The Virtual Pub
Come Inside... => Saloon Bar => Topic started by: Roy Cropper on September 03, 2010, 08:08:28 AM
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WTF has happened to the humble strawberry ?? Shrugs: Not so long ago a strawberry was a nice deep red soft sweet fruit . Just tug the green crown off and pop it in yer gob . cloud9: Nowadays all you get from the markets are rock hard juiceless crap . They are sooooo unripe the bloody crown won't pull out and the inside is almost pure white and these are yer British ones not yer expected crap Spanish ones . Try leaving them a bit to "ripen" an d the buggers go mouldy Banghead Banghead .
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That about sums it up Roy.
Try either buying from a local market the fruit will prolly not be premium fruit some misshapen and varying sizes nor will they last long but then they are not supposed to and if they are tasty there is no chance that they will anyway. Or go and pick your own, back breaking but well worth the effort. Actually not sure if it is Northamptonshire or Leicestershire but there is a strawberry farm that grows them hydroponically on shelves from waist height up. How sensible is that? cloud9:
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Have you seen the shape of some of the supermarket ones ??? Im suer they are not from this world lol: Ester Ranson (or however you spell it) would have a field have with some of 'em . ::)
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A number of Dutch fruit farms grow strawberries on tables. Keeps the fruit clean, prevents back ache when picking and ripens the crop a little more evenly (or so they say)
However in the face of the ever increasing demands made by supermarkets for year round "seasonality" farmers are using newer varieties and frankly many of them are not up to the flavour or texture of those we knew as children. But then we could only get strawberries in June.
Grow your own (it can be done in a pot if you have no garden) and taste the difference...... but only in June and early July other wise forget them.
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A recent nutritionalists poll on strawberries concluded the following :
Marks and Spencer Sweet King Strawberries
£4.99 for 600g Per 100g: 83p Grown in: USA. These look magnificent - they're huge, deep red, shiny and blemish free. Sweet rather than tangy - maybe even a little bit bland - and they lose eco-points for being air-freighted.
6/10
Waitrose Organic Strawberries
£1.79 for 225g Per 100g: 80p Grown in: Surrey. Traditional, reasonably flavoursome English strawberry. Good smell and colour, with only one soft berry in the box.
7/10
Tesco Finest Ava Strawberries
£3.99 for 300g (or two punnets for £5) Per 100g: £1.33 Grown in: Angus. Large, perfect, perfumed strawberries, but these weren't popular. Plenty of flavour and sweetness, but not the tang and taste of a traditional strawberry.
4/10
Marks and Spencer Jubilee Strawberries
£2.99 for 300g Per 100g: £1 Grown in: Kent. Heart-shaped, perfect-looking deep red strawberries, bursting with flavour, although not a favourite with every single one of our testers. Expensive.
7/10
Morrisons Strawberries
£1.95 for 400g Per 100g: 49p Grown in: Norfolk. With two days to go on shelf life, some were starting to look worse for wear. A number had soft or bruised bits. Not sweet enough either - in fact they had a slightly bitter edge.
3/10
Aldi Fresh Strawberries
£1.49 for 400g Per 100g: 37p Grown in: Scotland. Traditional British strawberry that's a bit on the sour side, but nothing that cream and sugar wouldn't cure. Not the prettiest or shiniest berries, but excellent value.
7/10
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Strawberries
£1.99 for 300g Per 100g: 66p Grown in: Norfolk. Firm, scented, Jubilee strawberries. Exquisitely sweet and scented, but some testers felt they had a "chemical" taste. Good for kids who might find other strawberries too tart.
6/10
Asda Smart Price Strawberries
£1.50 for 454g Per 100g: 34p Grown in: Spain. Pale red fruit, but none were mushy. A bit under-ripe, but not unpleasant. Cheap - but clocked up environmentally unfriendly food miles on the way from Spain.
5/10
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We use to grow our own in a small way(in tubes) when we alived ashore but now live full time on the boat so not much room for growin' things . noooo:
Got a taste for strawberries as a kid 'cos my Grandfather had a market garden on the farm . Plenty of cream too cloud9: cloud9:
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A recent nutritionalists poll on strawberries concluded the following :
Marks and Spencer Sweet King Strawberries
£4.99 for 600g Per 100g: 83p Grown in: USA. These look magnificent - they're huge, deep red, shiny and blemish free. Sweet rather than tangy - maybe even a little bit bland - and they lose eco-points for being air-freighted.
