Fruit you can Smell and Taste

I had the good fortune of growing up with two different types of apple trees, a pear tree, a cherry tree, a plumb tree and raspberry bushes all in my back yard.  Since our trees were not sprayed, we were always warned against eating the fruit (for fear of bugs) but of course we ate it anyway and it was delicious.  Though I counted myself fortunate to have all that readily available fresh fruit, it has become a curse.

Now that I live in a part of the country where it is impossible to grow the types of trees and berries I enjoyed while growing up, I must buy fruit at my local grocery store.  Of course the fruit at the store tastes nothing like the fruit I grew up with so I am eternally unhappy with it.  Instead of my fingers sinking into the pear as I eat it, I must bite into a hard piece of fruit. The apples are not as juicy and flavorful and raspberries and cherries never taste as sweet.  Though I didn't have peaches and strawberries in my back yard, the orchards and fields were close enough that we picked our own frequently.  So for years, I've had only the memory of the smell and taste of fresh strawberries and peaches. 

In fact, I had given up on finding this delicious fruit that I grew up with and have grown to accept that I would have to settle with this tasteless distant cousin of real fruit. However, on a recent trip to my hometown, I stopped by a field for some fresh strawberries.  I was so transformed by this experience that I now find I can no longer accept hard tasteless fruit.  So I decided to research the issue to find out why grocery store fruit was tasteless and where I could find real fruit that you can taste.

Where to Find Juicy and Flavorful Fruit

1. If you are like me and live in a climate which is not great for growing fruit, you may not have any luck finding fresh fruit at your local farmers market or health food store.  However you may have some kind of fields or orchards that are in driving distance. Check out PickYourOwn.org to look up your state or Google it and you may be surprised.  Going to you-pick farms is good if you plan to buy a lot of fruit for jelly or to freeze or can.  Freezing and canning will not remove the flavor from the fruit.
2. If you want to just grab some fruit like you would at the grocery store, look for a larger health food store chain like Whole Foods.  The reason to find a larger health store chain is since this type of store will more likely have fruit and vegetables trucked in from other states.  Strangely, the fruit sold at such stores as Whole Foods taste and smell much better than the grocery store fruit even if the fruit is not organic.

Why Grocery Store Fruit is Tasteless
Of course the first thing I researched in order to find good tasting fruit was the question of "why" grocery store fruit was tasteless.  The following are some of the reasons people attribute to the lack of taste in grocery store fruit.

1. Crops Selected for Color and Looks and not taste: Many people attribute this factor as the number one factor to why grocery fruit (and vegetables) tend to be tasteless. Evidently there are regulations that farmers must follow that stipulate the size, color, and outward appearance of their fruit and vegetables.  Over time, these features become favored over flavor.  As a result, the flavor quality gets progressively worse.
   
2. Irradiation of Fruit: Most grocery stores sell produce which has been irradiated in order to briefly bring it to a temperature which kills bacterias micro-organisms both good and bad.  Since the molecular make up of the produce is slightly altered, many people attribute loss of flavor to these radiation treatments.  Whole Foods states on their website that they do not sell irradiated produce.
3. Pesticides: Some people believe that pesticides may play a role in flavor reduction.  However, this may be something you may want to test.  I rarely have organic fruits at my grocery store so I cannot make a comparison.  However, I find both organic and non-organic fruits from Whole Foods to be equally aromatic and flavorful.
4. Picking Fruit before Ripe: Some people believe that the picking fruit early is a factor in why grocery store fruit is tasteless.  However, most people disagree with this idea.  I too am inclined to disagree with this since I've picked less than ripe fruit in an orchard and let it ripen at home.  I found that the flavor of the ripe fruit equaled the flavor of the fruit I let ripen.
5. GMO: I am not sure what crops are genetically modified or whether or not this would effect flavor.  However, a lot of the health food chains like Whole Foods are not likely to sell produce from genetically modified crops. 
   

So overall, your best bet for finding great fruit is to pick it at a nearby orchard of field or to find a store that does not get their fruit from the mass production produce market and that does not irradiate their produce.  Though you may have to research a good place and possibly drive a little further to find fruit you can taste, I guarantee you will find the extra mile well worth it and you're sure to cringe at the thought of buying fruit from your local grocery again.