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Post by michaeljohnson on Apr 6, 2016 10:29:43 GMT -5
Why is it that nearly all supermarket tomatoes-especially the cherry types all have those horrible tough chewy skins regardless of sweetness or texture,I suppose it is to enhance their long keeping quality and shelf life, it is also the same problem with bought supermarket sausages with almost impossible to chew plastic skins, I have tried for ages to get sausages with real skins on them-but to no avail ?, When choosing tomatoes to grow for myself I always have to have those sort with soft tender skins that you can actually eat for a change rather than rolling the skin round in your mouth for ages before rejecting it onto the side of the plate, a lot of the beefsteak type do not have bad skins but many of the cherries do, it's the same with tinned cherry toms that you buy in a supermarket, nearly all of them have totally inedible skins in the tin, and standard tinned toms don't,  |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Apr 6, 2016 11:30:50 GMT -5
I know the pain... But from the opposite direction. I grow tomatoes with soft skins. That sucks for a market farmer, because it's so hard to get them to market successfully. I take a bucket with me for composting those that really don't survive the ten mile trip. The ones that sorta survive go into a bag of seconds for people that understand...
Many of the farmer's at market bring the "cardboard" tomatoes, and I feel envious that theirs look so good, and mine look so pathetic. I console myself with good taste.
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Post by eastex on Apr 6, 2016 20:11:46 GMT -5
Joseph Lofthouse , maybe you could have people come and pick tomatoes from you instead of going to them? I agree with the hatred of tough skin tomatoes...it's one of the reasons I despise most cherry tomatoes so intensely.
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Post by prairiegarden on Apr 8, 2016 19:18:09 GMT -5
Maybe it's different in different areas of the world but in this neck of the woods you can't get people to come pick stuff for FREE. I had an overabundance of cherries last fall and offered them to various people and then even posted it in the local buy and sell and got not one call. I got some plums and apples from someone who had offered the same deal..she said I was the only one who came out, although she got a couple of calls from people who said they would come get them if she picked the fruit for them.
It's a bit unbelievable.. I offered garden space to the local Salvation Army AND space/care for a couple of pigs or a cow or whatever for the year if they would help with the garden ( they are always yowling for food donations) and was greeted with astonishment mingled with horror at the very idea of it.
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Post by zeedman on Apr 9, 2016 12:43:46 GMT -5
Maybe it's different in different areas of the world but in this neck of the woods you can't get people to come pick stuff for FREE. I had an overabundance of cherries last fall and offered them to various people and then even posted it in the local buy and sell and got not one call. I got some plums and apples from someone who had offered the same deal..she said I was the only one who came out, although she got a couple of calls from people who said they would come get them if she picked the fruit for them. There is a similar situation with wild fruit in my area. The competition used to be fierce for the best patches; now, with the exception of a few Hmong, I seem to be the only one harvesting. It seems nobody wants to put that much effort into anything, when they can just drive to the market. The only exception to this seems to be wild asparagus; every patch for miles around seems to have been claimed by someone, and disputes can get ugly.  As for tomatoes... I too dislike tough-skinned tomatoes, if they are intended for fresh eating. Ditto the comments on cherry types; while there are probably tender varieties out there, the ones I tried were mostly tough, and I have found a grape type with a very tender skin. For processing, though, I actually prefer tough skins. Those tomatoes will store longer, until I have accumulated enough to process. |
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Post by prairiegarden on Apr 9, 2016 14:18:59 GMT -5
I was thinking that in future if I have extra I am going to charge maybe $25 for them to come and pick however much they want and see if having to pay for it makes it more valuable in people's eyes..I can't do any WORSE than nobody and it'll be an interesting experiment. I might even ( oh sooo reluctantly) agree to haggle the price downwards a little.. |
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Post by philagardener on Apr 9, 2016 15:25:46 GMT -5
I have better luck giving away extra tomato seedlings in the Spring - I always seem to have more than room in the garden anyway. After a year or two, folks get "hooked on heirlooms"© and then they raise their own food.  Gardening grows on them! |
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Post by oldmobie on Apr 9, 2016 18:36:52 GMT -5
I was thinking that in future if I have extra I am going to charge maybe $25 for them to come and pick however much they want and see if having to pay for it makes it more valuable in people's eyes..I can't do any WORSE than nobody and it'll be an interesting experiment. I might even ( oh sooo reluctantly) agree to haggle the price downwards a little.. Try setting a price, then leaving the merchandise unattended. I've known two different people, (One did it twice.) who left items on the curb marked "free" for at least two weeks, with no response before marking it "$50" and driving to the store, to return home and find it stolen. |
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Post by steev on Apr 10, 2016 22:09:03 GMT -5
People have become so estranged from actual Nature; every year more are living in apartments with nowhere to garden; in the foodie SF Bay Area, the Farmer's Markets are popular and those with yards are returning to gardening, not just for food, but for quality time with small children and/or a meditative, mindful activity, so centering and refreshing compared to the driven modern world.
