One of the pleasures of spring is that it is asparagus season. Of all the vegetables, asparagus seems to me to be a particularly adult taste: I think it is pretty unusual to find a child who likes it, but one can develop a particular fondness for its subtle flavour later in life.
But this post is really about the pointlessness of importing asparagus. In the last couple of years, all year round imports from Thailand and (I think) Peru mean that asparagus is nearly always available. However, even though it sometimes looks good on the shelf, I have found it to be almost completely tasteless on the couple of occasions I have given it a try.
I just don’t see the point of providing such produce. One of the pleasures of food is enjoying its seasonality. I guess I could see the point if it actually tasted good, but unless I have been unusually unlucky, asparagus is just a vegetable that does not travel well. Who buys it and keeps the market for it alive?
The other thing about this is the waste of energy that is involved. You don’t have to be a Monbiot to think that moving a tasteless vegetable around the globe would have to be perhaps the most worthless use of petroleum (and generator of greenhouse gases) that you can imagine. I suppose the aircraft’s cargo hold may have been coming here anyway, full or empty, but it still irritates me.
Go out and just buy your Australian asparagus in season. (Or for that matter grow your own. My father used to do that and once it is established you can get heaps of spears year after year.)
One of the biggest wastes are the flavourless tomatoes that are in supermarkets. They've been bred for colour and for firmness (not for flavour) and I frankly cannot understand why anyone would want to buy them.
ReplyDeleteAt least they are not flown or shipped in from overseas. I also figure that you can get some flavour out of them if you cook them up into a sauce.
ReplyDeleteI know that it is very common for people to complain about tomatoes not being the same flavour as when they were kids, but I think you can get good tasting ones at the right time of year, although at a price. They are a pest to grow in Brisbane because of fruitfly.
The time will arrive when we have no longer have a choice but to eat seasonally, and locally.
ReplyDeleteOur current indulgences will be nothing but a speck in the history of the world.
And yes, indeed, it is possible to still get terrific tasting tomatoes, but it does cost an arm and a leg.
Funny, it's one of the few green vegetables that my daughter will eat. She's loved it since about the age of six.
ReplyDeleteGrowing tomatoes is the way to go if you can be bothered. With water restrictions any veggie growing is difficult.