A lot of it has to do when the produce is picked. Things that fully ripen on the plant will be better than the store bought stuff that by necessity has to be picked under-ripe, so that it will be ripe by the time it makes it to store shelves.
This is why I buy frozen produce as long as the texture isn’t critical. The hardness lets it survive shipping even though it’s ripe. Texture is destroyed though, so you can’t use it for everything.
This is why I get a farm share (CSA), so I’m supporting the local farmer. I get the freshest produce, and they get a higher price than if they’d sold to a store.
It’s a great idea for people that have that available. I’ve looked into it but the one near me the box is so big for the 2 of us I don’t think we’d ever be able to finish it!
The farm owner is a bit of a jerk, but he’s still a local jerk at least! 😝
Any decent CSA that isn’t having a terrible crop-failure year is going to overload you with produce. Even if they didn’t there’s a good chance that you’ll get a boatload of one product all at once (e.g. “there’s a heat wave next week so I harvested everything this week before it bolts, hope you like brassicas”). The key to getting the most out of your CSA is canning, freezing, dehydrating, and/or fermenting the bounty while you have it and slowly enjoying it all year long! Most CSAs only last a few months anyway, so it’s a feature not a bug that they provide you with more food than you could possibly consume fresh.
A lot of it has to do when the produce is picked. Things that fully ripen on the plant will be better than the store bought stuff that by necessity has to be picked under-ripe, so that it will be ripe by the time it makes it to store shelves.
This is why I buy frozen produce as long as the texture isn’t critical. The hardness lets it survive shipping even though it’s ripe. Texture is destroyed though, so you can’t use it for everything.
This is why I get a farm share (CSA), so I’m supporting the local farmer. I get the freshest produce, and they get a higher price than if they’d sold to a store.
It’s a great idea for people that have that available. I’ve looked into it but the one near me the box is so big for the 2 of us I don’t think we’d ever be able to finish it!
The farm owner is a bit of a jerk, but he’s still a local jerk at least! 😝
I got together with a friend and we split our box :)
Any decent CSA that isn’t having a terrible crop-failure year is going to overload you with produce. Even if they didn’t there’s a good chance that you’ll get a boatload of one product all at once (e.g. “there’s a heat wave next week so I harvested everything this week before it bolts, hope you like brassicas”). The key to getting the most out of your CSA is canning, freezing, dehydrating, and/or fermenting the bounty while you have it and slowly enjoying it all year long! Most CSAs only last a few months anyway, so it’s a feature not a bug that they provide you with more food than you could possibly consume fresh.