well in Hawaii you will eat well. If you make it a point to eat well on the "mainland" you will eat well also.

matrium · 01-08-2012, 05:45 AM

Just want to thank everyone for their honest replies.

Well, it seems reasonable to relocate to HI even just for the wholesome food would certainly be worth the effort. Of course, I do understand there is much more to be considered than just fresh foods. However, at one point any reasonable minded person has to ask what is the real meaning to life if you work hard daily only to come home to foods lacking in real taste!?

Besides, if they're lacking in real taste then on a cellular level there are many more things lacking or wrong with the food as well. Besides, moving to a third-world country... HI may be a last hope within the states.

Each one of your replies has given me much to consider and for this I am truly grateful.

Tiger Beer · 01-08-2012, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by matrium

Just want to thank everyone for their honest replies.

Well, it seems reasonable to relocate to HI even just for the wholesome food would certainly be worth the effort. Of course, I do understand there is much more to be considered than just fresh foods. However, at one point any reasonable minded person has to ask what is the real meaning to life if you work hard daily only to come home to foods lacking in real taste!?

Besides, if they're lacking in real taste then on a cellular level there are many more things lacking or wrong with the food as well. Besides, moving to a third-world country... HI may be a last hope within the states.

Each one of your replies has given me much to consider and for this I am truly grateful.

If you want to move somewhere to get less processed foods....move to Asia....it's super fresh here.

terracore · 01-08-2012, 10:08 AM

Whenever we go to Hawaii we always hit the farmer's markets. The food is unbelievably different than the crap we get in Alaska. We're also in the process of planting fruit trees on our Hawaiian property. Nothing beats fresh picked.