Hard fruit

What has happened to our Fruit. i was very fond of fruit, but over the years ,apples,pears.bananas ,oranges etc etc coming from the large supermarkets ,are that hard, we end up throwing them in the bin .
the fruit is that hard you cannot eat it, you need to wait several days before you can attempt to eat it ! even then it's a struggle. on the display counters the fruit looks great but take it home/first bite its in the bucket. how can we educate the children to
eat healthly ,eat their 5 a day with this utter garbage we are being sold from the large supermarkets. we had in our local area 4 small greengrocers ,first class fresh fruit and veg ,they are all gone! they have been taken out by the large supermarkets .
music.

 

Music I agree with you! I go do a shop, come home with peaches, nectarines, plums - but none of them are edible for days and days!
I thought I was doing the right thing buying from our local farm shop - but even there, when I picked up a load of veges one time for a pig roast for the staff at my son's school - I received everything in it's original boxes, and not one thing was 'local'.

Apparently 'local' can mean that the goods are from anywhere that can be transported to your area within 24 hours.....so in that case, is an orange from Australia considered 'local' - as it's only a 22 hour flight from Perth?

Nothing beats walking out and picking something ripe off of the tree that has been ripened and sweetened by nature

 

I never seem to have this problem -

Apples - I try to buy British if possible, getting harder at this time of year, but they're possible to eat immediately.
Bananas - ripen within a day, more if you keep them near apples. Avocadoes ripen well next to bananas or on a sunny windowsill, soft enough to make Guacamole.

I usually avoid most other fruit unless it's in season for this very reason. UK grown produce is ready to eat within a day of two at the most. Until then I can do without nectarines or peaches in February. Oranges though I buy throughout the year...

Maybe you're going to the wrong supermarket? Sainsburys here provides excellent fruit. Or perhaps plan a bit more in advance and avoid throwing so much stuff out?

Actually, looking at the fruit bowl there are two apples (British) that have gone too soft to eat so the chickens will get them...but then they have been there two weeks!

 

LOL SG - planning ahead? With five boys who eat numerous pieces of fruit in a day, I'd be at the grocery store daily! My youngest guy will eat at least an apple, a citrus fruit, and at least one banana, but he'd eat six if I didn't keep an eye on him each day, as well as whatever they have for dessert - he's definitely getting about ten a day when you count vege.
I need to buy variety and therefore the stoned fruits - and in particular strawberries and blueberries for 'dessert', or I think they'd get really bored with fruit.

I know that bananas ripen very quickly - so I buy loads of them at various stages from ready to eat to dark green - and if they go past date it's no big deal as they go in a banana bread. But, don't ripen your bananas with citrus fruit around - as apparently they won't ripen?

 

certain varieties of fruit will never be grown commerciall for lots of reasons, low yields, less pleasant appearace, irregular fruits and importantly soft varieties which dont travel and store well, many of the varieties will taste the best, but are just not viable commercial crops. The only way is to grow your own.

I think breeding is improving things, commercial crops are getting tastier

 

Ah well, I took the 'lifestyle' choice and didn't have children. Less money spent on food bills, more money to spend on us instead:wink:

 

Haha, well, there are days where I think that would've been a choice I passed up on - but then.......the little halos re-emerge and I feel guilty for such thoughts! With one just out of university, another just starting - 'money for us'......what is that????

Thought of this thread this morning when packing the lunches for three little guys - they're all off with ham and watercress rolls, a mixture of green and black grapes, banana, a royal gala apple, orange juice and a bag of baked suncrisps. So they have their five a day just in their school lunch......
Have to stop and get some produce today somewhere in my travels - I often go by various farm shops in East Sussex - will have to pull in at one and pay attention to what I'm buying - hopefully it's one of the ones that are advertising rabbit right now too