what's wrong with our potatoes?

[James Wilkinson Sword]

I don't see what all the fuss is about, all potatoes and tomatoes taste fine to me.

[alan_m]

Having just eaten some - just a hint of the taste I remember.

[Bod]

Fine, but the rest of us can tell the difference in taste.

[James Wilkinson Sword]

Never heard anyone say that before. Especially with potatoes which have almost no flavour anyway, they're always mixed with other foods which have a taste to them.

[Rednadnerb]

I am the same as you James. I have been intrigued by this thread because to me a potato is a potato, some are flowery and some are wet, but a differen ce in taste? I don't get it. But I must accept that I just don't have a pal ette, it's the same with wine, they all taste the same to me, unless they a re really bad. A good palette? an interest in sport? an appreciation of poetry? all sadly lost on me.

[dennis]

Dunns seedlings, UK, but hard to find and very short season. Cox Empire Jazz Braeburn Comice pears

[dennis]

What you really want are Jersey mids but I haven't seen any this year.

[dennis]

I don't like chip shop chips any more, there is one chippy near here that does nice oven chips.

[Tim Lamb]

Hmm.. excellent slug/snail food. Not sure which group that fits.

[tabbypurr]

Goldens are a bit bland, especially if French, but ok to eat. Discovery and red delicious are not. Cox, worcester pearmain, yum.

NT

[RJH]

I reckon a lot of supermarket, and especially Lidl/Aldi, fruit and veg arrives for sale from cold storage. It's not that good to start with, and goes off very quickly.

Apart from things like carrots, onions and potato, most of the veg I buy is frozen.

[Tim Lamb]

Umm. My sister grew horticultural stuff for sale on a market stall. There was a noticeable difference in the keeping performance of washed and unwashed veg.

[RJH]

Ah OK, have to say I hadn't thought of that.

[alan_m]

.

There seems to be a 'fad' for selling tomatoes on the vine, leaving the carrot leaves attached to the carrots, selling Brussel sprouts still on the stalk, oranges with a stalk and two leaves etc. Often these are sold at a premium price. In reality all these do is to reduce the keeping life but removing moisture more quickly from the fruit/veg.

[Alan Dawes]

It always suprises me that people accept that all their other senses deteriorate with age but then complain that food doesn't taste like it used to. Just accept that you are getting older, your sense of taste is less sensitive and so you need stronger flavourings to give the same effect.

Alan

[charles]

It doesn't always work like that. I find that some foods are now too strongly flavoured. Of course, it may be that they really are - but I can now not cope with chilli.

[alan_m]

Yes the sense of taste do change BUT occasionally you can find that the fruit/veg on sale do still taste as you remember it.

Part of the problem with many processed foods is the taste of the main ingredients is masked with either salt or sugar.

[Stuart Noble]

Quite the opposite. I'm acutely sensitive to whatever they're doing to spuds (mould?), and I've never been a fan of strong flavours (unlike the current generation, whose taste buds seem to be shot to pieces)

[Martin Brown]

Although even golden delicious has some taste if you grow it on a rootstock that isn't designed to just pump them full of water.

Depends what you want them for. Some of the early ones are so fragile that you pretty much have to eat them as they ripen off the tree. They won't travel and they won't keep so commercially they are a no go.

Discovery, Katy or Beauty of Bath are OK as a early apples. (They don't keep) Egremont Russett is one of the better common storable varieties. Sunset isn't a bad substitute for the more famous Cox's Orange Pippin. And Bramley as a cooking apple.

[Fredxxx]

Perhaps your knife needs sharpening?