Fresh fruit is not what it used to be

spectratg

spectratg

Senior Member
Location
Adamstown, MD
I remember as a child from 70 years ago how succulent fresh fruit from the grocery store was. But today’s grocery store variety—yuck! Strawberries are the worst, bland at best but even bitter sometimes. Musk melon (cantaloupe) and honey due melon don’t have much taste. Grapes, green or purple, are hit or miss. Watermelon is probably the best, although it just doesn’t have that same zing that I remember, and bananas are, well, bananas.

I live by myself in a retirement community, so I don’t buy that much produce. I guess that I should try a fresh fruit stand int the summer sometime.
 

spectratg said:
I remember as a child from 70 years ago how succulent fresh fruit from the grocery store was. But today’s grocery store variety—yuck! Strawberries are the worst, bland at best but even bitter sometimes.
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You are so right... I often think about that, and I agree that strawberries are the worst. My grandparents had a strawberry patch and I helped to pick them. A *lot* of them went into Lil' Kate's tummy and they were sooo sweet and juicy. But now... :( And it's not because I'm older. It's not because my taste buds have changed... they're just not the same. Sometimes I'll buy from a local Amish farmer and those are much better than store-bought greenhouse tasteless berries, but still not like they used to be. Something changed.

I'm thinking fungicides for store berries and maybe genetic engineering for berries in general? 😔
 
It depends on where you buy your fruit and how much you're willing to spend. I spend a lot on fresh fruit and eat tons of it. It keeps me healthier and younger than I would be without it. I like Whole Foods fruit about the best except for something they list as apricots which do not taste like any apricots from my memory.

Wegmans and Trader Joes also have good fruit, much better than our local farm stands, something to remember. Our farm stands have gone downhill. But I just wanted to say truly delicious fruit does still exist but you do have to search it out.
 
I'll be 71 this year, so any fresh fruit I get today is better than that jar of Gerber's I had 70yrs ago :ROFLMAO:
I know too that my taste buds aren't what they used to be either.
That said, I can't imagine commercial fruit and veggies from large corporations have improved.
 
Grampa Don said:
It's because of the industrialization of food production. Plants are bred for looks, productivity, and storage ability, not flavor. Fruits are picked green, stored refrigerated until needed and artificially ripened. So, you can buy a beautiful apricot or tomato that has no taste. It's all about profit.
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You're pretty much on target, but imho it's the consumers insatiable demand for cheaper products and year round availability driving the demand and therefore industrial production is now the norm. The producers have responded to that or gone out of business. Most buyers are price buyers and now we reap what they've sown.
 
Pepper said:
We used to eat fruit grown locally, in season. We never, for example, had cantaloupe in winter. Those are imported today and lack flavor, at least to my taste buds.
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I agree. Do we really need fruit up here grown in Chile in the winter? I say we don't. They do grow hot house strawberries and tomatoes.

But I agree with the OP and I've said it myself. The fruit isn't what it was. We are lucky to have local grown at the farmers markets in summer.
 
spectratg said:
I remember as a child from 70 years ago how succulent fresh fruit from the grocery store was. But today’s grocery store variety—yuck! Strawberries are the worst, bland at best but even bitter sometimes. Musk melon (cantaloupe) and honey due melon don’t have much taste. Grapes, green or purple, are hit or miss. Watermelon is probably the best, although it just doesn’t have that same zing that I remember, and bananas are, well, bananas.

I live by myself in a retirement community, so I don’t buy that much produce. I guess that I should try a fresh fruit stand int the summer sometime.
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I just bought some Florida strawberries. They smell good but I haven't tasted one yet.
Fruit travels so far these days. I'd say yes, try the fruit stand.
 
I've been saying that for years. I finally gave up on buy all fresh fruit. The last hold out was bananas, which I used to love. Now they are tasteless too.
My son went apple picking and most of what he brought home tasted like real apples, but some didn't.

