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: 624

▶ 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

U.S. Farmer Sentiment Erodes Further in June

Farmer sentiment declined again in June, as producers became less optimistic about both current conditions and the year ahead, according to the latest Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer on Tuesday. The barometer fell to 113 points in June, down from 119 in May. Both major components of the index weakened, with the Index of Current Conditions dropping five points and the Index of Future Expectations falling seven points. The current conditions measure was 26 points below its December 2025 level and reached its lowest point since December 2024. The June survey, conducted from June 15 to 19 among 400 farmers across the U.S., showed high input costs remain the dominant concern. Of the respondents, 47% listed high input costs as their biggest worry, well ahead of low crop and livestock prices at 23%. In a related question, 42% of farmers said high input costs were the main factor limiting improvement in their farm’s financial situation this year. Low output prices were c

Alberta Crops Continue to Improve, But Too Much Rain Is Becoming the Bigger Concern

Alberta crops are generally in better shape than they were a year ago, but for many producers the conversation has shifted from needing rain to finding a break in it. The latest Alberta Crop Report, covering conditions as of June 23, shows provincial crop ratings edged up to 69 per cent good-to-excellent, comfortably ahead of last year’s 50 per cent and above the five-year average of 64 per cent. While that’s encouraging, excessive moisture is beginning to create a different set of challenges across parts of the province. Frequent rainfall has delayed herbicide applications, slowed crop development and left some low-lying fields saturated. Producers in central and northern Alberta continue to report standing water and uneven emergence, while cooler-than-normal temperatures have limited crop growth despite generally favourable soil moisture. The regional picture remains mixed. Southern Alberta continues to post some of the province’s strongest crop ratings, with timely rainfall sup

Alberta Crops Are Primed for a Big Year—If Farmers Can Get Into Their Fields

By the time the calendar turns to July, Alberta farmers usually have a pretty good sense of what kind of crop they’re growing. This year, the answer depends largely on where you farm. The latest Alberta Crop Report shows much of the province heading into July with excellent yield potential thanks to abundant soil moisture. Provincial crop conditions remain well above long-term averages, and hay and pasture are responding to the moisture. But there is another side to the story. Frequent rainfall, saturated fields and limited spraying opportunities are creating mounting concerns over disease pressure, weed control and delayed crop development in several regions. While moisture has largely replaced drought as the dominant concern, too much water is becoming its own production challenge. Moisture Is No Longer the Limiting Factor Across much of Alberta, crops have access to plenty of water heading into one of the most important months of the growing season. Surface and sub-surface mo

Deere partners with ASW Distillery on spirits

Fiddler Combine Bourbon and Fiddler Steel Plow Rye helps celebrate American ag

Global Oil Output Rebound Expected as EIA Forecasts Lower Fuel Prices Through 2027

The latest U.S. Energy Information Administration outlook points to increased global oil production and lower energy prices over the next two years.

© 2026   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service