Why buy strawberries at supermarkets?

DKLS

I would buy strawbs at the supermarket if they sold varieties that taste of strawberry, they look like them but taste like water.

I grow my own now, a Victorian variety that is bursting with flavour, useless for the supermarket as they are not a uniform shape and wont last on a shelf, but they do taste amazing.

Mothership

I started growing my own last year as well. They were yummy, I've ordered another 25 plants this year from JParkerdutch bulbs they have them for £6.99. You can grow them in hanging baskets or tubs as well, or in window boxes, they are really easy to grow.

chelms38

Much prefer to wait for my own to produce as they actually taste like strawberries unlike most of the awful tasting shop bought ones.

wssla00

I love my greengrocers I should really use him more than I do.... I got a punnet of strawbs today for 45p yummy yummy!

Teahfc

Strawberries that are in the Supermarket at the moment are grown purely for shelf life,the journey from Spain is 3 days and Marocco 4 days, they are then in a Importers Storage for 24-48 hours,they are delivered to a Supermarket warehouse where they are then same day sent to Store with a 3 day shelf life on them.
The Supermarkets margin is around 35-45%.
There are far superior looking fruit in Belgium,Holland and UK that are in some supermarkets, The prices are expensive and will taste of very little as they are forced grown not under the natural Sun .... that force growing has to be paid for with the heating bills !
Swerve on Straberries and buy Raspberries and Blueberries ..better Value :T.

The very cheap fruit that is on the street markets etc is all product that is deemed to have no shelf life and to be fair is worthless ( not all the time but most of the time).

xanthe

I believe supermarket fruit and veg keep longer because of chemicals and pesticides?

jenniewb

xanthe wrote: »

I believe supermarket fruit and veg keep longer because of chemicals and pesticides?

No its not because of the pesticides- that just stops the insects eating them or laying eggs on them. Its the way they are "frozen" after being picked that keeps the shelf life for longer. However some fruit does not freeze well (its a special type of freezing- not like a normal freezer) things like apples freeze well, things like strawberrys don't fare as well, they become too mushy.

Payless_2

I bought 2 punnets of strawberries for a pound and 2 big cartons of grapes for a pound at my local market yesterday. My Mam thoroughly enjoyed the strawberries and the grapes are lovely and sweet. Less than quarter of the price of Asda's and tastier too.

Teahfc

jenniewb wrote: »

No its not because of the pesticides- that just stops the insects eating them or laying eggs on them. Its the way they are "frozen" after being picked that keeps the shelf life for longer. However some fruit does not freeze well (its a special type of freezing- not like a normal freezer) things like apples freeze well, things like strawberrys don't fare as well, they become too mushy.

Frozen !

I am sorry that is not correct, Apples are picked and stored in cold stoarge and the better product is put into long term storage called AC stotrage 'Atmosphere controlled'. No product will actually freeze and then be sold as Fresh !
I am not trying to disrespect you but these are facts not fiction that was maybe told to you by someone on the produce department in Asda ?

<H3>Storage

Commercially, apples can be stored for some months in controlled-atmosphere chambers to delay ethylene-induced onset of ripening. The apples are commonly stored in chambers with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide with high air filtration. This prevents ethylene concentrations from rising to higher amounts and preventing ripening from moving too quickly. Ripening continues when the fruit is removed.

</H3>

zippybungle

fozziebeartoo wrote: »

Except......they are sooooo sour they cannot be eaten "as is" and got up this morning and they are moudly already.

Top Strawberry Tip!

As soon as you bring your Strawberrys home, pull the tops off them and place in a collander/sieve. Boil the Kettle and pour the boiling water over them. When the water had drained through the collander, put your strawberrys in an air tight container and store in the fridge. Your Strawberrys should last much longer, I promise!

Zippy x