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It's Not In The Bag, It's In The Genes

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It has come to my attention that there are ways to get tree-ripe fruit from the grocery store.
Though it's not as easy as just picking out the best fruit, I'm told.
You must also be careful to pick out the right bag.
The fruit then goes into the bag, is taken home and placed on the counter.
Left there a day or two, the fruit adds sugar and flavor, and like magic, great tree ripe fruit!

Well, this is just what I want to hear, because it is a fact that if The Customer likes a variety of fruit at the grocery store, then it will get planted in their backyard. Sales of that variety go up, and I am a happy guy.

But this “Just Put The Unripe Fruit In The Bag” thing goes against the experience I have tasting about 200 to 300 varieties of fruit a year.

If I taste the fruit before it is ready, it tastes like it is not ready. Simple.

Whether a variety has been around since before Burbank, or is the latest Zaiger introduction, great taste comes from hanging on the tree long enough to let the sugar and flavor fully develop. (check out this relevant Zaiger news story)

But,
that still leaves you hanging around in the Produce Section, wondering what your chances are in another game of Ripe Fruit Roulette.....

Good Tasting grocery-store-ripe fruit does exist.
I’ve seen it & I’ve eaten it. This is not the norm, though.

In fact, most of the peaches and nectarines that I have tried have little or no flavor when picked “Grocery-Store-Ripe”.

Now, not to insult those of you who like your fruit FIRM, but in most cases, you have given up the rich flavor of the peach or nectarine or the intricate flavors of the plum all for Firmness. I mean, if the grower had left it on the tree for a few more days, it would still be firm AND have more flavor.

Well, guess what?
For most of the varieties, you might as well eat the bag.

The trick is to get the grocer to carry the varieties that the bag trick works on.

If the fruit variety does not have the flavor, but looks good, this will not make it ripen better in a bag.

This means that if the bag trick does not seem to work for you when you get the grocers fruit home, make it a point to tell them. In most cases, it has more to do with that particular variety, AND when it was picked.

Let the grocer know that the bag trick did not improve this variety. In most cases they don't know.

The pressure needs to be on the growers to produce the best tasting varieties, NOT on the customer to like them. No matter how bad they taste. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

Now, my opinion is somewhat tainted due to the fact that I’m very involved with home garden varieties of fruit. I taste it all: Commercial varieties, antique varieties, heirloom varieties, new introductions, etc, etc, etc, and I still don't get to taste more than a fraction of what’s out there.

Every year there is something new.
I can't believe all the great choices, all the wonderful tasting fruit that the grocery store customer will never experience.

Now, I know that there are some great varieties that get overlooked because of size or color or shape. I also know that the customer is so finicky that they won't buy fruit if it does not have good size or the color is not right or it has a strange shape. Oh, and most of all, if that fruit is priced too high, then forget it!

For these reasons, the Customer (that’s You!) takes a part of the Blame for the Lack of Flavor on the grocery store shelf!
You need to be what’s called a Pro-Active Customer to get us all out of this bad fruit dilemma.

Work with your grocer to get great varieties on the produce shelf. The grocers have names on the apples, pears, and even the grapes. This is to help us remember the varieties that we have enjoyed in the past. Why not have all fruit that way? Named varieties, so we can remember if it did ripen in the bag in the past, or maybe it didn't need a bag at all.

Oh!, and remember: to get the best, you pay a bit more.
So lighten up on the purse strings for that special variety.
Help the grower to produce the better-tasting varieties.
Take a chance on the new varieties!
Tell the grocer if the fruit is not right.
& you better tell them when it is Right....

This is the only way to create change on the produce shelf.
And if all else fails, plant some great varieties in your backyard and forget the bag.

Best of Health to You All!