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> Reason being is that they are picked when they are green Is that really true any more? The supply chains are incredibly fast now and I can't imagine there's

> Reason being is that they are picked when they are green Is that really true any more? The supply chains are incredibly fast now and I can't imagine there's enough time for this process to take place - even tomatoes from southern Spain are probably on shelves in a few days. It's not like shipping bananas from the Caribbean. I think it's more that the watery tomatoes are the varieties that grow the fastest and offer the best margins at the lower pricepoints. An increasing number of tomato imports are coming from the mega greenhouses where they are harvested red and can be packed on site. This one is Dutch [1], but I remember hearing that they're building some in the UK. Clearly they're never going to be the same as growing them in a garden in Sicily and leaving them to ripen for a few days in the sun, but not bad for mass production, available year round and much, much better than the tomatoes in the supermarkets a couple of decades ago. > So, grow your own tomatoes - it's surpisingly easy - and the taste is amazing. I've been trying for a few years. It's been fun and the varieties are way more interesting, but I'm not in danger of flooding the market. [1] https://duijvestijntomaten.nl/en/packaging/ https://duijvestijntomaten.nl/en/packaging/

habosa 6y ago
I've heard that bananas can be caused to ripen rapidly by exposing them to ethylene gas. This means you can transport them green so they don't bruise and then quickly turn them yellow when they arrive at the destination for sale (like in the last warehouse). I'd imagine you can do the same with tomatoes?
- bonzini 6y ago
  Yes, but fruits and vegetables that are quickly ripened with ethylene remain much less tasty than those that ripened on the plant. (As an aside, some fruits including apples also produce ethylene a they ripen. This is why putting an apple and an avocado in a plastic bag will cause the avocado to ripen faster. It is also the origin of the saying "one bad apple spoils the whole basket", because bad apples produce a lot of ethylene and causes the rest of the basket to quickly overripe. More info can be found at https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00016 https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00016 for example).
Melting_Harps 6y ago
> Is that really true any more? The supply chains are incredibly fast now and I can't imagine there's enough time for this process to take place - even tomatoes from southern Spain are probably on shelves in a few days. It is, even within relatively close main EU nations we had significant losses (~30% of gross weight) between organic/Biodynaimc suppliers from Italy to Germany where I did my first year of apprenticeship. My first job was to sort through the waste pumpkins and potatoes that arrived on a daily basis for 2 weeks in September in large crates for storage and distribution to the farm's stores/CSA/Farmers Market outlets. It's funny because that farms soil was so rich that the seeds scattered around from wasted pumpkins in the compost pile were vining well into December. I found a few decent sized pumpkins (albeit green) when we had to turn the compost pile later in the Winter. But suffice it to say, it's insane how much food gets lost due to transport! > An increasing number of tomato imports are coming from the mega greenhouses where they are harvested red and can be packed on site. Perhaps to hyper-local Markets that's the case, but having spent time in Supply Chain for large Auto-manufactures batch shipping is still the norm for such low-margin commodities and delays have only compounded further since COVID. Also, Holland is (or until recently as COVID may have changed that) the largest exporter of it's Green-house produce and biggest importer of Organic and Biodynamic produce in the EU. In short, for many in NL: they're not consuming their own supply. > I've been trying for a few years. It's been fun and the varieties are way more interesting, but I'm not in danger of flooding the market. I'm ashamed to say I haven't had a proper tomato this year, and this is coming from a former farmer and chef.
- tweetle_beetle 6y ago
  I don't doubt your experiences, but organic farmers markets are not really comparable to the original discussion of "tomatoes sold in [UK] supermarkets".

habosa 6y ago

I've heard that bananas can be caused to ripen rapidly by exposing them to ethylene gas. This means you can transport them green so they don't bruise and then quickly turn them yellow when they arrive at the destination for sale (like in the last warehouse). I'd imagine you can do the same with tomatoes?

bonzini 6y ago
Yes, but fruits and vegetables that are quickly ripened with ethylene remain much less tasty than those that ripened on the plant. (As an aside, some fruits including apples also produce ethylene a they ripen. This is why putting an apple and an avocado in a plastic bag will cause the avocado to ripen faster. It is also the origin of the saying "one bad apple spoils the whole basket", because bad apples produce a lot of ethylene and causes the rest of the basket to quickly overripe. More info can be found at https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00016 https://kids.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/frym.2018.00016 for example).

Melting_Harps 6y ago

> Is that really true any more? The supply chains are incredibly fast now and I can't imagine there's enough time for this process to take place - even tomatoes from southern Spain are probably on shelves in a few days. It is, even within relatively close main EU nations we had significant losses (~30% of gross weight) between organic/Biodynaimc suppliers from Italy to Germany where I did my first year of apprenticeship. My first job was to sort through the waste pumpkins and potatoes that arrived on a daily basis for 2 weeks in September in large crates for storage and distribution to the farm's stores/CSA/Farmers Market outlets. It's funny because that farms soil was so rich that the seeds scattered around from wasted pumpkins in the compost pile were vining well into December. I found a few decent sized pumpkins (albeit green) when we had to turn the compost pile later in the Winter. But suffice it to say, it's insane how much food gets lost due to transport! > An increasing number of tomato imports are coming from the mega greenhouses where they are harvested red and can be packed on site. Perhaps to hyper-local Markets that's the case, but having spent time in Supply Chain for large Auto-manufactures batch shipping is still the norm for such low-margin commodities and delays have only compounded further since COVID. Also, Holland is (or until recently as COVID may have changed that) the largest exporter of it's Green-house produce and biggest importer of Organic and Biodynamic produce in the EU. In short, for many in NL: they're not consuming their own supply. > I've been trying for a few years. It's been fun and the varieties are way more interesting, but I'm not in danger of flooding the market. I'm ashamed to say I haven't had a proper tomato this year, and this is coming from a former farmer and chef.

tweetle_beetle 6y ago
I don't doubt your experiences, but organic farmers markets are not really comparable to the original discussion of "tomatoes sold in [UK] supermarkets".