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That's so odd to me. You can buy cheap, cost-optimized fruit in the US. You can also buy amazing produce that would blow your mind. My wife and I look forward t

That's so odd to me. You can buy cheap, cost-optimized fruit in the US. You can also buy amazing produce that would blow your mind. My wife and I look forward to our annual road trip to Monterey partly because of the fruit stands we pass along the way where we'll get cherries so dark they're nearly black, and strawberries the size of my fist (no, really, I have pictures) that are sweet as sugar and incredibly delicious. The existence of Subway doesn't mean you can't get phenomenal deli sandwiches. It does mean you probably need to look around a little more and don't settle for the first sandwich place you see. Edit: This is my wife holding one of those strawberries. We took that picture from the sheer absurdity of it. The pack of berries hardly survived the rest of the drive. We'd eaten almost all of them by the time we arrived at the B&B. https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ebgyxOMT9LpyjhfKuLQWD0kw https://share.icloud.com/photos/0ebgyxOMT9LpyjhfKuLQWD0kw

loloquwowndueo 6mo ago
Strawberries are not the size of fists. Ever wonder what they put in those?
- testfoobar 6mo ago
  Perhaps you haven't had the pleasure of eating fresh-picked strawberries from Watsonville on your drive down PCH 1. Strawberries that are shipped across the US (Watsonville produces something like 40%) are picked under-ripe and will not sweeten more along the way. Ripe, Watsonville farm-stand strawberries are something else entirely. They can indeed be fist sized. I encourage you to try them yourself. Alternatively, you can go to pick your own places along the way - also fantastic.
  - kstrauser 6mo ago
    Yep, those are the ones. Those Watsonville strawberries are to die for.
- kevin_thibedeau 6mo ago
  They are in Japan.
- yonaguska 6mo ago
  I've had a similar experience when shopping at a gas station store that bought produce from a local strawberry patch. Unfortunately, it was on a road trip.
- _DeadFred_ 6mo ago
  There used to be an amazing upick organic strawberry farm just past La Selva. I saw exactly what they put in them. Eating huge strawberries perfectly ripe, picked a half hour ago from there was incredible.
milch 6mo ago
IME there is a large difference in quality in what is available at the super market. Sure I can do a once a year road trip to Monterey. The average organic heirloom tomato at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is worse than the average organic heirloom tomato at Spar
- kstrauser 6mo ago
  Maybe so, but I’d still think it’s more convenient to occasionally visit a local farmers market than to move to another continent.
  - Jensson 6mo ago
    Moving back to your home continent is easier than staying at a foreign continent though, so if the new continent was worse you of course leave and go back.
  - quotz 6mo ago
    I was living in NYC. The farmers markets I visited were a joke. The produce was double the price, and it was more of a "lifestyle" decision to go to a farmers market and post on instagram rather than actually do shopping there. In my native country, farmers markets are default, most people do their produce shopping there, and the farmers markets are found everywhere.
- raddan 6mo ago
  There are also huge regional differences. When I interned one summer in the Bay Area I was stunned by the quality of the fruit available in California. I realized that, coming from Massachusetts, I had literally never experienced ripe versions of these things before (avocados stand out prominently in my mind). That’s not to say that we can’t get amazing fruit in Massachusetts, but the selection is quite different. Apples, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries are all fantastic. Oranges, peaches, sweet cherries, avocados, and many other things are mediocre at best. Getting great in-season fruit and produce is the primary reason why I now have a very large garden, but I need to temper my expectations even for some of the things I grow. Outside of a farmer’s market, this is the ONLY way to get a decent tomato in Massachusetts.
zabzonk 6mo ago
> strawberries the size of my fist No thanks. The most wonderful strawberries I ever tasted were wild ones picked on a disused Welsh railway line, probably a centimetre or so in size.
- testfoobar 6mo ago
  No doubt they were delicious - fruit picked while walking is always special. But here in California, we have tremendous strawberries in our markets: Camarosa, Albion, Gaviota. Each is different in size, texture, flavor-profile. I usually buy a "flat" of strawberries from the local farmer's market during peak season every weekend. They go in my oatmeal, my smoothies and in my lunches. E.g: https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/13/farmers-market-pops-up-sundays-in-north-laguna-hills/ https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/13/farmers-market-pops-up...
- quotz 6mo ago
  Not sure why you’re downvoted. The bigger the fruit the less sugars / nutrition it has per gram. A big reason why wild strawberries are so tasty is because theyre so small. I’ve had the fortune to forage for wild mountain strawberries in my native country in the balkans and their taste is nothing comparable to the farmed ones. Its like two different fruits. Once you try wild strawberries you will remember that experience forever
  - kstrauser 6mo ago
    I’m glad we don’t have to decided between fat, bland berries and small, tasty ones. The fist-sized berry was as good as I’ve ever had anywhere.
    - quotz 6mo ago
      I dont know if where you live you have access to areas where wild berries grow by themselves, not with agriculture. But I highly suggest to try to find something nearby, go for a hike, and specifically go looking for the berries and forage. Theyre so delicious its honestly not even anyhow comparable to the ones us humans grow. Its insane how delicious they are. Like doesnt even come close.
underlipton 6mo ago
Subway (and McDonald's et al.) did run a bunch of local diners, restaurants, and cafeterias out of business, though. The ones that sold the middle ground between "optimized slop" and "bespoke actual food made by expensive chefs."

