3 ms·
Spain produces generally very little high quality food, and vast quantities of hydroponic bland tasting god-knows-whats-inside stuff that looks like vegetables
by jajko 3y ago
Spain produces generally very little high quality food, and vast quantities of hydroponic bland tasting god-knows-whats-inside stuff that looks like vegetables grown by masses cheap labor with highly questionable residence status.
Its harder and harder, but if one really cares in Europe, you have to focus on well-known brands (or whole supermarket chains if you have those) that have long term reputation to uphold.
Here in Switzerland its a bit easier (and EU food products are generally viewed as subpar), but you pay, and you pay a lot.
At the end, you get what you pay for, and there is not that much room for too-good deals which are not scams in some way. And prepare to just don't buy stuff if you don't find suitable things, and replace with something else. And focus on seasonal local stuff as much as possible (I guess residents of say Trondheim are casting a dark look on this)
- Al-Khwarizmi 3y agoI can confirm as a Spaniard that sadly, what you say is true. There is very good Spanish fruit, but the overwhelming majority is really low quality: whichever breed produces more at the cheapest cost, picked too early, and kept refrigerated for too long. And probably what you have tasted is better than what we typically get inside the country. The best commercial cherries I've ever tasted were the Spanish cherries I bought at Sainsbury's when I lived in the UK. I have never been able to find such quality for sale in Spain. However, in spite of the blandness and the working conditions problem you mention, I do trust Spanish fruit to generally not have hepatitis A or EU-banned pesticides, so I'd still take it over Moroccan imports any day, at least if I am given the information to choose.
- akaralar 3y agoI also live in Spain, which supermarkets do you trust here?
- Al-Khwarizmi 3y agoNone much, to be honest. I buy at Gadis and Eroski as the lesser evils (also Lidl for some processed stuff, but not for fresh products). But if I want good fruit, I go to a small fruit store, which is more expensive, but I find to have much better and more consistent quality fruit. (Not that you can trust any small fruit store either... but some are good).