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No, pretty much every American (in the Northeast at least) has had "real" tomatoes. Pretty much everyone with more than a couple inches of soil grows them (even

by astura 8y ago

No, pretty much every American (in the Northeast at least) has had "real" tomatoes. Pretty much everyone with more than a couple inches of soil grows them (even people who otherwise don't garden) and the people who don't have a couple inches of soil get them from the people who do. Hell, even my greatgrandma grew them when she was alive (someone must have planted them for her...) They are also readily available from farmers markets and even the grocery store when they are in season. >but we should stop, because they are shit There's obviously a market for them, no matter how much purists might whine. While nothing beats the "real thing" in certain applications where tomato is the star, the gas-ripened ones are just fine (and even preferable) for most applications (like on a burger, where tomato isn't the star of the show).

sametmax 8y ago
I'm pretty sure that no. I mean, in France, we have way better average tomatoes, and a greater culture of the farmer market. Food in general actually. Yet, I still find many people that have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Because you can only buy that taste great during a small part of the year, and only at some vendors. Still this is plenty, but compared to the avalanche of products that are good enough, and marketted as incredible despite being far from the real thing, it's a small %. Now here is the kicker, a lot of people growing the tomatoes in their garden will not have great ones either. They will have pretty good ones. But they often don't have the soil, the insects, the sun or the seed to get the result. It's not incompetence, mind you, or ignorance, or stupidity. It's just that those things are getting rarer and rarer. > There's obviously a market for them, no matter how much purists might whine. It's not whining, and it's not being a purist. It's a public health issue. Having vegetable that taste better than junk food is an asset to make people eat healthier. Being "good enough" doesn't work.
- hombre_fatal 8y ago
  > Yet, I still find many people that have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Honestly, if I was having dinner with someone who waxed on and on about how I haven't had Real Tomatoes and they were super enthusiastic that I try these tomatoes and those tomatoes and "don't you see what you've been missing?!" -- I'd probably say "oh, yes, wow, how crazy" to humor the hill they want to die on.
  - nate_meurer 8y ago
    Well, unless those tomatoes actually were that much better :) I had just that experience one summer with a particular batch of cherry tomatoes I grew. I really can't describe how much better they were than anything else I've ever tasted. They were as much like really good raspberries as they were like tomatoes. It was a true tomato epiphany to me.
  - vinceguidry 8y ago
    I found myself doing this with coffee. I think it's really easy for our tastebuds to get acclimated to something and once acclimated, you just can't think of anything else as worth consuming. We started buying cheap roasted bulk coffee beans from Amazon, and already I can't be bothered to drink preground coffee or anything with a medium or heavier roast anymore. I don't feel superior about it though, I feel like my ability to enjoy coffee has been crippled.
- jjeaff 8y ago
  French tomatoes? Oh, I'm sad that you will never know a truly good tomato. I would tell you where you can get the only true, authentic tomatoes, but you've probably never heard of it, so I won't bother. Plus, it really takes a refined pallet to even begin to recognize the heavenly flavors. They would be mostly lost on the French or much less, American pallet.

by astura 8y ago

sametmax 8y ago

I'm pretty sure that no. I mean, in France, we have way better average tomatoes, and a greater culture of the farmer market. Food in general actually. Yet, I still find many people that have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Because you can only buy that taste great during a small part of the year, and only at some vendors. Still this is plenty, but compared to the avalanche of products that are good enough, and marketted as incredible despite being far from the real thing, it's a small %. Now here is the kicker, a lot of people growing the tomatoes in their garden will not have great ones either. They will have pretty good ones. But they often don't have the soil, the insects, the sun or the seed to get the result. It's not incompetence, mind you, or ignorance, or stupidity. It's just that those things are getting rarer and rarer. > There's obviously a market for them, no matter how much purists might whine. It's not whining, and it's not being a purist. It's a public health issue. Having vegetable that taste better than junk food is an asset to make people eat healthier. Being "good enough" doesn't work.

hombre_fatal 8y ago
> Yet, I still find many people that have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. Honestly, if I was having dinner with someone who waxed on and on about how I haven't had Real Tomatoes and they were super enthusiastic that I try these tomatoes and those tomatoes and "don't you see what you've been missing?!" -- I'd probably say "oh, yes, wow, how crazy" to humor the hill they want to die on.
- nate_meurer 8y ago
  Well, unless those tomatoes actually were that much better :) I had just that experience one summer with a particular batch of cherry tomatoes I grew. I really can't describe how much better they were than anything else I've ever tasted. They were as much like really good raspberries as they were like tomatoes. It was a true tomato epiphany to me.
- vinceguidry 8y ago
  I found myself doing this with coffee. I think it's really easy for our tastebuds to get acclimated to something and once acclimated, you just can't think of anything else as worth consuming. We started buying cheap roasted bulk coffee beans from Amazon, and already I can't be bothered to drink preground coffee or anything with a medium or heavier roast anymore. I don't feel superior about it though, I feel like my ability to enjoy coffee has been crippled.
jjeaff 8y ago
French tomatoes? Oh, I'm sad that you will never know a truly good tomato. I would tell you where you can get the only true, authentic tomatoes, but you've probably never heard of it, so I won't bother. Plus, it really takes a refined pallet to even begin to recognize the heavenly flavors. They would be mostly lost on the French or much less, American pallet.