3 ms·

Don't forget this part of the article: “We realized that the commercial varieties being grown at the time didn’t taste that great,” says Martineau. “Even if you

Don't forget this part of the article: “We realized that the commercial varieties being grown at the time didn’t taste that great,” says Martineau. “Even if you grew them in your backyard and let them fully ripen on the vine, they wouldn’t have had great tomato flavor.”

quickben 9y ago
That's not true. We grew tomatoes long time ago. Most of them had amazing taste. Even the 'commercial varieties'. The problem is that tomatoes need lots of sun and time. They are spinning that in the article, and I'm sad to see most of the commenters fall for that. Tomatoes just need time in the sun, it is that simple.
- dsr_ 9y ago
  True. If a tomato picked from my garden on the right day is a 100, then I can buy 95s in season at a tomato farm, and routinely buy 80s at CostCo (look for packs of multicolored cherry tomatoes) and sometimes pay a lot for "vine ripened" tomatoes in special packaging at the grocery store that usually end up as 50s. A random beefsteak tomato at Whole Foods tends to be a 20 on this scale. Yes, there's worse.
- lostapathy 9y ago
  And yet you're still missing most of the point. Commercial tomatoes aren't pulled off the vine early for fun or pure greed, it's a matter of picking them before they are too soft to survive shipment. That's not a problem with a tomato from your own back yard, but it's a big deal even if they only have to travel a few miles.
  - markdown 9y ago
    It's not just the sun. Because commercial tomatoes are largely grown hydroponically, they seem to be little more than water.
    - quickben 9y ago
      But tomatoes aren't just volume and red color. If anything, complex chemistry has to take place to saturate them with variety of stuff. It depends which camp one is in. Are they after the volume or the nutrients.

3 ms·

Don't forget this part of the article: “We realized that the commercial varieties being grown at the time didn’t taste that great,” says Martineau. “Even if you

by chriskanan 9y ago

quickben 9y ago
That's not true. We grew tomatoes long time ago. Most of them had amazing taste. Even the 'commercial varieties'. The problem is that tomatoes need lots of sun and time. They are spinning that in the article, and I'm sad to see most of the commenters fall for that. Tomatoes just need time in the sun, it is that simple.
- dsr_ 9y ago
  True. If a tomato picked from my garden on the right day is a 100, then I can buy 95s in season at a tomato farm, and routinely buy 80s at CostCo (look for packs of multicolored cherry tomatoes) and sometimes pay a lot for "vine ripened" tomatoes in special packaging at the grocery store that usually end up as 50s. A random beefsteak tomato at Whole Foods tends to be a 20 on this scale. Yes, there's worse.
- lostapathy 9y ago
  And yet you're still missing most of the point. Commercial tomatoes aren't pulled off the vine early for fun or pure greed, it's a matter of picking them before they are too soft to survive shipment. That's not a problem with a tomato from your own back yard, but it's a big deal even if they only have to travel a few miles.
  - markdown 9y ago
    It's not just the sun. Because commercial tomatoes are largely grown hydroponically, they seem to be little more than water.
    - quickben 9y ago
      But tomatoes aren't just volume and red color. If anything, complex chemistry has to take place to saturate them with variety of stuff. It depends which camp one is in. Are they after the volume or the nutrients.