6/10
Waitrose Organic Strawberries
£1.79 for 225g Per 100g: 80p Grown in: Surrey. Traditional, reasonably flavoursome English strawberry. Good smell and colour, with only one soft berry in the box.
7/10
Tesco Finest Ava Strawberries
£3.99 for 300g (or two punnets for £5) Per 100g: £1.33 Grown in: Angus. Large, perfect, perfumed strawberries, but these weren't popular. Plenty of flavour and sweetness, but not the tang and taste of a traditional strawberry.
4/10
Marks and Spencer Jubilee Strawberries
£2.99 for 300g Per 100g: £1 Grown in: Kent. Heart-shaped, perfect-looking deep red strawberries, bursting with flavour, although not a favourite with every single one of our testers. Expensive.
7/10
Morrisons Strawberries
£1.95 for 400g Per 100g: 49p Grown in: Norfolk. With two days to go on shelf life, some were starting to look worse for wear. A number had soft or bruised bits. Not sweet enough either - in fact they had a slightly bitter edge.
3/10
Aldi Fresh Strawberries
£1.49 for 400g Per 100g: 37p Grown in: Scotland. Traditional British strawberry that's a bit on the sour side, but nothing that cream and sugar wouldn't cure. Not the prettiest or shiniest berries, but excellent value.
7/10
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Strawberries
£1.99 for 300g Per 100g: 66p Grown in: Norfolk. Firm, scented, Jubilee strawberries. Exquisitely sweet and scented, but some testers felt they had a "chemical" taste. Good for kids who might find other strawberries too tart.
6/10
Asda Smart Price Strawberries
£1.50 for 454g Per 100g: 34p Grown in: Spain. Pale red fruit, but none were mushy. A bit under-ripe, but not unpleasant. Cheap - but clocked up environmentally unfriendly food miles on the way from Spain.
5/10
I'm afraid its the Morrisons ones!! Yuk: Yuk:
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We use to grow our own in a small way(in tubes) when we alived ashore but now live full time on the boat so not much room for growin' things . noooo:
Got a taste for strawberries as a kid 'cos my Grandfather had a market garden on the farm . Plenty of cream too cloud9: cloud9:
No probs with hydroponics then Roy get to it man. Raft on back of boat plastic pot bit of tubing sorted. happy088
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Now dont start !! One rule when we moved aboard was NO plants . ;)
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Frankenberries scared2:
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The Dutch call them "Aardbeien"
I dunno why you would want to know that but .......... shrugs:
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We get them from the farmers market. Lidl are good as well.
Last lot from Sainsbury were crap, tasteless and hard.
Also have some in the garden.
Used to be allergic to them when I was about 10, ok now ;D
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There is a 'pick your own' place about 2 miles from us, in the shop they always have ready picked punnets of fruit for those who can't (or won't) pick their own. cloud9:
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Now dont start !! One rule when we moved aboard was NO plants . ;)
eeek: Not even
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2FqmOAr.jpg&hash=3c6e3a5308fc040bc472e0e6ecefe7301156e542) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqqmOAr)
or
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2Fqn2yi.jpg&hash=a5f37b8766f676aef637b6595084bca3425adf8d) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pqqn2yi)
noooo:
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Now dont start !! One rule when we moved aboard was NO plants . ;)
eeek: Not even
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2FqmOAr.jpg&hash=3c6e3a5308fc040bc472e0e6ecefe7301156e542) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqqmOAr)
or
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2Fqn2yi.jpg&hash=a5f37b8766f676aef637b6595084bca3425adf8d) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pqqn2yi)
noooo:
Billy Connolly?
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Nooo Bob Bush. ;)
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Now dont start !! One rule when we moved aboard was NO plants . ;)
eeek: Not even
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2FqmOAr.jpg&hash=3c6e3a5308fc040bc472e0e6ecefe7301156e542) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=PqqmOAr)
or
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs3.postimage.org%2Fqn2yi.jpg&hash=a5f37b8766f676aef637b6595084bca3425adf8d) (http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=Pqqn2yi)
noooo:
Billy Connolly?
noooo:
(https://www.virtual-pub.com/SMF/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fseattlest.com%2Fattachments%2Frlacher%2FBillyConnolly.jpg&hash=fee4a05540f4630637a415a45366fe7c14fa932c)
happy088