UKC

Whenever I've been to citrus growing areas in Europe I've never failed to notice the size of the lemons and how much bigger they are than those sold by Mr. Tesco et al.

We commented on it again last week when we stayed in the Soller valley, Majorca - an area noted for its citrus production. Some of the lemons were twice the size that we're used to seeing. Just wondering if there's a particular reason for it. I did wonder if the ones intended for export have to be picked sooner and thus smaller so that they ripen in transit.

Anyone got any ideas?

In reply to mypyrex:

Visual appeal and packaging size.

D

In reply to Dauphin:



So are you saying that people buying lemons in UK shops prefer small lemons?

In reply to mypyrex:

Supermarkets. Mainly. You can find odd shaped fruit elsewhere, typically its looks less nazi food porny and tastes better; especially in the ethnic supermarkets in the large cities, with the large amount of French, Portuguese, Italians and Spanish working here now I'm sure we'll see more of these copious melon sized lemons arriving shortly. I'll leave the double entendres to your good self.

D

In reply to mypyrex:
Did you cut one of the giant lemons open and see how thick its skin was?

Different varieties have different characteristics. Different thickness skin, aroma, sourness, bitterness and flavour.

You'll probably find that the buyers for the UK supermarkets bring in one or, if you are lucky, two varieties of lemon that have been selected for their customers' perceived tastes - Thin skin (lots of juice for the weight of lemon), sour but not too bitter etc, etc.

Thin skin, small lemons are great for a slice in your G&T.
The ones with thick skin work really well for preserved lemons etc, but how many supermarket customers buy lemons for that?

tldr;
Supermarkets offer a small range of produce, whilst claiming otherwise.

In reply to interdit:


Well said.

In reply to mypyrex:

the real scandal is tomatoes. I've never had a good tomato in the UK. The ones we get in Spain make me weep with wonder at this beautiful earth.

In reply to Bob Hughes:

Absolutely. You hear about all the demands the supermarkets place on their suppliers (size, colour, weight, etc) but it seems that taste isn't one of them. What with the pressure to deliver cheaper food, we seem to be in a race to the bottom when it comes to quality. Tomatoes are a great example - a fresh ripe tomato is an incredible thing. Likewise a carrot straight from the ground is extraordinarily flavoursome, sweet, crunchy, life-affirming vegetable whereas one from the supermarket is typically completely devoid of flavour. No wonder kids (and many adults) in this country* don't like fruit and veg.

*I wince as I say this as it sounds like a Daily Mail article or BBC 'Have Your Say' submission, but in this case I think this is genuinely a problem which affects the UK more than other countries.

In reply to Oujmik:

I've been round some of the big Almeria greenhouses. The guys there said the UK market doesn't want flavour - I tried some toms there that were just as you say. They weren't artisinal back garden ones, but mega plastico produce - destined for Eastern Europe, where apparently flavour is valued over visual uniformity.

In reply to mypyrex:


I think he's saying that they sent us lemons.

In reply to SenzuBean:

The answer is a lemon

In reply to Bob Hughes:


Yes, what is it with supermarket tomatoes? My friend (in Congleton, not even Spain!) grew different varieties of tomatos in his greenhouse. On tasting them I collapsed to my knees in pleasure, crying out "even my kids would eat these!"

They didn't look like supermarket tomatoes but they tasted incredible. Even the "organic on the vine Mediterranean-sounding named" ones in Waitrose or M&S don't come close.

In reply to mypyrex:

I'm all for small lemons, limes etc.....means more room in my glass for Gin!!

In reply to Bob Hughes:
It's true, growing tomatoes in my back garden has eventually led to me becoming an obsessive vegetable grower, I was knocked back when I first tasted my own.

It's the same with a lot of things, strawberries, onions and even things like cabbages and courgettes.

My daughter could not eat home grown carrots at first as the taste was too strong.

In reply to mypyrex:

Go to a Warsaw Pact country in the bad old days and you'd find the exact opposite; all the choicest peaches, plums, melons, &c, shipped out of the country to God knows where.

In reply to mountainbagger:


I totally agree, we grow a range of tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, peppers, grapes etc etc etc in the greenhouse and garden. During summer I will never touch the supermarket versions again. Same for the fruit trees we have 2 apple (different varieties), 1 pear, 1 plumb, 1 cherry, 2 blueberry bushes (different varieties), blackcurrent and gooseberry bushes, wild strawberries, blackberry and some other things. The supermarket stuff just doesn't compare!!

In reply to mypyrex:

I don't know but I know that a fresh raw lemon off the tree in Sardinia knocks any supermarket lemon I have ever had out of the water. I can eat them like oranges.

They don't ship well it would seem.

In reply to wintertree:

I had a lemon tree in Spain. It produced huge lemons. But when you cut them open the skin proved to be very thick with lots of stringy fibres in it. Also it was full of pips.

It wasn't at all G&T friendly, nothing like the supermarket lemons that we are used to.

In reply to mypyrex:

What you need to do, is get a selection of lemons from across the world and have a group tasting session.
In fact, why don't you organise a Lemon Party?
I'm pretty sure it's been done before, so a quick Google should reveal all the details that you need about hosting your own lemon party...