In the Barrios, people, who would certainly have raised some of their food in their home countries, don't because even if they have space, "Someone would steal it".
Anyone living in an apartment with a balcony could grow a tomato plant, but far fewer do than put a barbie on the balcony.
I think one bar to people coming to pick produce, even if it's free, is that fewer people have any idea of canning or cooking.
I think many people have bought into the notion of "food" as an industrial commodity, rather than a life-experience; I think we are greatly impoverished by that loss of spiritual riches.
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Post by 12540dumont on Apr 18, 2016 22:49:57 GMT -5
I love tough skins, they peel easily when canning, they don't bruise when you pack them, and I don't eat them! What I can't abide is a tomato that tastes like the bottom of a pizza box.
I have to say that about 5 years ago, I had a young woman working on my farm. She thought making compost was the most amazing thing she ever saw.
She's wants her own farm now. She raises veges in a community garden and regularly sends me email photos of her gorgeous produce. She's one of maybe 20 who've come to the farm.
Farming is for the few, the called. Gardening is a popular sport here. My neighbor is 77 and has the most amazing flower garden ever, she comes over to my place for asparagus, lettuce, chard, fennel, beans, peas. However, she grows her own tomatoes! Sometimes she'll take a start from me. She prefers beefsteaks, ala Fusionpower. I love to eat them, I just can't pack them to get to anyone else.
I call these tomatoes, get a bowl and napkin and go the field and eat them.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Apr 18, 2016 23:50:20 GMT -5
People have become so estranged from actual Nature; every year more are living in apartments with nowhere to garden ...What's a tomato? ...you mean "pizza sauce" doesn't just appear in the store? actually, speaking of tomato sauce.. i have since stopped ordering pizza with plain 'ol tomato sauce. I now order mine with New Mexico style hatchback green chili sauce... mmmm... It's amazing! People always rave about Colorado / New Mexico green chili. I never dreamed that it could be used in place of tomato sauce on a pizza.. I ended up trying it a few months ago when i learned other sauces were available from a local pizza place, but that they don't sell pesto sauce since no one ever bought it when they did carry it. While i do now enjoy pesto pizzas, i prefer green chili sauce pizzas over any other now. |
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Post by steev on Apr 19, 2016 1:34:00 GMT -5
What I can't abide is a tomato that tastes like the bottom of a pizza box. Really good pizza has a box as tasty as a high-school sweet-heart. |
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Post by ferdzy on Apr 19, 2016 22:03:25 GMT -5
keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.), green chile pizza sounds great. I've been making most of my pizzas with ajvar as a sauce lately. (Ajvar = red pepper/eggplant paste, basically). Good stuff!
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Post by steev on Apr 20, 2016 2:00:40 GMT -5
That does sound tasty.
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Post by swamper on Apr 22, 2016 18:53:49 GMT -5
i've always preferred the best pink tomatoes to red, and the best purple to brown. There's something about those thick yellow skins that detracts from the flavor imo. Somehow the orange tomatoes with clear skin don't fit that pattern as much... yet.
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Gardening grows on them!
