Do You Eat Organic?

[Chuck S]

...they don't even smell like a tomato...

You can tell a lot about produce, regardless of whether it is organic or non-organic...simply by how it smells.

 

[bcla]

Like the tomatoes that will looks so delicious and they don't even smell like a tomato and when you cut them up, they're all white and dry inside?

I think, as with most things, it's about doing what works for your family, and moderation. I try to eat local and with little processed foods, but that doesn't mean that the occasional fast food, delivery, and processed mac and cheese doesn't happen in our family. I figure it's the same with most folks.

The biggest issue with tomatoes is that many are picked green for transport/shelf-life and then ethylene gassed to turn them red. They'll taste nothing like a vine-ripened tomato. The ethylene doesn't really do anything to ripen the tomato. I've driven along I-5 in California's Central Valley, and I'll see all these open trucks carrying tomatoes. Vine-ripened tomatoes would need refrigeration and might still bruise easily.

If you don't need it sliced and it's being used in cooking, canned tomatoes are usually superior because they're picked ripe and nobody cares if they're bruised. A lot of "fresh" tomatoes aren't picked at the best time, and of course there's the whole thing about picking them green. Also ketchup usually has way more tomato flavor because it's vine ripened and concentrated.

 

[Eureka]

We do as often as we can. I buy organic any fruit that we eat whole (strawberries, apples, etc). For fruits whose skin we do not eat (bananas, watermelon, etc) I buy conventional. I also buy organic meat.

I still buy conventional “junk” (Doritos, etc).

The idea of organic Doritos cracks me up. It's not good for me (though yummy!), organic or not.

 

[bcla]

The idea of organic Doritos cracks me up. It's not good for me (though yummy!), organic or not.

There are snack food manufacturers claiming to use organic ingredients. One I've seen is Garden of Eatin'.

I guess Frito-Lay has done that. They don't have my favorite though, which is Cool Ranch. I guess they can't manage to get those little red and blue specks without artificial food coloring.

https://www.fritolay.com/snacks/special-dietary-needs/certified-organic-products.htm

 

[Eureka]

There are snack food manufacturers claiming to use organic ingredients. One I've seen is Garden of Eatin'.

I guess Frito-Lay has done that. They don't have my favorite though, which is Cool Ranch. I guess they can't manage to get those little red and blue specks without artificial food coloring.

https://www.fritolay.com/snacks/special-dietary-needs/certified-organic-products.htm

I stand corrected. I do buy Late July and Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips, actually, but more so because they are not as salty as Tostitos and other more mainstream brands.

 

[Imzadi]

They don't last as long for sure, so a lot of them end up in smoothies as I can't stand bananas with brown spots.

I only buy bananas that have lots of brown spots. I learned they are the sweetest. My local deli loves me as I clean them out of their brown spotted bananas.

 

[AustinTink]

Central Market is awesome. I wish I didn't have to drive into downtown San Antonio to shop there. But a lot of Central Market products are trickling into regular HEBs.

Yes, our HEB has a great selection Central Market products.

 

[bcla]

I only buy bananas that have lots of brown spots. I learned they are the sweetest. My local deli loves me as I clean them out of their brown spotted bananas.

You can just wait for that to happen. Unlike gassed tomatoes, bananas can be picked green and will ripen. Tomatoes don't ripen after they're picked; they just get gassed to look redder.

I heard one trick with unripe bananas is to put them in a bag where they trap the natural ethylene gas and ripen faster. Not sure what to do with avocados though.

 

[bcla]

I stand corrected. I do buy Late July and Food Should Taste Good tortilla chips, actually, but more so because they are not as salty as Tostitos and other more mainstream brands.

Frito-Lay only seems to have that one flavor of Simply Doritos. I mean - who ever thought that white cheddar Doritos would be a thing?

 

[larissawbb]

We get about three quarters of our groceries organic simply by shopping at B.J.s wholesale. The price for organic is the same as regular there. You don’t even have to pay crazy Whole Foods prices.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Like the tomatoes that will looks so delicious and they don't even smell like a tomato and when you cut them up, they're all white and dry inside?

I think, as with most things, it's about doing what works for your family, and moderation. I try to eat local and with little processed foods, but that doesn't mean that the occasional fast food, delivery, and processed mac and cheese doesn't happen in our family. I figure it's the same with most folks.

