On Sun, 12 Oct 2014 11:37:50 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>On 2014-10-12 10:43 AM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>
>> It is not just Brits. It is mostly anyone under about 40 has never had
>> true vine ripened fruits and veggies Yet we buy peaches in February so
>> the market will supply them.
>>
>> Some of the fruits I enjoyed years ago I rarely buy today because of the
>> way they are picked and handled and the lack of flavor. Grapes are not
>> as sweet, bananas have little taste and seedless watermelons are bland.
>>
>
>
>All my life I have lived in areas with ready access to fresh picked
>fruit. While imported strawberries and asparagus are relatively cheap
>these days, and much better than they used to be, they just don't
>compare to fresh local berries. There are some fruits that just don't
>last. Sour cherries should be eaten or at least processed within hours
>of picking. Some pears and apples actually improve a little with the
>proper storage, but they should be eaten within a few months.

Pears are always harvested green... they are one of the few fruits
that ripen from the inside out. If allowed to ripen on the tree their
weight will pull them from the stem and once they hit the ground a
ripe pear will splatter. The best way to test a pear is to pull on
its stem, it it pulls out the pear is ripe... I pull on the stem with
my teeth like a grenade.