Thoughts on Organic Vs not?

sporina

Bought some organic carrots and wow the difference between them and regular ones are unreal.. so much flavour..

I know organic is better for you (and the environment).. anyway - the above got me thinking...

Whats are your thoughts on organic food?

Conall Cernach

It's hit and miss, I think. I've kept a few hens for a while now and feed them layers pellets as well as lettuce, tomatoes etc. They're getting on a bit now and I haven't got new ones in a while so they've more or less stopped laying. I got some organic eggs in the shop last week and couldn't believe how pale and unappetising they looked compared to my ones. They were practically magnolia compared to my orange ones.

odyssey06

Hit and miss, I find you have more chance of getting something with flavour if you go organic e.g. carrots.

But if I find a non organic veg that has real flavour, for example non organic vine tomatoes or new season cyprus potatoes, I stick with that.

Alun

I think the organic part of it has little to no effect on the taste to be honest. With vegetables it's probably more to do with the specific variety, often older less commercial ones, and them simply being fresher.

Dizzyblonde

I'd never go out of my way to buy organic tbh. This time of year carrots are in season so they tend to be fresher and smaller so they're at their best whether organic or not.

Patsy167

sporina wrote: »

Bought some organic carrots and wow the difference between them and regular ones are unreal.. so much flavour..

I know organic is better for you (and the environment).. anyway - the above got me thinking...

Whats are your thoughts on organic food?

I think this part has been debunked as a bit of a myth - https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/06/28/dont-believe-the-hype-organic-produce-is-not-healthier-than-conventionally-grown-fruit-and-vegetables/

Black Sheep

Have to be honest that if I'm shopping in most supermarkets, I buy the regular stuff in order to keep the overall cost down.

Thankfully I also agree with the comments that it seems to be freshness and perhaps variety that determines whether it tastes good anyway.

That's with vegetables of course. With animal produce, including eggs, I will definitely look for the higher welfare offerings, even if it costs more. Not something you have to worry about with vegetables.

Muahahaha

Like others I wouldnt notice any major difference between organic and non organic vegetables.

I think regards to the flavour of veg the single most important thing for retaining it is the method of cooking. Veg that has been steamed retains more flavour and nutrients than veg that has been boiled. There is a noticeable difference in flavour between the two methods, especially with carrots.

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'd never go out of my way to buy organic tbh. This time of year carrots are in season so they tend to be fresher and smaller so they're at their best whether organic or not.

They'd be better than usual now, certainly, but if you've ever tried some of the older, non orange, varieties of carrot .. white, purple, yellow, you'd change your mind, guaranteed. Absolutely gorgeous roasted in the oven.

sporina

Alun wrote: »

I think the organic part of it has little to no effect on the taste to be honest. With vegetables it's probably more to do with the specific variety, often older less commercial ones, and them simply being fresher.

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

I'd never go out of my way to buy organic tbh. This time of year carrots are in season so they tend to be fresher and smaller so they're at their best whether organic or not.

@Muahahaha - I use the same cooking method (steaming) for all carrots.

I do my shopping in Tesco.. usually get a bag of reg carrots but they are so small and skinny at the mo that I thought i'd try the organic ones (the carrots wer bigger) - and wow the taste - just like those my Dad use to grow.. yummy...

I usually buy gala apples in TS too - got some organic ones today and yep, so much more flavour.. yum..

With regards to eggs, I always free range from a local farm producer.. not sure if they are organic too - (must check).. but once they are nice n yellow when scrabbled I'm generally happy (and taste good too obv)

0lddog

sporina wrote: »

Bought some organic carrots and wow the difference between them and regular ones are unreal.. so much flavour......

Exactly ! and the same goes for broccoli

sporina

0lddog wrote: »

Exactly ! and the same goes for broccoli

ah ha - thanks - I was thinking hmm must get some organic broccoli - I love broccoli - will be interesting to see the difference in flavour

PARlance

I think freshness over organic/non is key for me.

notAMember

You got fresh carrots.

I got a couple of boxes of stuff from organic republic before and it was the same story, the fresh stuff was good, the old stuff was not. In the supermarket it's the same, fresh tastes decent, old isn't as good.

Best quality if you've the space is to grow some bits yourself. Peas at the moment are absolutely beautiful, as are salads (rocket, lettuce, radish, beetroot etc

Shenshen

I can't say I've ever noticed a difference in taste in supermarket organic fruit and veg vs non-organic. It's quite a different story buying organic food fresh from the producer, either in a farm shop or at a farmer's market - the difference in taste and quality is quite striking there.
So I suspect the freshness and the variety may be the bigger factor when it comes to taste, but I'm by no means an expert.

SouthWesterly

I've not bought veg in 3 years. I grow my own. Everything fresh from the garden that morning, no chemical or fertilisers and it's nutrient dense.

