Tasteless tomatoes

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Posted at 11:43AM, 08 April 2008 by Gregg Wallace - TV presenter, greengrocer

I regularly listen to people moaning about the quality of tomatoes. The most common gripe being 'you can't get tomatoes over here like they have in Spain'. Yes you can!

The reason the tomatoes you have in Spain taste so good is simple. You are eating fruit that was picked when ripe, and then left in the sun. Next time you are in a Mediterranean country, take a good look at the veg, fruit, herbs and salad being delivered. They will undoubtedly be on the back of an open truck, with the sun beating down on them. There is not a hint of refrigerated van anywhere. Cold kills the flavour of tomatoes. If it didn't Eskimos would grow really good ones.

A Spaniard would not dream of importing a substandard tomato, so why do we?

The tomatoes eaten abroad have probably been picked a short while ago, from somewhere quite near. Also you are most definitely eating them in spring or summer, during their natural season.

You can get great flavoured tomatoes in Britain. But, you wont find any in January. A Spaniard would not dream of importing a sub standard tom, why do we? Wait till the summer, hit the farmers' markets.

Beware the vine? Tomatoes on a vine are no different to tomatoes off a vine. All tomatoes grow on a vine - well actually it's a truss. A rubbish tomato is a rubbish tomato, whether it's attached to a twig or not. That smell you get when you open the bag, is the smell of the vine, not the fruit.

It's similar for other fruit and veg as well, there's a reason it's called seasonal produce, not all-year-round produce. Maybe one day we'll go back to eating produce from the country we live in and even better, local to our doorsteps, and if that's not an option you can always getting out there and grow your own.

Comments

Annie

8 April, 12:32PM
Annie

I completely agree about tomatoes on the vine as sold in supermarkets - it is just a way of getting us to pay more for the same tasteless rubbish. I think you need to grow your own if you want any chance of flavour in the UK.

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James

8 April, 1:12PM
James

The best tomatoes are the ones from your greenhouse. Other than that, after trying most places, Tesco Finest tomatoes, now from the canaries I think, are about the best you can get in winter. Expensive though. Of course you could just pick them from your grow bags in summer and bake them, then freeze them for winter use. And make lots of tomato sauce which freezes fine too.

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debbie

9 April, 6:06PM
debbie

I agree totally with Greggs comments and it's not just tomatoes although (fresh ones) along with cauliflower are my two most hated vege's. I think all fruits/veg should be eaten seasonally and I can't understand why, when we live in such a brilliant food producing country so much of it is imported and I'm talking about carrots etc. Obviously bananas etc and some of the more exotic stuff has to be imported. I think at the end of the day it's the consumer who demands produce, so the supermarkets are going to supply it to our demands.

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Antonia

11 April, 3:05PM
Antonia

I grew tomatoes in a pot in my London garden last year - I have zero gardening skill and did very little to them and yet they were delicious. We certainly can have good tomatoes here, in the right season, of course! I think the key is not to keep them in the fridge which totally kills the flavour.

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little plum

13 April, 2:35PM
little plum

totally agree about the tomato issue. We went to Lanzarote last week. and commented that the tomatoes acutally tasted like real ones. Why then the difference? Perhaps the key is to grow your own? Might give it a go this year

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cutielou

14 April, 4:04PM
cutielou

Totally agree with the taste issues and the 'on the vine' thing is just a way of making us think we are getting fruit that is fresh from the field so to speak. I would definately recommend having a go at growing your own, I do every year and the difference is amazing. Very little knowledge required just follow simple tips from any suppliers website after buying ready to plant toms from any good garden centre.

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doragibraltar

15 April, 5:36PM
doragibraltar

I am so glad to join this discussion. In Gibraltar there is a Morrisons which sell prepacked tomatoes from Spain which have been shipped to England to then be sent to Gibraltar. Is it only me or is this completely crazy as Gibraltar is next to Spain and I buy gorgeus tomatoes in the La Linea market in Spain for about 70 cents a kilo. La Linea is about 1 and a half miles away. Apologies for any people who for some reason are not able to go into Spain but to all the others living in Gib who love to cook and buy tomatoes in Morrisons.....shop locally in Spain. It is much better value and very fresh!

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Ali

23 April, 6:51PM
Ali

I totally agree with this article. When I cam to Uni in September and started cooking for myself I immediately started cooking seasonally. Primarily because it is cheaper, but also because food tastes so much better seasonally and you value it more. Fresh, British food is incredible when in season and imported tomatoes in winter are just a pale and pathetic imitation of the real thing. When tomatoes come into season this year I know I will enjoy and treasure them because they will taste so good and I will have waited about 8 months for them, I love the suspense!

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Lucy

25 April, 10:06AM
Lucy

I love tomatoes but I always check where my tomatoes are coming from. Places like Holland grow nasty tomatoes bags of water my mum and me call them....even the dutch dont eat them. They are the worst tomatoes on this planet. I love spanish tomatoes and for the past 2 years I have grown tomatoes in my garden, last year the crop was not good but the year before they were divine. I have signed up to a local fruit and veg delivery company not "home grown" Gregg Wallace's company but one local to me and am looking forward to seeing what the tomatoes are like when they arrive. Its all seasonal, grown down the road from me and I am supporting my local farmer.

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moira

4 June, 1:24PM
moira

We live in Spain , our favourite tomatoes are the little ones , they are so sweet.

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Lesley

19 June, 12:42PM
Lesley

Its not just tomatoes though is it - practically all salad 'stuff' and veg. (carrots in particular) has no flavour and even Strawberries from Suffolk bought from Sainsburys last week - if you were blindfolded you'd never even know what you were eating.

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