I now buy frozen fruit (tried frozen strawberries & bananas...never again with the bananas). I buy frozen mango chunks and I've gotten into frozen strawberries. I think @chic had suggested strawberries to me in another thread but I said I didn't care for them. However, there's something about not having to wash and cut them up but just open the package and they are ready to eat. I add Splenda because they are too tart for me.

I was into mandarin oranges, particularly Halos, for a while but even they got to be a crap shoot. Instead of fresh apples, I buy Motts organic apple sauce, which comes in handy because I put my crushed potassium pills in it. I add a Splenda, cinnamon mixture. Watermelons taste better when they are grown down south. But still not as good as when I was a girl.
 
spectratg said:
I remember as a child from 70 years ago how succulent fresh fruit from the grocery store was. But today’s grocery store variety—yuck! Strawberries are the worst, bland at best but even bitter sometimes. Musk melon (cantaloupe) and honey due melon don’t have much taste. Grapes, green or purple, are hit or miss. Watermelon is probably the best, although it just doesn’t have that same zing that I remember, and bananas are, well, bananas.

I live by myself in a retirement community, so I don’t buy that much produce. I guess that I should try a fresh fruit stand int the summer sometime.
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I agree 100%. Especially peaches and apricots. Stores don't even carry real peaches anymore. We go to the farmers market to get them. Even bananas taste only somewhat like a banana.

Some say it's the soil, but I think the problem is they've been hybridized and genetically altered to such an extent they've lost their original characteristics.
 
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Isn't Canada home to the plant-gene preservation facility? I'm pretty sure that's right.

Peach trees have a life-span of something like 15 years. They stop producing after that. There's probly lots of fruit-bearers that have an expiration date.
 
hollydolly said:
I only by Bananas, and grapes every week... and the regular grapes have no taste regardless of whether they're green, red or black, in fact they're more often sour... which is why I buy the Cotton Candy flavour Grapes... at least there's some sweetness in them...
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Yeah, I usually only get bananas and dark berries. I only eat them for the nutritional value because they aren't the treat they used to be.

Dates are the one exception. They're still nature's candy. I always have those around.
 
We still have really good fruit grown in Texas. I try to only buy what is in season to get a good product. I will say I do think my taste buds have changed as I have gotten older. That is across the board. I have started using more herbs and spices to make foods tastier. Just salt and pepper does not do enough.
 
Ah, the good ol' days of tasty, juicy fruits! 🍓🍉🍇 It's a real shame that the fruits in today's grocery stores often don't live up to those delicious memories. Modern agricultural practices, longer transport times, and a focus on shelf life and appearance over flavor have all contributed to this decline in taste.
Strawberries can be especially hit or miss, sometimes lacking that sweet, summery flavor we all crave. Melons and grapes, too, often suffer from the same fate, leaving us with a less-than-satisfying snack. And as for watermelon, while it might be the best of the bunch, it's just not quite the same as it used to be, is it?
You're absolutely right about checking out a local fruit stand during the summer months. The fruits there might be fresher, riper, and more flavorful, as they haven't been through the rigors of long-distance transportation and storage. Plus, supporting local farmers is always a win-win!
In the meantime, have you considered tryin' frozen fruits?
 
spectratg said:
I remember as a child from 70 years ago how succulent fresh fruit from the grocery store was. But today’s grocery store variety—yuck! Strawberries are the worst, bland at best but even bitter sometimes. Musk melon (cantaloupe) and honey due melon don’t have much taste. Grapes, green or purple, are hit or miss. Watermelon is probably the best, although it just doesn’t have that same zing that I remember, and bananas are, well, bananas.

I live by myself in a retirement community, so I don’t buy that much produce. I guess that I should try a fresh fruit stand int the summer sometime.
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I can tell you honestly that strawberries here in Florida are A1. I was at the strawberry festival in Plant City yesterday and ate a strawberry sundae. The berries were very sweet. I think California strawberries are the best year round.

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I’ve decided that fruit bought out of season may look good, but not necessarily taste good. What passes for cantaloupe now sold at my grocery store is hard and rubbery. And some people simply go too far in their quest for fresh fruit… 🙀

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