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Not exactly a garden question, but plant related - sort of

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in The potting shed
I have bought supermarket vegetables that have lasted a ridiculously long time in the fridge while still looking fresh -( a month sometimes)
Have I got an amazingly efficient fridge or are they Frankenstein foods? Have they gone off on the inside whilst maintaining a firm, shiny skin?
I would normally go with the look of vegetables but....
Do you think they're safe to eat bearing in mind I don't have a cast iron stomach?
In London. Keen but lazy.
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  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    edited April 2018
    I would say, if you cut them open and they look fine, are firm, look fresh and don't smell they won't hurt. Some veg do last a very long time in cool temps. If worried about Frankenfoods, I guess try growing more of your own and try to go a bit organic - the staples you eat a lot of. I can't think of many veg where the outside looks fine and the inside isn't, apart from maybe avocados.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Tomatoes?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    veg were stored for months in the past before you could buy them all year from the SMs
    Sacks of cabbages in cool sheds, carrots in clamps. 


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    Much supermarket fruit and veg has lots of anti fungal treatments and preservatives before it hits the shelves. It’s already often much older than most fresh produce lasts by the time it is displayed, from tomatoes which can be 6 weeks or so after being harvested, to carrots and potatoes which may be almost a year or so. So it’s often the case that it will last long past the sell by/use by dates. If it looks/feels ok then it probably is ok to eat 
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    In my experience tomatoes usually rot from the outside in. Are they not technically fruit? But then so are avocados :)
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    I thought that they'd developed tomatoes with really firm skins so that they appear fresh for longer.
    I know that the first test supermarkets do before selecting a variety of strawberries for sale is how high they bounce when dropped on the floor. Taste comes way down the list.

    Jellyfire, it's the 'probably' that bothers me.

    I'm happy to eat aged root vegetables, for the reasons Nut mentions. It's the stuff that grows above ground that bothers me.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JellyfireJellyfire Posts: 1,139
    Apparently most of the commonly available varieties of tomato have been bred primarily for their ability not to make the bread wet in pre-made sandwiches. Explains why they are practically devoid of taste!
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    And the sandwiches are still soggy.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • autumngloryautumnglory Posts: 255
    They'll be fine, they just lose a lot of flavour. I often use carrots over a month old and I'm still here!
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    "I thought that they'd developed tomatoes with really firm skins so that they appear fresh for longer."

    For sure, but I doubt they'll disturb your stomach after eating.
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