So, I'm sure anyone who reads this blog has heard about the dirty dozen. If you're reading a goddamned blog about produce, I think that's a safe assumption.
This year's dirty dozen include: apples, celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, imported nectarines, grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries, potatoes.
The clean 15: onion, sweet corn, pineapples, avocado, cabbage, sweet peas, asparagus, mangoes, eggplant, kiwi, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes.
I have some victories and some losses in there. I know that I really should be making an effort to buy the dirty dozen organic, but I'm a fucking hypocrite and I live off a grad student stipend and I have cats, so ... I sometimes buy conventional spinach, apples, lettuce, and blueberries. It's just so much more expensive not to!
Whatever, the point of this post isn't actually about the dirty dozen or the clean 15, but rather, this is a post of anecdotal evidence of what foods simply taste better when you buy organic. I can't cite any sources because this is simply my experience.
Dates
I love dates. The interesting thing about dates is that it is actually pretty difficult to find raw dates in the store. I'm not sure why, but cooked dates (pitted = steamed) give me weird blood sugar issues. I only eat raw, organic dates because they taste so much better.
I buy mine from 7hotdates, an online retailer. I am fond of the Khadrawy variety, but get a sampler! These are so much better than anything you'll get in the grocery store.
Tomatoes
I remember the first time I had a good tomato. I had always hated them, but I'd eat tomato sauce and salsa and shit like that. Anyway, it was my first time hanging out with this dude I really liked, and he walked to his goddamned garden and picked some goddamned tomatoes and was making us this tomato salad and of course I couldn't refuse because I really liked this guy and that would be relationship suicide, right???? (I'll probably make a post about food and dating another time).
Anyway, he brings out his goddamn home grown tomatoes that he made with his bare fucking hands and sits them in front of me and they were fucking delicious. From that point on, I loved tomatoes. The relationship didn't last, but my love of tomatoes and maps did.
Anyway, tomatoes are interesting in that even though their color changes after you pick them, they don't actually ripen. Conventional tomatoes are pretty much just tomatillos, which is great if that's what you want, but that's not what I want. Organic tomatoes taste worlds better. I fucking love organic heirloom tomatoes.
Oranges (all citrus)
Citrus is another fruit that doesn't ripen when it's picked (same with pineapple and a couple other things), and even though it's entirely possible that an organic farmer will pick his or her citrus too soon, it's a lot less likely. This is totally anecdotal, but take my word for it. Organic citrus tasted better than conventional.
Anything in season
This should be obvious, but I'm gonna state it anyway. If you can find local produce, buy it. It's going to taste better and you're supporting your community. DO IT.
This is more important (taste-wise) with fruits than vegetables. I'm from New Jersey, and the blueberries are fucking amazing during the summer. The cucumbers are also worlds better than conventional cucumbers, but you really taste the difference much more with fruits than vegetables.
Eggs
For whatever reason, conventional eggs give me problems, but fortunately organic ones taste better anyway.
Peace, love, and seasonal fruit,
/bitchesloveproduce
No comments:
Post a Comment