Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

Where Has The Flavour Gone?

For many years I spent my summers, filling 3 freezers with foods directly grown in our own soil.  What wasn't frozen was preserved.  Potatoes and carrots and onions were put in the root house to keep all winter.  When I cooked meals I knew there would be flaours in the food.

Sadly, because times do change, I am forced to purchase produce in the stores. 

So I ask the question, Where Has The Flavour Gone?  Tomatoes are in the stores, half ripe, and even if you let them set for a week they are tasteless and tough.  Potatoes are a disaster.  They are nothing more than fillers.  Onions, used to bring the tears immediately to a person's eyes.  On occasion you get an onion that will bring a slight watering, but I repeat only slight. 

I try to purchase Ontario produce.  It doesn't matter what store, it's all the same.  I often buy from roadside stands.  Same thing----no flavour.

Is the soil depleted?  Is it the very seeds themselves, which have had the good bred out of them?   Have our vegetables become just a fillers?  Is this why so many spices are being used in foods?I know my conversation thread will offend some, but I am serious and I find it alarming as our Ontario farmers compete with USA and other countries.  How can we return to good old fashioned Ontario farm produce that was second to none? 

Frances

Views: 426

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by frances thurlow on September 5, 2010 at 5:59am
Wouldn't it be wonderful if one of the grocery chains would open up a section of the produce counter for vegetables grown from "Heritage Sees" and "Tubers"? If nothing else it would be an exercise to see which produce appealed to the majority of shoppers, whether they be rural or urban. Because many of todays young people have no idea what the flavour of a particular item such as a tomato should taste like, they do not visit famers markets and road-side stands.
Another classic example happened this week, when I was invited out for lunch to a private home. The frustrated young lady who was preparing a salad finally said to us "Can anybody tell me how to peel this tomato"? She ended up peeling it as you would a potato. It was the only way the skin would come from the tomato. Yet another time this week, at a restaurant I ordered a hamburg with all the trimmings. There was a full slice of tomato on the meat,and in the centre of the slice was the hard green core so common with today's variety and typical of what is being offered in the stores. The onion, was so bland, I hardly knew it was an onion. No flavour, no smell. Am I correct, that a few years ago there was a movement to produce onions without their distinct aroma. There is nothing like the smell of a good onion to give one an appetite. So I still ask Where Has All The Flavour Gone"---Is it the very seed itself which has been modified---is it the soil that is depleted----is there any hope of returning to our wonderful foods once grown? I fear the answer is no. It's a big world and our farmers are competeing and having to produce and harvest foods at a faster rate and in greater quantity. I also add, that nobody should feel offended when their is criticism given for a good cause.
Permalink Reply by Roadrunner on September 9, 2010 at 11:53am
It is hard to compete Taste for Taste with memories of meals/produce/onions in the past.....so the Good Old Days will likely never be beaten in this crazy world...

I do know that my Dad told me that during the Second World War, if they wanted fresh meat he had to go hunting and hopefully got a deer with the one bullet he had saved...rationing and they were poor on the farm. Only 70 years ago...

He also remembered the big treat at Christmas in the stocking was a navel orange from Florida...they were a real treat...

I agree with you that fresh produce, picked from our large garden...ripened on the vine or fresh corn off the stalk and boiled is hard to beat....

I do think that maybe flavour is the price we pay for our abundance and variety of food at ridiculously low prices.

Good discussion....

▶ Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Dry conditions behind rapid seeding progress

Spring seeding is well underway across Saskatchewan, with 18 per cent of the 2025 crop now planted. The current provincial seeding progress of 18 per cent is ahead of the five-year average (2020-2024) of 10 per cent and the 10-year average (2015-2024) of 12 per cent. Despite multiple storms throughout the province in April, producers were able to get into their fields and make rapid progress over the last couple of weeks. The southwest region is the furthest advanced with 43 per cent seeded so far and the first seeded crops starting to emerge. The northwest and southeast regions are also making good progress with 15 per cent and 14 per cent of seeding complete, respectively. The west-central region is reporting 11 per cent seeding completion, and the east-central and northeast regions are both reporting nine per cent of seeding complete. Pulse crops are leading in seeding completion, with lentils at 34 per cent seeded, field peas at 31 per cent and chickpeas at 28 per cent. Durum is

Fighting global hunger one crop at a time

As Saskatchewan farmers begin seeding the 2025 crop, Grow Hope Saskatchewan is launching its eighth growing season with a new partner at the table. Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) has joined the ecumenical project expanding the collective effort to end global hunger. “We are thrilled to join this vital project, partnering with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, local farmers, and fellow agencies as we work together toward our shared goal of ending world hunger,” said Cody Cleave, CLWR Donor Relations Manager. Saskatchewan Representative for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and a member of the Grow Hope SK Steering Committee Rick Block said CLWR is a welcomed addition. “It’s encouraging to see more churches coming together around something so tangible and effective,” Block said. Grow Hope Saskatchewan connects farmers who donate land with donors who cover input costs of roughly $350 per acre. Crops are grown and harvested, and proceeds are matched up to 4:1 through Canadian Foodgrains Ban

Alberta join group that monitors apiaries near crop fields

A non-profit company that promotes communication and stewardship among crop producers, beekeepers and pesticide applicators has welcomed Alberta as the third provincial member. FieldWatch also includes 27 states, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and the District of Columbia. The membership will enable Alberta hobbyists and commercial beekeepers, as well as organic and conventional crop producers, to use a secure, easy-to-use online registry to identify and map the locations of apiaries and crop fields that pesticide applicators should avoid. The free and voluntary registries, DriftWatch™ and BeeCheck™, will be available to all Alberta beekeepers and crop producers. FieldWatch President and CEO Bob Walters said FieldCheck® is the online and mobile portal that pesticide applicators can use to improve decision-making and avoid damage from spray drift to crops and beehives. “The goal is to get beekeepers and crop producers registered through FieldWatch so applicators can access accurate inform

International Day of Plant Health is May 12

May 12 marks the International Day of Plant Health, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is reminding everyone of their role in safeguarding agriculture, forests, and the environment in Canada.

Collaborative efforts improve living and working conditions for Ontario’s TFWs

As spring arrives, Ontario’s fruit and vegetable farms are once again welcoming seasonal and temporary farm workers from other countries.

© 2025   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service