5 ms·

It's not just the tomatoes. Everything in the UK supermarket is quite bad. It's a cultural thing I suppose.

coliveira 9y ago
Its not culture, it is for the benefit of big companies. The best tasting vegetables also spoil easily. The ones sold in supermarkets are the varieties that can be sold longer, usually with poor flavor.
- twic 9y ago
  It's culture that lets them get away with it. If British people valued tasty tomatoes, they wouldn't buy the rubbish in the supermarkets. Everyone would know a guy who can hook them up with the good stuff, for a price, and the geriatric mafia who control the allotments would be rolling around in Bentleys.
iagovar 9y ago
But why? There's plenty of production in Portugal, Italy and Spain.
- switch007 9y ago
  You can find plenty of southern Spanish produce in greengrocers (it's usually so ripe it's nearly about to go off). Works OK if you want to eat it immediately.
cirrus-clouds 9y ago
Our cuisine and diet has a poor reputation, but I think some of our actual produce (vegetable and dairy) is not so bad. We don't have the warm or sunny climate for flavoursome tomatoes, but root vegetables grown here can be fine. It's also common for cows to graze outside for part of the day (true of Ireland and Sweden too). It's subjective, but I think it makes for much nicer tasting fresh milk (compared to the UHT variety that is more of the norm in other European countries).
- user5994461 9y ago
  I can't tell about your cuisine or what you produce, but what is in your supermarkets is very disappointing.
  - matthewmacleod 9y ago
    I think that’s just cultural conditioning. Many of the products found in continental supermarkets are equally disappointing for visitors from the UK :)
- vram22 9y ago
  >We don't have the warm or sunny climate for flavoursome tomatoes I'd read even as a kid, in English novels, that greenhouses were somewhat common in the UK. Do tomatoes not grow well even in greenhouses there?
deleted 9y ago
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calpaterson 9y ago
Where are you shopping? My experience is that UK supermarkets are normally higher quality (esp in fresh and refridgerated goods) than other countries. Often lower priced too. Supermarkets I've seen in other western countries (Italy, France, US, Finland) have invariably been pretty disappointing.
- tigershark 9y ago
  Nope. Vegetables and fruits are tasteless. If you don't find them tasteless then I'm afraid that you never ate proper ones in your life. And I tried pretty much all the uk supermarkets: Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Morrison, Sainsbury's, Ocado, Amazon, Iceland, Asda and probably something else that I'm forgetting. And let's not start speaking about the tuna. I have to bring it from Italy. I spent up to 9 or 10£ for all kind of tinned tuna, even in glass and in olive oil and it was absolutely inedible. Whenever I let anyone living here to try my tuna they are so shocked and amazed that I have to give them some tins to carry home. And the tuna fillets in the glass are even better. And what about porcini mushrooms? The only place where I can find them frozen is an expensive Italian shop. In the supermarket you can find only the tasteless dried ones if you are lucky.
  - dharma1 9y ago
    Cep/porcini actually grows in the wild in the UK. But there is no tradition of mushroom gathering for food
- Boothroid 9y ago
  Seconded. I don't think the parent comment to this has a strong basis in fact. The UK retail sector is one of the most competitive and dynamic in the world. I live in a small town and within 10 minutes' drive I have 3 large supermarkets open 7 days a week, stocking thousands of lines, with products ranging from budget to expensive. There are many smaller grocery shops also open 7 days a week. There is fantastic local produce if you eat in season. For range, price and convenience few other countries are close to the UK as regards mass retail. I studied this in a uni course and also speak from personal experience of living abroad.

Its not culture, it is for the benefit of big companies. The best tasting vegetables also spoil easily. The ones sold in supermarkets are the varieties that can be sold longer, usually with poor flavor.

twic 9y ago
It's culture that lets them get away with it. If British people valued tasty tomatoes, they wouldn't buy the rubbish in the supermarkets. Everyone would know a guy who can hook them up with the good stuff, for a price, and the geriatric mafia who control the allotments would be rolling around in Bentleys.

iagovar 9y ago

But why? There's plenty of production in Portugal, Italy and Spain.

switch007 9y ago
You can find plenty of southern Spanish produce in greengrocers (it's usually so ripe it's nearly about to go off). Works OK if you want to eat it immediately.

cirrus-clouds 9y ago

Our cuisine and diet has a poor reputation, but I think some of our actual produce (vegetable and dairy) is not so bad. We don't have the warm or sunny climate for flavoursome tomatoes, but root vegetables grown here can be fine. It's also common for cows to graze outside for part of the day (true of Ireland and Sweden too). It's subjective, but I think it makes for much nicer tasting fresh milk (compared to the UHT variety that is more of the norm in other European countries).

user5994461 9y ago
I can't tell about your cuisine or what you produce, but what is in your supermarkets is very disappointing.
- matthewmacleod 9y ago
  I think that’s just cultural conditioning. Many of the products found in continental supermarkets are equally disappointing for visitors from the UK :)
vram22 9y ago
>We don't have the warm or sunny climate for flavoursome tomatoes I'd read even as a kid, in English novels, that greenhouses were somewhat common in the UK. Do tomatoes not grow well even in greenhouses there?

deleted 9y ago

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calpaterson 9y ago

Where are you shopping? My experience is that UK supermarkets are normally higher quality (esp in fresh and refridgerated goods) than other countries. Often lower priced too. Supermarkets I've seen in other western countries (Italy, France, US, Finland) have invariably been pretty disappointing.

tigershark 9y ago
Nope. Vegetables and fruits are tasteless. If you don't find them tasteless then I'm afraid that you never ate proper ones in your life. And I tried pretty much all the uk supermarkets: Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Morrison, Sainsbury's, Ocado, Amazon, Iceland, Asda and probably something else that I'm forgetting. And let's not start speaking about the tuna. I have to bring it from Italy. I spent up to 9 or 10£ for all kind of tinned tuna, even in glass and in olive oil and it was absolutely inedible. Whenever I let anyone living here to try my tuna they are so shocked and amazed that I have to give them some tins to carry home. And the tuna fillets in the glass are even better. And what about porcini mushrooms? The only place where I can find them frozen is an expensive Italian shop. In the supermarket you can find only the tasteless dried ones if you are lucky.
- dharma1 9y ago
  Cep/porcini actually grows in the wild in the UK. But there is no tradition of mushroom gathering for food
Boothroid 9y ago
Seconded. I don't think the parent comment to this has a strong basis in fact. The UK retail sector is one of the most competitive and dynamic in the world. I live in a small town and within 10 minutes' drive I have 3 large supermarkets open 7 days a week, stocking thousands of lines, with products ranging from budget to expensive. There are many smaller grocery shops also open 7 days a week. There is fantastic local produce if you eat in season. For range, price and convenience few other countries are close to the UK as regards mass retail. I studied this in a uni course and also speak from personal experience of living abroad.