At this point, I'd settle for a tomato that at least looks plump & ripe. I haven't had a good tomato, since we moved from North Carolina 23 years ago. When we visit, we always end up eating out all the time. I've already warned DH that we're going to go to as many roadside fruit stands as necessary, until we find all the fruits & veggies we need for DS's grad party in NC next month. There's nothing like fruits & veggies from local growers selling in roadside stands. I'm so excited to have some delicious tomatoes grown in the mtns. of NC.

 

[MamaLema]

How much of the organic food from China do you think is actually organic? They supply a substantial amount of organics.

I try my hardest to avoid any food from China but that is a whole other thread.

 

[bcla]

I try my hardest to avoid any food from China but that is a whole other thread.

That's very, very difficult unless you manage to completely avoid processed foods. So many of the food additives and basic ingredients in processed foods come from China these days because they have the lowest prices.

 

[tvguy]

That's very, very difficult unless you manage to completely avoid processed foods. So many of the food additives and basic ingredients in processed foods come from China these days because they have the lowest prices.

Also can be a challenge to find some kinds of fresh seafood that isn't from China. And kelp from China may be in any number of processed foods from beans to ice cream.

 

[bcla]

Also can be a challenge to find some kinds of fresh seafood that isn't from China. And kelp from China may be in any number of processed foods from beans to ice cream.

Carregenan?

 

[Imzadi]

How much of the organic food from China do you think is actually organic? They supply a substantial amount of organics.

I kind of wonder the other way. With labor so cheap (undepaid/slave labor) and them wanting to keep costs so low, do they really pay for the latest advancements of pesticides & chemicals? They may have simply been continue to do centuries old farming practices which are considered "organic" nowadays by current norms.

 

[bcla]

I kind of wonder the other way. With labor so cheap (undepaid/slave labor) and them wanting to keep costs so low, do they really pay for the latest advancements of pesticides & chemicals? They may have simply been continue to do centuries old farming practices which are considered "organic" nowadays by current norms.

China is one of the most industrialized nations in the world now. They've been using tractors and other modern farming techniques for centuries. However, they do have some places where they use traditional farming techniques such as terraced fields along hills because of the available terrain.

If I'd worry about anything, it would the reports of virtual slave labor being used for shrimp farming in Southeast Asia.

 

[Lynn CC]

The biggest issue with tomatoes is that many are picked green for transport/shelf-life and then ethylene gassed to turn them red. They'll taste nothing like a vine-ripened tomato. The ethylene doesn't really do anything to ripen the tomato. I've driven along I-5 in California's Central Valley, and I'll see all these open trucks carrying tomatoes. Vine-ripened tomatoes would need refrigeration and might still bruise easily.

If you don't need it sliced and it's being used in cooking, canned tomatoes are usually superior because they're picked ripe and nobody cares if they're bruised. A lot of "fresh" tomatoes aren't picked at the best time, and of course there's the whole thing about picking them green. Also ketchup usually has way more tomato flavor because it's vine ripened and concentrated.

I never knew this, thanks for the info

 

[Lynn CC]

I try my hardest to avoid any food from China but that is a whole other thread.

Me too, I avoid foods from China & Mexico, try to buy in season & local

 

[bcla]

I never knew this, thanks for the info

Here's an explanation from a medical doctor:

https://www.drgourmet.com/askdrgourmet/ethylenegas.shtml
Ethylene gas is produced naturally by most fruits, such as tomatoes, bananas, peaches, and avocados, and it promotes ripening. Most tomatoes today are picked green and transported unripe to protect them from bruising and spoilage. The green tomatoes are then ripened somewhat artificially by exposing them to ethylene gas. This is generally not done in the supermarket but at the produce distributors that supply local markets.

The early picking, transport and rapid ripening results in the inferior, mealy tomatoes that we have in our grocery stores today. In many cases you are better off using canned tomatoes for cooking than fresh.​

I guess the big thing is that a lot of people buying tomatoes care more about them looking perfect than tasting good. The problem with gassing them is that it sort of ripens them, but mostly it's about turning them red. I don't think vine-ripened tomatoes can go through a high speed sorting process either. They would get destroyed. The other thing I've noticed about common tomatoes is that they're waxed. A lot of them are kind of oily at the surface because of wax.