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This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, an

This is true for almost all modern fruit and vegetables. The varieties you can buy in most supermarkets have been selected for yield, hardiness in the field, and ability to be transported. Unless the farmer is niche, flavor doesn't even come into play as a factor. Add to that fact that transportation now includes going halfway across the world because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes things even more complicated.

RoyalHenOil 2y ago
Don't forget that many have also been bred to be harvested out of season. There is a lot of money in being able to produce strawberries/tomatoes/etc. outside of peak strawberry/tonato/etc. season. They will taste awful, but people will still buy them — and they pay a premium for them, too.
CoastalCoder 2y ago
> because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes things even more complicated I'd be interested to see an independent study of household preferences on this. I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation.
- TheCleric 2y ago
  I don’t have anything other than anecdotal evidence unfortunately. Most people I know don’t even think about seasonality, except as a possible cause of price fluctuations. Many people I know just say “I like X fruit or vegetable.” and will buy it if it’s a decent price.
- bsder 2y ago
  > I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation. Your local monopsony grocery chain, however, does not. And they, not you, are the volume buyer who matters. In addition, most consumers, very specifically, will buy uniformly colorful, firm, tasteless fruit over anything even slightly bruised. About the best you can do as a consumer is try to find actual farmer's markets and spend your money locally.
  - bankcust08385 2y ago
    Grow your own herbs and tomatoes. It's pretty simple and the upside is worth it.
- bankcust08385 2y ago
  No study needed. The simple experience of selling fruit at a fruit stand and making pies and such with blemished produce is evidence enough. There is nothing wrong with blemished fruit, but because it's imperfect and the buyer doesn't know what signals to look for in produce selection, they fallback to superficial signals. Ignorance is human nature.
- _heimdall 2y ago
  > I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation. If we did that at any meaningful scale our whole food system would have to change. I'd welcome it personally, but at least in the US our system is a fragile house of cards and I don't think people would be prepared for what may change or break along the way.
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  For me, my kids are the primary drivers of what fruits we have around the house. Almost always, they prefer poor quality in their favorite fruits to top quality of less favorable fruits.
mlhpdx 2y ago
Anyone interested in genuinely delicious strawberries should be in Oregon in June for the Hood and Benton varieties. These berries are too short in season and delicate to be available broadly, and are (my opinion) never a disappointment like more “commercial” varieties.
- bankcust08385 2y ago
  Strawberries are also grown commercially between Watsonville and Santa Cruz. There's also some grow on a small scale between Chico and Paradise, hope the fire didn't get them.
bankcust08385 2y ago
Grocery fruits and vegetables are largely pretty cardboard poisoned with industrial farming residues. If you want decent fruits and vegetables, about the only choice is to buy local organic or grow them yourself.
janalsncm 2y ago
Not true at all. Bananas are such an incredible counterexample, so ubiquitous that we barely even think about them. In my mind, they are clearly the best fruit. I have never had a banana that looks better than it tastes. Bright yellow bananas will always taste good. This is because the Cavendish is a clone, which leads to their vulnerability to pests but the point still stands. Another great counterexample is grapes. Grapes almost always taste great. Apples are all fairly horrible except the Cosmic Crisp. The rest are bland and disappointing. Mangoes and nectarines are also fantastic when they’re in season. The yellow mangoes, not the red ones. Blackberries are also great. Our grocery store has some really big berries, albeit on the pricier side. Seriously though, a bowl full of fresh fruits is vastly preferable to ice cream or any other synthetic dessert. I feel bad for people who are stuck with cantaloupe and gala apples.
- delta_p_delta_x 2y ago
  > Apples are all fairly horrible except the Cosmic Crisp. The rest are bland and disappointing. You must have had some bad apples (pun intended). Any apple that's a hybrid of a Royal Gala and something else is guaranteed to at least be crisp and somewhat sweet. Royal Gala is crisp, a little less sweet and acidic, and has a fairly watery taste (not necessarily a bad thing—imagine drinking off a cold, fast-flowing creek). Pink Lady is very crisp, sweeter, and more acidic. Envy apples are top-tier apples. Crisp, sweet, similarly watery to Royal Gala, and are usually immense. For me a single apple can stave off both lunch and dinner, it's superb. Although they are fairly expensive. Fuji apples are equally large but considerably less sweet, though still crisp and watery.
  - SkyPuncher 2y ago
    I’ve had far too manager mushy gala apples to want them again. When they’re greats they’re great. When they’re bad, they’re terrible
  - janalsncm 2y ago
    Most apples are similar to dragonfruits. Somewhat sweet but mostly watery. I’ve never had an Envy apple so I’ll have to give that a shot, but most other apples are basically what you’ve described: not offensive just not something I’d seek out.
lhomdee 2y ago
I learned this when I had strawberries from the Bon Marche in Antibes. I was there in season, and the strawberries were small and “ugly” by supermarket standards, but my word did they taste like nothing else on earth. When you know, it’s like an awakening.

