Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621275
09/20/19 01:10 PM
09/20/19 01:10 PM
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 9,834 St. Cloud, MN
trapperkeck
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Posts: 9,834
St. Cloud, MN
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There is a lot of home grow produce being utilized now, so a lot of produce at the store doesn't move very fast. Seems like we get better produce from our MN grocery stores in the middle of winter.
"The voice of reason!"
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621298
09/20/19 01:42 PM
09/20/19 01:42 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,872 Central, SD
Law Dog
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Central, SD
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Even the can goods are not what they had been in the past we get what allow really and we let them lower the standards over time.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: KeithC]
#6621307
09/20/19 01:51 PM
09/20/19 01:51 PM
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 19,719 pa
hippie
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The produce at Krogers and Walmart near here is terrible. I think most of the problem with fruit is that it is picked well before the sugars develop, so that it can be shipped, long distances.
I want to start going to some of the Amish produce auctions. Prices are dirt cheap and the produce is fresh. I just wish the Amish auctions were a little closer.
Keith I'm smack dab in the middle of Amish. There's an auction place just a couple miles away, but it's fairly large batches. Good if your gonna can a batch, but for eating we just stop at their house.
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621331
09/20/19 02:28 PM
09/20/19 02:28 PM
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,960 Northern Nevada
Bob
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We have a decent farmers market. This year somebody planted veggies in a big vacant lot in town, probably 1/3 acre, and when things started to ripen they just put up a sign next to the road “Free garden, you pick” I thought that was really neat. I bet a lot of people got good healthy dinners they might not have been able to afford because of that.
"I have two guns, one for each of ya."
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621380
09/20/19 04:06 PM
09/20/19 04:06 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 34,872 Central, SD
Law Dog
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The Hutterites have all kinds of produce cheap here.
Was born in a Big City Will die in the Country OK with that!
Jerry Herbst
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621703
09/21/19 01:49 AM
09/21/19 01:49 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,174 Rochester, MN
Teacher
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I would recommend you do something to that “low quality” produce to enhance the flavor. Wash it in something other than water!
There are a number of cleaning products on the market. They’re designed to remove the wax and everything that’s under the wax. By doing so, enhances the flavor. About 90% of grocery store produce has been waxed to reduce the moisture loss. It’s an FDA acceptable process. But the wax does contribute to a odd after taste if you don’t get it off. It’s also why kids often don’t like vegetables (and some fruits) .
Vinegar at the concentration of 1 part vinegar + 3 parts water. A 2-minute soak followed by a quick rinse will take off most of the wax but not the pesticides.
FIT by Procter and Gambles works for everything. It’s been around for 15-20 years. Trader Joe’s has a product that works in a similar fashion. There are several other products on the market that will do this as well. To be fair and honest, I now work with a company that makes a fruit and veggie wash. It takes off the wax, the underlying pesticides and significantly reduces surface pathogens to the point the human body can fight them off.
Once you start eating cleaned fruits and vegetables, even canned vegetables, you’ll notice the difference when you eat produce that hasn’t been cleaned. It won’t taste as good.
Never too old to learn
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621704
09/21/19 02:12 AM
09/21/19 02:12 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,174 Rochester, MN
Teacher
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As part of my work for the company, I actually hand out cleaned grapes to customers and answer their questions. The grocery stores give us the grapes and I’ve found that from about the 7th of June to about the 7th of January, all the grapes and a significant percent of the rest of fruits and vegetables are produced in the US. After that first week in January, however, an awful lot of the produce we eat comes from Mexico and regions south.
Having worked with FDA staff over the years, I know foreign countries work closely with FDA, USDA and the USPublic Health Service representatives to get their products into the US. The problems arise when we don’t wash fruits or vegetables in anything but water. For waxed produce, water and wax don’t mix, so spraying with water only doesn’t take off anything but surface dirt.
Last edited by Teacher; 09/21/19 02:17 AM. Reason: Word change
Never too old to learn
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Re: Grocery produce very poor
[Re: beeman]
#6621784
09/21/19 08:03 AM
09/21/19 08:03 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 2,174 Rochester, MN
Teacher
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What has changed over the years is the type of wax being used. Today’s produce waxes are called parabens. Parabens are known in the medical field as endocrine disrupters and are not good for kids and young adults. If all you do is rinse berries, peppers, tomatoes, green beans, apples, nectarines, etc, under the faucet, you’re only getting surface dirt off. I suspect berries, celery and broccoli aren’t waxed, but some, like strawberries, have a porous surface. And a good portion of them are treated with pesticide. If you look at the skin of a strawberry under a microscope, for instance, you’ll see the pores. Dirt in these pores doesn’t come off easily. You need a surfactant of some sort to remove it. Most of the fruit/veg washes are a concentrated citric acid and essentially are surfactant in their abilities to clean. Vinegar takes off waxed but doesn’t remove pesticides.
Products like lettuce, cabbage and what are classified as “leafy greens”, also benefit from washing beyond just a rinse under the faucet. If you use a citric acid type wash you’ll taste the difference. It’s pretty profound. I still teach adult food safety classes and work as a technical consultant for a large restaurant and catering company. They swear by this stuff and were using it before they hired me.
Last edited by Teacher; 09/21/19 08:15 AM. Reason: Word change
Never too old to learn
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