My grandparents had a large garden and an orchard. They cultivated peach, apple, cherry and apple trees (and a mulberry tree that the birds made a mess of). Like a lot of people, they lived and ate with the seasons, eating fresh vegetables and fruit in the late summer and fall, then canning and freezing the remainder for the rest of the year.
Today, modern logistics allows us to eat fresh fruit and vegetables (regular and organic and heritage varieties) all year long. Americans think less about eating what's in season--e.g., strawberries and corn and raspberries--because such produce is shipped in from Mexico and South America, and it still tastes almost as good as locally harvested produce. With one exception.
Having grown up eating ripe peaches picked off the tree--in a bowl, on cereal in the morning, in peach pie, in peach ice cream--spoiled me forever
. The peaches that I buy at the local grocery store have a dusty texture, and no taste to speak of. Ripe peaches don't travel, and they don't stay ripe for very long.
We're lucky that in northern Ohio at this time of year, at the roadside farmstands, you can still get freshly picked peaches that taste fantastic.
Anyone have any similar experiences/observations? Where else do the logistics challenges remain in the produce supply chain?
Peach Season--Other Unsolved Logistics Challenges
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