Fruit and vegetables

[angieram]

9 hours ago, Zag zig said:

Whatever I can’t get in the supermarket, I’ll head to the local farmers shop, he’s pretty much got most veg covered bar cauliflower. Cabbages, carrots, Brussels, leeks, spuds of course. Sausage and bacon from the local butcher, turkey sorted. Peas and sweet corn frozen. There’s you’re Christmas dinner and leftovers for a few days Don’t know what the fuss is, only thing I’ll miss is any blueberry shortages for my breakfasts.

Yes, we seem to more or less have the veg covered locally, but we all have little idiosyncrasies in the fruit department.

We buy bagged frozen fruits from Iceland in the winter and I think they do blueberries in there. They go a bit soft when you defrost them but they are better than nothing and loads cheaper than fresh  - 3 bags for £5.

[DarkFruitsRam7]

10 hours ago, sage said:

I'm impressed that you are concerned about your melons travelling North at your age.

 

I knew you wouldn’t disappoint.

[Gritstone Ram]

Someone told me that we get a lot of our potatoes from Egypt not sure how true it is. I thought it would be easy to grow them here.

[Boycie]

3 minutes ago, Gritstone Ram said:

Someone told me that we get a lot of our potatoes from Egypt not sure how true it is. I thought it would be easy to grow them here.

It’s the water over there, it produces a better crop.

Who ever disagrees is in d’Nile.

[angieram]

1 minute ago, Gritstone Ram said:

Someone told me that we get a lot of our potatoes from Egypt not sure how true it is. I thought it would be easy to grow them here.

I think that's when we want to eat salad potatoes at Christmas.

I remember new potatoes coming into the shops each year as a big thing. Now you can eat them all year round the novelty value has all but gone. There's a reason Jersey potatoes are so popular - they were the first 'home grown' ones to come into the shops.

By this time of year home grown potatoes are 'old' - mash, roast or chipped.

Mediterranean countries can grow several crops a year whereas I think we only get the one (or two, with earliest and lates). So their potatoes are 'new' all year round.

 

[Mucker1884]

15 minutes ago, Gritstone Ram said:

Someone told me that we get a lot of our potatoes from Egypt not sure how true it is. I thought it would be easy to grow them here.

 

8 minutes ago, Boycie said:

It’s the water over there, it produces a better crop.

Who ever disagrees is in d’Nile.

Should get the sack for that.

 

[sage]

24 minutes ago, DarkFruitsRam7 said:

I knew you wouldn’t disappoint.

You should have seen the first 2 versions i self censored.

[rynny]

24 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

 

Should get the sack for that.

 

[Boycie]

33 minutes ago, Mucker1884 said:

 

Should get the sack for that.

 

Eye, maybe you’re right,

[TimRam]

10 hours ago, Kinder said:

One of my ancestors was convicted of stealing a bag of potatoes and deported to Australia. Apparently he was a difficult prisoner and ended up serving 15 years in Port Arthur prison on Van Diemen’s land. All for a bag of potatoes.

At least he could have chips for tea every day.

[RoyMac5]

2 hours ago, angieram said:

I think that's when we want to eat salad potatoes at Christmas.

I remember new potatoes coming into the shops each year as a big thing. Now you can eat them all year round the novelty value has all but gone. There's a reason Jersey potatoes are so popular - they were the first 'home grown' ones to come into the shops.

The closest most people get to realising there are varieties of potato is thinking: red or white! The early potatoes from Egypt and new potatoes from Jersey were very tasty and well worth looking forward to. 

Food is little valued for it's quality nowadays I think. Only what you can get and how cheap it is! Read a piece on the BBC website about some 21 yr-old not eating trad Christmas dinner but eating pasta - fair enough, but she then went on to say that microwave spag bol. was the best tasting! ?

[GboroRam]

47 minutes ago, RoyMac5 said:

The closest most people get to realising there are varieties of potato is thinking: red or white! The early potatoes from Egypt and new potatoes from Jersey were very tasty and well worth looking forward to. 

Food is little valued for it's quality nowadays I think. Only what you can get and how cheap it is! Read a piece on the BBC website about some 21 yr-old not eating trad Christmas dinner but eating pasta - fair enough, but she then went on to say that microwave spag bol. was the best tasting! ?

Well, I did try to tell you all that if you buy a Thermomix you'll have delicious food on the table every day, but nobody wanted to listen.

[ramit]

We buy a small wooden crate of tangerines before Christmas every year.  i insist on being the one to choose which crate to buy, for i have such a good eye (half blind) and a superior sense of firmness, heh.  We had to throw away half the contents and the rest are iffy at best.  i blame Covid, while hoping that Mrs ramit has forgotten that i chose just as badly last year.

[angieram]

2 hours ago, GboroRam said:

Well, I did try to tell you all that if you buy a Thermomix you'll have delicious food on the table every day, but nobody wanted to listen.

At £1500 a go, I am not surprised! 

What's wrong with a chopping board and a couple of sharp knives?

[GboroRam]

13 minutes ago, angieram said:

At £1500 a go, I am not surprised! 

What's wrong with a chopping board and a couple of sharp knives?

I presume you've already got those but possibly don't get delicious food on the table every day. With a Thermomix, you would have ?

[Gritstone Ram]

6 hours ago, angieram said:

I think that's when we want to eat salad potatoes at Christmas.

I remember new potatoes coming into the shops each year as a big thing. Now you can eat them all year round the novelty value has all but gone. There's a reason Jersey potatoes are so popular - they were the first 'home grown' ones to come into the shops.

By this time of year home grown potatoes are 'old' - mash, roast or chipped.

Mediterranean countries can grow several crops a year whereas I think we only get the one (or two, with earliest and lates). So their potatoes are 'new' all year round.

 

I grow three crops 1st earlies 2nd earlies and main crop. I am down to some tiny main crop ones that are only good for mashing.

The first earlies are the best in my book.

[Gritstone Ram]

6 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

 

Should get the sack for that.

 

He’s had his chips 

[Gritstone Ram]

I went to Costa Rica last year, just before the lockdown, and they were really proud of the bananas they grow to sell to us. I think most are Cavendish Bananas from Chatsworth.

[angieram]

Loving all the replies to this thread, especially those of you who are already busy growing your own.

We always had home grown produce when we were young but never really got into the habit as an adult. We have a really heavy clay soil, but we have apples and raspberries, plus French beans which we grow in pots. 

Next year we are buying a greenhouse so we can start to grow a lot more. Ah, retirement!

[Sith Happens]

On the subject of potatoes why was I always told when young that you could only have mash potatoes from old spuds when quite clearly that's not the case..