Shelf life of fruit and vegetables

[Rich One]

Prices an quality in Palemo are far better than in zona sur..! Also in the Provincia in small towns the quality is dismal since produce comes from mercado central and they buy the cheaper produce.. Lettuce and greenleafs is pitiful

 

[semigoodlookin]

There are barrios and specific places you can go to get the best quality, but even the very best lack the shelf life of produce in the US and UK. Unfortunately, it is not because the produce in Argentina is healthier, either. It's more a top to bottom poor system, referenced by one post on the previous page. Buy less and shop more often.

 

[Rich One]

There are barrios and specific places you can go to get the best quality, but even the very best lack the shelf life of produce in the US and UK. Unfortunately, it is not because the produce in Argentina is healthier, either. It's more a top to bottom poor system, referenced by one post on the previous page. Buy less and shop more often.

With ALL due respect .. nothing personal. but IF things worked out here like in the US .. Some of us wouldn't be here..? BECAUSE Argentina would be a Developed country with NO Blue dollar and prices would be unafordable for pensioneers..?

 

[jeff1234]

Last year at our Sunday farmers market all the strawberries suddenly appeared to be spray painted a bright red in an attempt to make them look perfectly ripe. I guess the idea was to extend the shelf life of the strawberries. Unfortunately whoever sprayed them used a lipstick color red paint and they appeared to be more like little red 1958 Fords than fruit. I was reluctant to ingest the paint but I did try a few and found them to be at various stages of being pre-ripe. Predictably the strawberries soon returned to their normal painted appearance.

 

[semigoodlookin]

With ALL due respect .. nothing personal. but IF things worked out here like in the US .. Some of us wouldn't be here..? BECAUSE Argentina would be a Developed country with NO Blue dollar and prices would be unafordable for pensioneers..?

I don't care about the comparison to the US or UK. I only mentioned it because it was what was in the OP. What difference does it make if fruit veg lasts more in the US and lasts less here? It does not affect my life either way. However, I was simply pointing out the reality. Produce tends to not have the shelf life here.

And also, with all due respect, if things worked out here like in the US, many of us would be here. I am not here as an opportuist looking for an easy financial ride. I get one, because of this country, but my wife and kids would be Argentine either way.

 

[Rich One]

I don't care about the comparison to the US or UK. I only mentioned it because it was what was in the OP. What difference does it make if fruit veg lasts more in the US and lasts less here? It does not affect my life either way. However, I was simply pointing out the reality. Produce tends to not have the shelf life here.

And also, with all due respect, if things worked out here like in the US, many of us would be here. I am not here as an opportuist looking for an easy financial ride. I get one, because of this country, but my wife and kids would be Argentine either way.

Well said, we all see facts from our side of the street . Different valid reasons keep us here..! If life here was costlier than Paris maybe some of us would move elsewhere.?

 

[elhombresinnombre]

In my opinion there are at least two, interconnected factors at play here: variety and seasonality. In the UK it is possible to buy strawberries all the year round because they are air-freighted in from all over and the varieties tend to be ones that can withstand the transport and still look good on the shelf (Did someone mention flavour? No, I thought not.) Likewise apples. They come in from all over and while specialist varities may be in abundance in the autumn, the few English apples available all the year round are the ones that keep well in cold storage. Potatoes? Two or three varieties, once again - all ideally suited to storing in potato graves. As far as I can tell, fruit and vegetable production in Argentina simply is not dominated either the power of the supermarket chains nor a customer demand for all the year round availability. Most produce is grown within the country and most Argentine people I know buy frequently and seasonally and I reckon that most of the varieties that are grown for this market and sold here reflect that.

 

[Renzi]

The main cause as I see it is that in the first world there is much more temperature control in the storage and transport of produce, usually by means of wasteful and unnecessary refrigeration. I say wasteful because in the end it doesn't extend the shelf-life by all that much. Even when produce is not refrigerated it's stored in a temperature-controlled environent that can't fall outside of a certain range. And at the consumer level, the "fresh" product they get is the result of extensive culling by employees to give the illusion of a consistently good product. You can can't compare this with produce that sits in a crate all day on a sidewalk as is common in Buenos Aires.

My two cents as a former Whole Foods employee. I've seen whole cases of slightly spotted bananas go right into the garbage—not given to employees, not donated to the homeless, not composted.

 

[Rich One]

After long research on the qualty of fruits and veggies offered by Bolivian Verduleros around Palermo. Can comment the Following

The Verduleros have relatives and friends that own Hidroponic greenhouses in or around La Plata for veggies, so don't travel too far . However lettuces are rough handled and caressly packed in used unclean Boxes, later on kicked around thrown from trucks at the Central Market. Veggies in southen Spain and some places in California are hand picked with gloves in baskets later on packed shrink wrapped in Plastic aseptic boxes.

Verduleros select from a variety of prices .. First and second Quality. Flavors well that's a different story..

Apples from Rio Negro also are mishandled and bruised , some are pock marked with black objects/worms..?

A Bibb lettuce can change your day, or a Greek salad with a thick slice of Feta cheese on top, generous portion thick Virgin Greeck Olive Oil..

 

[jblaze5779]

I do appreciate being able to buy a kilo of really awesome strawberries on the street corner for 150 pesos.

Only problem is that you have to eat them that day or the next.

I think strawberries is the only thing I look down on at the US supermarket when I go back home. But I could also buy them at any point in the year so I guess it's a tradeoff.