Chilean grapes

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Chilean grapes
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alisjs

Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 1497
Location: Conwy

Posted: Tue Mar 13, 07 6:11 pm Post subject: Chilean grapes
Tesco included Chilean grapes in the 'What's in season' section of the March free magazine. I guess they are in season in Chile, in the blinking southern hemisphere! This does not match my idea of seasonal.....is it just me? Anyway I got it off my chest by emailing them (in case they're bothered!)

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 12:10 am Post subject:
ohh

chez

Joined: 13 Aug 2006
Posts: 35935
Location: The Hive of the Uberbee, Quantock Hills, Somerset

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 4:47 am Post subject:
Nope, not just you. I'm trying not to buy very much fruit from outside of Europe and to get my veg from the UK. It's been hard dropping my weekly banana dose though :/.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 6:17 am Post subject:
Spring Onions - from Mexico in Lidl yesterday. I have been muttering about them all day It's finding good fruit alternatives for the children that's the challenge. And Chez what are you doing up at that hour - practising?

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 9:28 am Post subject:

ruby wrote:

It's finding good fruit alternatives for the children that's the challenge.

Hmmm...

Personally, I don't think that *winter* import of fresh fruit from foreign parts is in itself terribly sinful.
There *are* things that are important to a sensible healthy varied diet that are difficult to source locally.
What offends me is the offering of foreign air freighted produce specifically to compete with what can be quite easily sourced more locally - where tax-free air transport provides an assistance to artificial competitive advantage.

The UK really doesn't have the potential to be self-sufficient in low-input cultivated oranges, lemons, tea, coffee, chocolate, bananas...
Trade is what provides a living for people.
Geographical regions will be particularly suited to particular crops, and unsuited to others. Trade allows those surpluses to be turned into prosperity rather than waste.

IMHO, the important first step is to examine whether there is a local alternative. And if not, then to see how the various transported options might stack up against one's requirements and preferences.

As a side comment, I'll share an ancient 'family joke' or saying... Decades back, a fruit market barrow boy was heard shouting his wares loudly in the street "REAL SEE-VILE ORANGES HERE, NONE OF YOUR FOREIGN DIRT! REAL SEE-VILE ORANGES..." and the phrase "none of your foreign dirt" has been passed down the generations.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 10:44 am Post subject:

Agree to an extent Dougal but I find it indefensible that (say) strawberries are airfreighted from all over the world in winter when we are blessed with our own apples and pears and European citrus.

Bananas or pineapples don't really irk me too much, they're brought in by sea and generally involve very little packaging, it's all those sodding plastic punnets of half ripe fruit at extortionate prices that send my blood pressure rising.

Having said that sent the missus in to Waitrose yesterday to buy some Chilean "kiwiberrys" as they're one of the trial crops I'm planting this year, �2.00 for 125g

Very tasty and at that price worth blinking growing too.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Mar 14, 07 11:45 am Post subject:

i wondered where the "odd" shaped ones in the market had come from ,almost unpacked and very nice at 50 p a pound
i keep food imports minimal but i like grapes and nanas and no one grows either round here
i wont buy imports of stuff that will grow round here at some time in the year and i often manage with fairly local stuff
the idea of malayan prawn salad with israeli lettuce followed by egyptian spuds ,new zeal and lamb and kenyan green beans seems silly to me when i could when the furthest travelers could be the prawns landed at grimsby and everything else gets closer until the lettuce walks home

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:00 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Having said that sent the missus in to Waitrose yesterday to buy some Chilean "kiwiberrys" as they're one of the trial crops I'm planting this year, �2.00 for 125g

20p cheaper here. I suppose we're that bit closer to Chile.

Quote:

Very tasty and at that price worth blinking growing too.

I'll have to disagree with you on that one.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:04 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

I'll have to disagree with you on that one.

Didn't like em? I think they're good, ripen in Oct, last for a few weeks too, should extend the season on from berries

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:07 pm Post subject:
Not over impressed. Mind you I don't like kiwi fruit much so they were on to a loser from the start really.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:09 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Mind you I don't like kiwi fruit much so they were on to a loser from the start really.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:38 pm Post subject:
Kiwiberry? What, like a little kiwi fruit?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45669
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:39 pm Post subject:

cab wrote:

Kiwiberry? What, like a little kiwi fruit?

Yeah, it's hairless and green, you eat it whole

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:39 pm Post subject:
Yes. They're pre-pubescent so the skin isn't hairy.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Fri Mar 16, 07 1:41 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Yeah, it's hairless and green, you eat it whole

I'm seeing a ripe gooseberry. Whats the plant like?

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