loloquwowndueo 6mo ago

Strawberries are not the size of fists. Ever wonder what they put in those?

testfoobar 6mo ago
Perhaps you haven't had the pleasure of eating fresh-picked strawberries from Watsonville on your drive down PCH 1. Strawberries that are shipped across the US (Watsonville produces something like 40%) are picked under-ripe and will not sweeten more along the way. Ripe, Watsonville farm-stand strawberries are something else entirely. They can indeed be fist sized. I encourage you to try them yourself. Alternatively, you can go to pick your own places along the way - also fantastic.
- kstrauser 6mo ago
  Yep, those are the ones. Those Watsonville strawberries are to die for.
kevin_thibedeau 6mo ago
They are in Japan.
yonaguska 6mo ago
I've had a similar experience when shopping at a gas station store that bought produce from a local strawberry patch. Unfortunately, it was on a road trip.
_DeadFred_ 6mo ago
There used to be an amazing upick organic strawberry farm just past La Selva. I saw exactly what they put in them. Eating huge strawberries perfectly ripe, picked a half hour ago from there was incredible.

milch 6mo ago

IME there is a large difference in quality in what is available at the super market. Sure I can do a once a year road trip to Monterey. The average organic heirloom tomato at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's is worse than the average organic heirloom tomato at Spar

kstrauser 6mo ago
Maybe so, but I’d still think it’s more convenient to occasionally visit a local farmers market than to move to another continent.
- Jensson 6mo ago
  Moving back to your home continent is easier than staying at a foreign continent though, so if the new continent was worse you of course leave and go back.
- quotz 6mo ago
  I was living in NYC. The farmers markets I visited were a joke. The produce was double the price, and it was more of a "lifestyle" decision to go to a farmers market and post on instagram rather than actually do shopping there. In my native country, farmers markets are default, most people do their produce shopping there, and the farmers markets are found everywhere.
raddan 6mo ago
There are also huge regional differences. When I interned one summer in the Bay Area I was stunned by the quality of the fruit available in California. I realized that, coming from Massachusetts, I had literally never experienced ripe versions of these things before (avocados stand out prominently in my mind). That’s not to say that we can’t get amazing fruit in Massachusetts, but the selection is quite different. Apples, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries are all fantastic. Oranges, peaches, sweet cherries, avocados, and many other things are mediocre at best. Getting great in-season fruit and produce is the primary reason why I now have a very large garden, but I need to temper my expectations even for some of the things I grow. Outside of a farmer’s market, this is the ONLY way to get a decent tomato in Massachusetts.

zabzonk 6mo ago

> strawberries the size of my fist No thanks. The most wonderful strawberries I ever tasted were wild ones picked on a disused Welsh railway line, probably a centimetre or so in size.

testfoobar 6mo ago
No doubt they were delicious - fruit picked while walking is always special. But here in California, we have tremendous strawberries in our markets: Camarosa, Albion, Gaviota. Each is different in size, texture, flavor-profile. I usually buy a "flat" of strawberries from the local farmer's market during peak season every weekend. They go in my oatmeal, my smoothies and in my lunches. E.g: https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/13/farmers-market-pops-up-sundays-in-north-laguna-hills/ https://www.ocregister.com/2024/07/13/farmers-market-pops-up...
quotz 6mo ago
Not sure why you’re downvoted. The bigger the fruit the less sugars / nutrition it has per gram. A big reason why wild strawberries are so tasty is because theyre so small. I’ve had the fortune to forage for wild mountain strawberries in my native country in the balkans and their taste is nothing comparable to the farmed ones. Its like two different fruits. Once you try wild strawberries you will remember that experience forever
- kstrauser 6mo ago
  I’m glad we don’t have to decided between fat, bland berries and small, tasty ones. The fist-sized berry was as good as I’ve ever had anywhere.
  - quotz 6mo ago
    I dont know if where you live you have access to areas where wild berries grow by themselves, not with agriculture. But I highly suggest to try to find something nearby, go for a hike, and specifically go looking for the berries and forage. Theyre so delicious its honestly not even anyhow comparable to the ones us humans grow. Its insane how delicious they are. Like doesnt even come close.

underlipton 6mo ago

Subway (and McDonald's et al.) did run a bunch of local diners, restaurants, and cafeterias out of business, though. The ones that sold the middle ground between "optimized slop" and "bespoke actual food made by expensive chefs."