The Mighty Quinn

I wonder is it the placebo effect or what.

I routinely buy organic potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bananas, avocados and mince meat.

It tastes better to me Maybe i've myself convinced because it costs me more it must be nicer

Alun

If you're comparing supermarket organic versus non organic veg then I think there's more than a little confirmation bias going on, certainly. I've never noticed any difference between the two, apart from the price.

I do sometimes buy organic veg from a local farm shop, and from a farmer's market. In the first case the produce is picked the same day as it appears in the shop, and in the second, the picking date is marked on the packaging, and is rarely more than a day old. You can definitely taste the difference there.

Dizzyblonde

In Aldi I buy organic carrots lately because the non-organic ones are the size of tree trunks, while the organic ones are slimmer, smaller and look so much fresher. If the others were like that I'd be buying them.

Alun

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

In Aldi I buy organic carrots lately because the non-organic ones are the size of tree trunks, while the organic ones are slimmer, smaller and look so much fresher. If the others were like that I'd be buying them.

The only reason I buy any organic veg in Lidl or Aldi is that they usually come in smaller quantities. In the case of carrots it's usually 500g for the organic ones. I really don't need 1kg of carrots! Same goes for potatoes. Onions are another one, the non-organic ones are huge.

sporina

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

I wonder is it the placebo effect or what.

I routinely buy organic potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bananas, avocados and mince meat.

It tastes better to me Maybe i've myself convinced because it costs me more it must be nicer

Alun wrote: »

If you're comparing supermarket organic versus non organic veg then I think there's more than a little confirmation bias going on, certainly. I've never noticed any difference between the two, apart from the price.

I do sometimes buy organic veg from a local farm shop, and from a farmer's market. In the first case the produce is picked the same day as it appears in the shop, and in the second, the picking date is marked on the packaging, and is rarely more than a day old. You can definitely taste the difference there.

nope - don't think so.. my motive for buying them was purely based on their appearance (see my initial post).. the better flavour was merely an observation..

in any event - yeah i'd imagine that produce from a farmer's market are even better

Black Sheep

The Mighty Quinn wrote: »

I wonder is it the placebo effect or what.

I routinely buy organic potatoes, broccoli, carrots, bananas, avocados and mince meat.

It tastes better to me Maybe i've myself convinced because it costs me more it must be nicer

In fairness, depending on where you're getting the mince meat there may be a more discernible taste difference there than between organic and non organic vegetables.

I buy supermarket mince for some recipes - again, sometimes it's a cost thing - but there are question marks about the consistency of what you're getting. I don't just mean quality, I mean actual consistency too

If it's been ground a long time ago and sitting in packs then you end up with the fat distributed in the meat such that when it's cooked off in something like a burger or meatball you end up with a closer-textured, mealy finished product.

The more recently the meat was ground though, the more open-textured it will be, and the gold standard for this is to grind it at home yourself... More of a thing in America than in Ireland, obviously.

When I can be bothered I get the butcher - even if it's just the meat counter in Supervalu - to grind it for me and try to eat it a couple of hours later than. It does taste better.

I know that's not a strictly organic vs non organic thing, but worth considering if that's what's going on.

sporina

Black Sheep wrote: »

In fairness, depending on where you're getting the mince meat there may be a more discernible taste difference there than between organic and non organic vegetables.

I buy supermarket mince for some recipes - again, sometimes it's a cost thing - but there are question marks about the consistency of what you're getting. I don't just mean quality, I mean actual consistency too

If it's been ground a long time ago and sitting in packs then you end up with the fat distributed in the meat such that when it's cooked off in something like a burger or meatball you end up with a closer-textured, mealy finished product.

The more recently the meat was ground though, the more open-textured it will be, and the gold standard for this is to grind it at home yourself... More of a thing in America than in Ireland, obviously.

When I can be bothered I get the butcher - even if it's just the meat counter in Supervalu - to grind it for me and try to eat it a couple of hours later than. It does taste better.

I know that's not a strictly organic vs non organic thing, but worth considering if that's what's going on.

we only buy meat/fish from the market.. prepared in front of us.. and sourced locally... farmer's daughter here - freezer was always stocked with meat from the farm.. many's a pet I had for dinner ekk.. but yeah, wouldn't dream of eating pre packed meat from a supermarket

Black Sheep

That's definitely the ideal, if it can be managed from practicality and a cost point of view.

In the city I think if I were going to really try to go for higher welfare, higher quality meat only, then the best option would be to do online purchase / delivery. I do this for some special orders as it stands, from the likes of Higgins and Andarl Farm, but to be honest for day to day meal prep sometimes it's lidl or aldi and that's the way it has to be until we win the Lotto.

Supermarket pre-packed mince can be a bit grim, but if it's in a bolognese and you use a bit of wine, proper seasoning etc it is the best way to use it, or for cottage pie and so on.