Supermarket vegetables Forums

devonidiot

For the past year I've had to take on most of the food shopping and cooking at home. One thing has stood out, supermarket vegetables. All seem to go off after just a few days, including those that should last some time, such as swedes, carrots, potatoes etc.. If my memory is correct, vegetables used to keep for much longer a few years ago.

I have theory that the supermarkets, or their suppliers, keep vegetables ( and fruit) in cold storage, when removed the structure of the veg breaks down quickly. Are there any food technologists out there who could shed any light on the subject.

I started to use the local greengrocers, there was only a slight improvement in shelf life, except for local grown produce. Our main greengrocer is part of a large chain, which may follow the same storage procedures as the supermarkets.

clodhopper2006

Not sure why it is but I know what you mean. We buy our veg from a large vegetable market which is wonderful. We bought some carrots last week so fresh the leaves that were still on were as fresh as when they were pulled from the ground. Next day though the carrots had gone soft. real shame and I dont know why either.

Bob

Pusser

Many vegatables are not good flyers and the journey from Bangladesh is a long one. I am just waiting for the day that I can buy some fruit from a supermarket and it is ripe and juicy in two days time. Normally in two days to one months time it is soft and pastey.

baldybazza · Last edited by baldybazza on Wed Apr 09, 2008 5:20 pm; edited 1 time in total

I started buying our veg from our local market but that was no better so I have started storing everything with the exception of potatoes & onions in a spare fridge which we have in our garage and that has certainly helped. In fact we went away for 2 weeks and I had left a bag of carrots in there but they were fine even when we came back so perhaps continual cold storage is the answer.

Jan

bigfoot

Some veg are kept in an atmosphere of Sulphur dioxide as soon as they are exposed to normal air they start to deteriorate. My daughter says that bagged salad is packed in such an atmosphere and wont keep once you have opened the bag. I bought a punnet of cherry tomatoes the other day and when I opened them they were rotten on the bottom,supermarket changed them no questions, so they must expect it. And before any smart As start,yes I know a tomato is a fruit!!

tonyt

I think we are somtimes to blame ourselves.

We've got so used to expecting to buy every time of fruit, salad and veg at any time of the year.
My missus brought in some Tesco tomatoes this week - it's April - they sure weren't grown in Essex.
The label quotes the source as Morocco - I assume trucked overland, 2 ferries and a lot of motorways - that's a long time in the back of a refrigerated truck.

johnandcharlie

I keep all vegetables in the fridge, except potatoes and onions. I find they keep much longer. It uses the storage space in the van more effectively too. Much as I don't like it, I buy nearly all my veg from supermarkets, as I don't stay anywhere long enough to find the markets and farm shops. A lot of the smaller supermarkets don't give you a lot of choice either. I was in the Co-op in Chard, Somerset, yesterday, and had trouble finding enough variety to have my 5 portions a day. Plenty of choice of junk food, and ready meals that I can't cook as I don't have an oven or microwave though.

I looked at a smallholding for sale this afternoon, with plenty of land to grow my own, but then I'd have to stop travelling Sad

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Wizzo

As well as shipping time you have got to add on time spent in warehouses - probably a bulk warehouse first then the supermarket's own central depot and probably at least 2 days in each, so it's hardly fresh even if you buy it and eat it on the day it was delivered to the supermarket.

It wasn't so long ago that we had local greengrocers and I can remember that our local shop's produce was always fresher and cheaper than anything Tescos had. But most have now gone the way of the local fishmonger.

JohnW

brillopad

to keep veg fresh up to 3 weeks buy a fridge with a built in deoderiser!

passionwagon