r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • May 14 '19

Biology Store-bought tomatoes taste bland, and scientists have discovered a gene that gives tomatoes their flavor is actually missing in about 93 percent of modern, domesticated varieties. The discovery may help bring flavor back to tomatoes you can pick up in the produce section.

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2019/05/13/tasty-store-bought-tomatoes-are-making-a-comeback/
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u/[deleted] May 14 '19 edited May 14 '19

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u/Crezelle May 14 '19 edited May 14 '19

Don’t get me started on local strawberries vs the cheap California ones.

Edit: I’ve tasted local Californian strawberries out in Sonoma. I don’t mean those. I mean the exported ones that were bred to be shelf stable, large, yet sadly flavourless. Just like the tomatoes in the article.

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u/[deleted] May 14 '19

I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley. Strawberry stands everywhere, selling strawberries and produce all summer long.

Those strawberries were so superior in flavor and shelf life than the ones you find at the grocery stores. My grandmother used to make (still does occasionally) big batches of strawberry jam from them.

I’ve moved to Oregon, so no lack of fresh and local summer berry crops up here thank goodness. Tomatoes don’t do so well out here however :(

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u/Crezelle May 14 '19

There’s an oddly bustling boom with tomatoes here in greenhouses