>(Kevintsheehy) writes:
>
>>Tank wrote:
>>
>>This year, I have noticed a number of grocery stores placing
>>trash cans next to their sweet corn displays.
>
><snip>
>
>My issue in this same vein involves asparagus. The asparagus isn't
>prepackaged, but it is bundled,
>usually with a rubber band. I don't know whether the store staff bundles them
or >whether they come that way from the distributor.

Aspargus are bundled in the field, and packed in special cartons that contain a
water soaked "sponge" for them to sit on, and the cartons also provide about 4'
headroom as asparagus continue to grow after harvesting.... bet yoose din't
know that.

>Every bundle, which typically contains maybe 20 to 30 spears, depending on
>thickness, has several "busted" heads, i.e. spears that have gone to seed.

Asparagus don't go to seed... the damage is from handling... asparagus are
delicate so some will break regardless how carefully handled. Btw, was not too
long ago that asparagus were only available from local farms and only for a
very short time, and they were expensive. Nowadays with air freight and modern
agra-tech methods asparagus are uniformly available all year and at reasonable
cost... so quitcha bitchin over a couple busts.

>At first I accepted this.
>I pointed out my issue to the produce clerks in the various stores.
>They uniformly said to just pull out the spears I didn't want and leave them
>on the side of the display.

That's nuthin, I've always done that, but I also walk over to the corn husk
trash can, pull out my pen knife and lickitysplit slice off the tough ends....
hey, they're selling them by the pound and I don't eat the tough ends... I peel
away the tough outer leaves from cabbage too. I've actually seen old ladies
pick off the stems from cherries... no, I don't bother.


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