What has happened to carrots ?

[lady_p_gold]

When I was a child, we used to grow carrots and I used to eat them raw and they were delicious. Even the ones in the shops were ok. Now even organic ones taste really horrible and today I went to a farmers market and there were some beautiful looking carrots and I thought, aha ... these might be ok. But I had one just now and it tasted of absolutely nothing. Surely it can't be that difficult to grow a carrot that actually tastes of something when you eat it raw ????

[nickmo]

Awkward answer is due to the fact that your tastebuds have gone since being a child. Thats why you can enjoy a cigar..........

Specifically, take the carrots back and ask for recently lifted ones as it is likely the producer has some which have been out of the soil for a little while - perfectly ok to sell, but if they are just lifted, even better flavours.

F/markets produce will be fresher and be better on several levels than stuff from a supermarket, but as farmers are also about producing goods on a larger scale than back-garden growers - and that would be 1 way to achieve a good flavour as you can sow the variety designed only for flavour and not looks/storage - see seed catalogues for ideas or call the Henry Doubleday Research Assoc. for suggestions as they have a help line that could point you at decent stock - be aware that the fattest carrott for example is not necessarily going to be the tastiest.

Do talk to the producer about how you felt with their stock, as they are all about communication. If you don't pass back a comment they can not develop the goods customers will be happy with. And check the stall is manned by the grower, and not their staff, for the best reply, by the way.

[ronnie963]

yes i know what you mean lady-p. remember when oranges use to sting your face when cut into wedges well my kids love them like that now and they dont get that stinging

[INSTANTH]

i think it is down th tge fact of taste buds changing, but if you cook the carrots do them in a steamer really brings the flavour out

[nickmo]

And carrots in orange juice with brown sugar for a good flavour too.....place in a casserole and cook at medium temp for 30 - 45 mins. Use some honey if no brown sugar to hand.

[gessoo]

I just wish that we could buy all our veg with the dirt left on. They keep far longer and retain their taste and texture. Oh for the days when the bowl was left full of mud when we peeled our veg. Plastic bags with sweaty vegetables do not make for good eating.

[smudge]

Hi lady - I agree some veg's don't seem to taste as good as they did years ago!

However, we've been steaming veg's for years now & the difference between doing that & cooking them immersed in water is amazing.

[Lonnie]

Not forgetting, that unless they're not long out of the ground, they may have been sprayed to prolong the shelf life.

[Carol Anne]

Remember when tomatoes were seasonal? Channel islands or Scotch were usually the only ones on offer in the shops, but the flavour far surpassed anything on offer today, vine ripened or not. When I was little we would get big juicy tomatoes to eat instead of an apple, and sprinkled with salt..... divine! I would pay any price to taste toms like that today.

[gessoo]

Oh Carol Anne, my grandad was a greengrocer and I used to live on those big juicy tomatoes. I could eat them all day long!!! What on earth happened. You can still get them on the Meditteranean. Nowadays the tomatoes in shops are absolutely horrible,. tastless and either too hard or totally soggy. And the so called vine ripened ones are no better. I would die for an old fashioned tomato.

[gessoo]

I don't think it's just a matter of our tastebuds changing. Fruit and Veg do not taste the same. The growing conditions have changed and so much is now forced. Although I love all the exotic fruit and veg available, I would swap it for local fruit and veg in season grown under the old fashioned conditions. What a price we pay for progress!