RoyalHenOil 2y ago

Don't forget that many have also been bred to be harvested out of season. There is a lot of money in being able to produce strawberries/tomatoes/etc. outside of peak strawberry/tonato/etc. season. They will taste awful, but people will still buy them — and they pay a premium for them, too.

CoastalCoder 2y ago

> because consumers want the fruit available all year long, and that makes things even more complicated I'd be interested to see an independent study of household preferences on this. I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation.

TheCleric 2y ago
I don’t have anything other than anecdotal evidence unfortunately. Most people I know don’t even think about seasonality, except as a possible cause of price fluctuations. Many people I know just say “I like X fruit or vegetable.” and will buy it if it’s a decent price.
bsder 2y ago
> I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation. Your local monopsony grocery chain, however, does not. And they, not you, are the volume buyer who matters. In addition, most consumers, very specifically, will buy uniformly colorful, firm, tasteless fruit over anything even slightly bruised. About the best you can do as a consumer is try to find actual farmer's markets and spend your money locally.
- bankcust08385 2y ago
  Grow your own herbs and tomatoes. It's pretty simple and the upside is worth it.
bankcust08385 2y ago
No study needed. The simple experience of selling fruit at a fruit stand and making pies and such with blemished produce is evidence enough. There is nothing wrong with blemished fruit, but because it's imperfect and the buyer doesn't know what signals to look for in produce selection, they fallback to superficial signals. Ignorance is human nature.
_heimdall 2y ago
> I suspect most people in my circle would prefer tasty, nutritious, local, and seasonal over the current situation. If we did that at any meaningful scale our whole food system would have to change. I'd welcome it personally, but at least in the US our system is a fragile house of cards and I don't think people would be prepared for what may change or break along the way.
SkyPuncher 2y ago
For me, my kids are the primary drivers of what fruits we have around the house. Almost always, they prefer poor quality in their favorite fruits to top quality of less favorable fruits.

mlhpdx 2y ago

Anyone interested in genuinely delicious strawberries should be in Oregon in June for the Hood and Benton varieties. These berries are too short in season and delicate to be available broadly, and are (my opinion) never a disappointment like more “commercial” varieties.

bankcust08385 2y ago
Strawberries are also grown commercially between Watsonville and Santa Cruz. There's also some grow on a small scale between Chico and Paradise, hope the fire didn't get them.

bankcust08385 2y ago

Grocery fruits and vegetables are largely pretty cardboard poisoned with industrial farming residues. If you want decent fruits and vegetables, about the only choice is to buy local organic or grow them yourself.

janalsncm 2y ago

Not true at all. Bananas are such an incredible counterexample, so ubiquitous that we barely even think about them. In my mind, they are clearly the best fruit. I have never had a banana that looks better than it tastes. Bright yellow bananas will always taste good. This is because the Cavendish is a clone, which leads to their vulnerability to pests but the point still stands. Another great counterexample is grapes. Grapes almost always taste great. Apples are all fairly horrible except the Cosmic Crisp. The rest are bland and disappointing. Mangoes and nectarines are also fantastic when they’re in season. The yellow mangoes, not the red ones. Blackberries are also great. Our grocery store has some really big berries, albeit on the pricier side. Seriously though, a bowl full of fresh fruits is vastly preferable to ice cream or any other synthetic dessert. I feel bad for people who are stuck with cantaloupe and gala apples.

delta_p_delta_x 2y ago
> Apples are all fairly horrible except the Cosmic Crisp. The rest are bland and disappointing. You must have had some bad apples (pun intended). Any apple that's a hybrid of a Royal Gala and something else is guaranteed to at least be crisp and somewhat sweet. Royal Gala is crisp, a little less sweet and acidic, and has a fairly watery taste (not necessarily a bad thing—imagine drinking off a cold, fast-flowing creek). Pink Lady is very crisp, sweeter, and more acidic. Envy apples are top-tier apples. Crisp, sweet, similarly watery to Royal Gala, and are usually immense. For me a single apple can stave off both lunch and dinner, it's superb. Although they are fairly expensive. Fuji apples are equally large but considerably less sweet, though still crisp and watery.
- SkyPuncher 2y ago
  I’ve had far too manager mushy gala apples to want them again. When they’re greats they’re great. When they’re bad, they’re terrible
- janalsncm 2y ago
  Most apples are similar to dragonfruits. Somewhat sweet but mostly watery. I’ve never had an Envy apple so I’ll have to give that a shot, but most other apples are basically what you’ve described: not offensive just not something I’d seek out.

lhomdee 2y ago

I learned this when I had strawberries from the Bon Marche in Antibes. I was there in season, and the strawberries were small and “ugly” by supermarket standards, but my word did they taste like nothing else on earth. When you know, it’s like an awakening.