libbye Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Have just been reading a post about how crap the fruit and veg are in the supermarkets nowadays. I was wondering whether Tas was any better as I get the impression you have loads of local growers who sell at markets. (lurker from France!):rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Not sure on Tas but I find the fruit and veg absolutely fine here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbye Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Well that's interesting. They were quite vehement about it but just goes to show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
movingback Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I find fruit and veg better in Australia than in the UK - at least at coles/woolies compared to telco/sainsburys. Its more expensive in Oz, but the quality is definitely superior. This is in Sydney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I don't buy my fruit and veggies in the supermarkets but from the local green grocer and if you buy fruit/veg in season it's reasonably cheap as usually grown locally. Funny though, I also buy my bananas there (imported from Qld) and they are half the price the supermarkets charge. Don't know how they manage to get them so much cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickyNook Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I live in Sydney and the fruit and vegetables are perfectly fine. The produce from the fruit markets/greengrocer type of shops is a cut above and even supermarket stuff is pretty good. I have no problems at all finding excellent quality fruit and vegetables. Don't expect to be able to buy anything that's not in season, though. Even if you can find it, it will invariably cost a fortune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I'm also very happy with Australian produce. So much better than Avocados from Israel and Asparagus from Zimbabwe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Agree with those above. I find the fruit and veg much better here Off at a tangent but..........I bought fresh string (green) beans here today for the first time since leaving UK. I have always bought the frozen ones here to save stringing them. I was surprised to see that I didn't have to. Have no idea if it's genetic engineering or an entirely different species to what I bought in the UK over 20 yrs ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Agree with those above. I find the fruit and veg much better here Off at a tangent but..........I bought fresh string (green) beans here today for the first time since leaving UK. I have always bought the frozen ones here to save stringing them. I was surprised to see that I didn't have to. Have no idea if it's genetic engineering or an entirely different species to what I bought in the UK over 20 yrs ago. I grow my own green beans JD and I don't have to string them - haven't done for years. Same with the shop bought ones. I think many veggies have been 'genetically engineered' over the years. I was looking at an article about what a water melon used to look like yonks ago. Very different appearance to the ones we buy now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbye Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Where we live in France the food is boring. I shop mostly at markets in order to buy locally grown produce but it is very limited in Brittany. I've lived further south where there's a shop that brings in quite exotic and exciting fruits and asian veg which was so nice but where I am now nothing but then I would expect that as Spain where most of the lovely fruit comes from is so much further away and wouldn't be financially viable. Horses for courses I guess but the growing period here in the north is very short. I liked the look from the photos I've found of your Salamanca market where it seemed many immigrants grow exciting things. I'm only talking about Tas because that's where we think we'll aim for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I found the farmers market and deli fresh food way better than in the UK. Of course it is very seasonal but I liked that - you could get out of season food at the supermarkets but at a premium price. Supermarkets produce I found poorer than in the UK and then there was the god awful spud shed. The main problem is the food isn't really fresh it's been in cold storage so as soon as it is exposed to the elements it rapidly goes off. Bags of leaves from the supermarket would pretty much be off the day after they were opened, similar from the farmers market which had not been packed in 'controlled conditions' (which basically means packed in nitrogen) and simply washed in a dilute vinegar solution lasted a week of more. This is the same in Australia and the UK though. I miss farmers markets now we're back - the so-called farmers markets here are more like 'foodie' fayres and not the place to buy a kilo of apples for $3 - more likely to find hand made cheese at £50 a kilo! Obviously there is a limit to what can be grown locally in any environment, in WA there is quite a range from things like potatoes and apples through to bananas, oranages, mangos etc. as there is quite a range of climates. You are not going to be able to get home grown bananas or mangos in Scotland and therefore they will have had to be in cold storage to transport - hence why so often they seem to go from unripe to off in a day! I expect Brittany is similar but maybe the French are less willing to put up with poor quality so stick to the more limited range of truly fresh produce. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifi69 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I found the farmers market and deli fresh food way better than in the UK. Of course it is very seasonal but I liked that - you could get out of season food at the supermarkets but at a premium price. Supermarkets produce I found poorer than in the UK and then there was the god awful spud shed. The main problem is the food isn't really fresh it's been in cold storage so as soon as it is exposed to the elements it rapidly goes off. Bags of leaves from the supermarket would pretty much be off the day after they were opened, similar from the farmers market which had not been packed in 'controlled conditions' (which basically means packed in nitrogen) and simply washed in a dilute vinegar solution lasted a week of more. This is the same in Australia and the UK though. I miss farmers markets now we're back - the so-called farmers markets here are more like 'foodie' fayres and not the place to buy a kilo of apples for $3 - more likely to find hand made cheese at £50 a kilo! Obviously there is a limit to what can be grown locally in any environment, in WA there is quite a range from things like potatoes and apples through to bananas, oranages, mangos etc. as there is quite a range of climates. You are not going to be able to get home grown bananas or mangos in Scotland and therefore they will have had to be in cold storage to transport - hence why so often they seem to go from unripe to off in a day! I expect Brittany is similar but maybe the French are less willing to put up with poor quality so stick to the more limited range of truly fresh produce. I don't buy from the supermarkets but from the likes of palmyra farmer markets and find it v good value for money and lasts ages. Coles/Woolies rubbish. Deffo better in Aus then UK though. cant say about France, every shop has been bloody closed whenever we've holidayed or past thru:mad: Spain though...the best fruit and veg ever:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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