4 ms·

It's probably not cheaper to process your own fruit and veg. The quality can be hugely higher, though - my wife's applesauce is the best I've ever had, and con

It's probably not cheaper to process your own fruit and veg. The quality can be hugely higher, though - my wife's applesauce is the best I've ever had, and consistently so. If you live in an area with local agriculture, it can probably make you more resilient against supply chain failures, too (as long as you keep a good stock of lids on hand).

gambiting 6y ago
>>The quality can be hugely higher, though - my wife's applesauce is the best I've ever had, and consistently so. I wonder if it's simply because she can put more sugar in that any store bought brand. Over here the law limits both the amount of sugar and salt that products can have, so sure, I can make tastier things at home by just using the "proper" sugar and salt amounts. In fact most store bought things are hugely improved by just adding a bit of salt, since they are not allowed to salt them more by law. Most likely not the healthiest thing to do but that's where the taste difference comes from for me.
- ghaff 6y ago
  That's sort of funny because in the US, I'd have said the more common issue would be an excess of sugar and salt over the what's really required for preservation and taste.
  - Stratoscope 6y ago
    That was my feeling too. The applesauce I buy is from Trader Joe's, and it has exactly one ingredient: organic apples. It's easy to add more sweetness if I want, for example if I mix it with unsweetened plain nonfat yogurt then I will add a bit of maple syrup too - yum! Same for other similar products. Most fruit jams are way too sweet for my taste. The excessive sugar is probably required by law in order to be called "jam" - yuck! There are some "fruit sweetened" spreads that are sweetened with grape juice, but then the grape dominates the flavor. We used to be able to get Kozlowski Farms fruit spreads that were sweetened with apple juice - a much better pairing for berries. I haven't seen them in a while locally though.
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      I sweeten all my jellies with apple juice. Most people can’t figure out the je ne sais pas quality of it..be it roses or lemon verbena or lavender..it’s fun trying to make them guess the flavors.
- NateEag 6y ago
  That certainly is possible. She uses plenty of sugar, along with a few spices. I think it's also, though, that we pick apples ourselves in local orchards, looking for good ripe ones and processing them within a week or three of picking. That means we can pick varieties almost exclusively based on their flavor profile. We don't have to worry about how well they survive in transit or sitting in grocery stores. The big processing operators do have to worry about variables like that, as well as what types they can keep in supply year round for consistency of flavor. I imagine that cuts down on the varieties they can realistically use.

gambiting 6y ago

>>The quality can be hugely higher, though - my wife's applesauce is the best I've ever had, and consistently so. I wonder if it's simply because she can put more sugar in that any store bought brand. Over here the law limits both the amount of sugar and salt that products can have, so sure, I can make tastier things at home by just using the "proper" sugar and salt amounts. In fact most store bought things are hugely improved by just adding a bit of salt, since they are not allowed to salt them more by law. Most likely not the healthiest thing to do but that's where the taste difference comes from for me.

ghaff 6y ago
That's sort of funny because in the US, I'd have said the more common issue would be an excess of sugar and salt over the what's really required for preservation and taste.
- Stratoscope 6y ago
  That was my feeling too. The applesauce I buy is from Trader Joe's, and it has exactly one ingredient: organic apples. It's easy to add more sweetness if I want, for example if I mix it with unsweetened plain nonfat yogurt then I will add a bit of maple syrup too - yum! Same for other similar products. Most fruit jams are way too sweet for my taste. The excessive sugar is probably required by law in order to be called "jam" - yuck! There are some "fruit sweetened" spreads that are sweetened with grape juice, but then the grape dominates the flavor. We used to be able to get Kozlowski Farms fruit spreads that were sweetened with apple juice - a much better pairing for berries. I haven't seen them in a while locally though.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    I sweeten all my jellies with apple juice. Most people can’t figure out the je ne sais pas quality of it..be it roses or lemon verbena or lavender..it’s fun trying to make them guess the flavors.
NateEag 6y ago
That certainly is possible. She uses plenty of sugar, along with a few spices. I think it's also, though, that we pick apples ourselves in local orchards, looking for good ripe ones and processing them within a week or three of picking. That means we can pick varieties almost exclusively based on their flavor profile. We don't have to worry about how well they survive in transit or sitting in grocery stores. The big processing operators do have to worry about variables like that, as well as what types they can keep in supply year round for consistency of flavor. I imagine that cuts down on the varieties they can realistically use.