S
o, I have railed on about the benefits of eating organic produce for well over a year here on our blog. I hope upon hope that you now really understand the dangers of synthetic pesticides and herbicides that conventional produce ushers into you and your family's bodies...I am sure you now understand that organic fruits and vegetables are truly more nutrient rich and over all a better value in the long run... I am positive you understand that continued conventional factory farming is doing irrevocable damage to the soil, but guess what.... The best reason of all to choose organics over conventional may very well be that they are fresher, often local and damn it they taste better! That organic tomato tastes like a tomato, it was not picked green, grown to ship across the country or half way around he world. The more intense flavors of organic fruits and vegetables is most likely due to two factors, the higher levels of antioxidants and the much greater soil health.
Some study info....for those that like facts:
- Apples - Organic apples store better, are firmer and crisper, tend to hold more of their flavor. Organic Golden Delicious and Gala apples test sweeter and less tart.
- Strawberries - Organic and conventional strawberries were grown in adjacent plots in Spain under identical environmental conditions. The organic fruit had superior quality to the conventional, including more intense color (indicating more antioxidants) and higher sugar content. Organic strawberries had a higher resistance to deterioration during simulated marketing conditions, and thus better keeping quality. Organic strawberries grown in California were slightly smaller, but sweeter, better-looking, and were preferred by consumers over conventionally grown berries. They also contained higher levels of certain key vitamins and antioxidants.
- Tomatoes - Organic tomatoes were preferred by taste testers because of their taste, flavor, texture and juiciness. In contrast, conventional tomatoes were described as "not as ripe," "dry," and having "less aroma". In a well-designed study by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists, organic ketchup was found to be notably brighter in color than conventional, in part because of higher levels of the antioxidant lycopene.
Several studies have reported that organic produce stores better and has longer shelf life than conventional produce. This of course positively affects taste. Better storability appears to be linked to the lower level of nitrate that is usually found in organic produce. Lower nitrate levels have been linked in many studies to better taste, but this comes with a caveat; lower nitrogen also usually means lower crop yield. The Organic Center is sponsoring ongoing research designed to better understand the impact of high levels of fertilization and high crop yields, on the flavor and nutritional quality of food. Evidence suggests that high yields in some crops can dilute the concentration of vitamins and antioxidants in plants, changes that can reduce nutritional quality and diminish flavor. This is why winemakers look for grapes from vines that have dealt with a certain level of stress during the growing season. Grape vines managed for maximum yields produce more grapes per acre, but lower quality, less flavorful wines.
Think apples. It isn't just the taste. It's everything you experience when eating an apple - color, firmness, crispness, the burst of smells following a bite, juiciness, flavor, appearance, lack of blemishes, and the way the food feels once in the mouth.
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