This morning I decided to use the peaches we got when we went grocery shopping the other day to make some spiced peach crepes. As I sliced my peaches in half, I realized the flesh was a pale, nearly off-white color, not a pretty yellow-orange. I had to taste-test one, and indeed, they were bland and flavorless, despite being just overripe. What a shame! They looked beautiful and the skin was so fragrant at the store, I was sure we picked some good ones. How awful that it can be so difficult these days to find produce that actually tastes good, or even taste the way it should.
The dilution of our produce because of trends in food production that focus more on making fruit more hearty to withstand long travels across the country, and ensure that each veggie or fruit is an exact copy of its neighbor, instead of caring about the taste quality, is becoming too much to take. Even at the markets that seem to focus on local, organic, and seasonal produce, it is getting harder and harder to find truly quality items. When was the last time you ate a grocery store tomato that really tasted strongly of tomato; bright, acidic, juicy, fresh? For me, it's been at least a couple of years.
I guess all we can do, if we aren't willing to make all our backyards into vegetable gardens, is insist to our grocers that they pay attention to what they are offering us, and sincerely attempt to offer good produce from local companies that reliably produce high-quality fruits and veggies. We should focus on taste, and not just buy a tomato because it is perfectly round. We would all also have to be willing to spend at least a little more for our veggies and fruits. Perhaps if most consumers actually cared about getting the best-tasting food, perhaps not even buying anything less than that, our shopping patterns may begin to inspire grocers to be more picky about the food they carry. It would take a lot of changes, but maybe, who knows, it might make a difference.
For me, I'm changing my buying behavior partially to help change the system, but also because I am just sick of spending my money on things that aren't even close to good enough. I still cooked those peaches. I made a lovely sauce out of coconut and ginger with cardamom, cinnamon, and a few other spices, which I simmered the peaches in. The crepes were tasty, sweet and full of flavor from the spices. The one flavor that was missing, however, was peach. Despite each crepe being piled with slices of fresh, just-sliced, just-cooked peaches, the whole thing barely tasted of peach at all. There was just no flavor in them whatsoever.
I'm telling you, it is too much to take. I don't want to forget what a good peach tastes like! Watch out, grocery stores, I'm getting real picky about my produce real fast.
