Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:22:55 -0500, "Jean B." > wrote:
>
>> l not -l wrote:
>>> Yes, and that doesn't bother me. I only mentioned it because so many
>>> folks seem to want their produce to appear perfect. I buy a lot of my
>>> produce from the local international grocer and their produce rarely
>>> looks good, but tastes great.
>> I don't understand why consumers would prefer perfect but
>> tasteless tomatoes--unless they intend to photograph them.
>
> Many go to the fast food restaurants where appearance is important. I
> would think the people that grow for Campbell's Soup use flavor over
> looks for one of the judging criteria, as well as yield per acre.

That rationale for using cardboard tomatoes is amusing. They may
DO it for that reason, but I always find myself wondering why the
tomatoes are so awful even during tomato season.

On Tue, 04 Dec 2012 17:55:48 -0500, "Jean B." > wrote:

>Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>> On Fri, 30 Nov 2012 21:22:55 -0500, "Jean B." > wrote:
>>
>>> l not -l wrote:
>>>> Yes, and that doesn't bother me. I only mentioned it because so many
>>>> folks seem to want their produce to appear perfect. I buy a lot of my
>>>> produce from the local international grocer and their produce rarely
>>>> looks good, but tastes great.
>>> I don't understand why consumers would prefer perfect but
>>> tasteless tomatoes--unless they intend to photograph them.
>>
>> Many go to the fast food restaurants where appearance is important. I
>> would think the people that grow for Campbell's Soup use flavor over
>> looks for one of the judging criteria, as well as yield per acre.
>
>That rationale for using cardboard tomatoes is amusing. They may
>DO it for that reason, but I always find myself wondering why the
>tomatoes are so awful even during tomato season.

Easy, vine ripened tomatoes don't ship well. You need to grow your
own or buy from a roadside farm stand.

Jean B. wrote:

> I always find myself wondering why the
> tomatoes are so awful even during tomato season.

Really? You really wonder about that? The subject comes up all the
time in the food section of several big newspapers I know of. The
explanation is straightforward, pretty much what you'd guess based on
a general knowledge of the food industry.

l not -l wrote:
> On 30-Nov-2012, William > wrote:
>
>> Does anybody have a fail safe method of selecting tasty tomatoes at
>> the supermarket?
> The grocery stores I visit all offer large heirloom varieties that are
> very tasty; but, they are often scarred, have a short shelf-life and are
> about 4 times the cost of tasteless Florida tomatoes. Basically, they
> are not pretty; but, it's worth the cost when the tomato is the star,
> not a bit player; they are especially good in BLTs. In addition to
> read, there are very dark green and yellow varieties - the yellow being
> lower in acid. I use Roma/plum tomatoes in salads. Occasionally I
> find beefsteak tomatoes, but are inconsistent in quality.

I would normally buy heirloom tomatoes like that, but the ones I
had this year were not good. The vine-ripened ones can be fairly
decent (when you it isn't tomato season), but they don't seem to
be as good as they were when we could only by them from Holland.