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adrian_turtleI live near Boston now, but I used to live in upstate NY, and before that I lived in Michigan. Good apples grow in all these places. (I mean, REALLY good apples.) And yet, our local stores sell Washington apples. Sure, the unfortunate people of Washington are stuck with them. I don't object to shipping fruit a long way; I understand wanting apples from the southern hemisphere at this time of year. But Washington apples have been stored since December, just like ours! And they are just as mealy and tasteless as when they were fresh off the tree.*
For the last few weeks, a couple of really nice people from the havurah have done my grocery shopping for me, but someday I'm going to resume doing it for myself. I am likely to want apples. I like apples, and they are cheap and versatile. The sign with the big friendly letters will tell me the price for granny smith apples, or whatever, and will tell me if they're organic. They might tell me if they're from the USA or New Zealand. There's a little sticker on each apple confirming it's a granny smith apple, or whatever, and possibly admitting it came from Washington. With the eyes I have available at the moment, I can only read such small print by taking off my regular glasses and holding the text very close to my face (and/or putting on my reading glasses. For reading a label in the Before Time, it was easier to just raise my glasses an inch and peek under them.) How is that going to work with a mask and social distancing? It's hard for me to imagine standing there, picking up fruit, touching my face with one hand and nose printing the apple with the other, then putting the apple down. Maybe I should get a magnifying glass.
*Redbird lived near Seattle for a few years, and took me to farmers' markets when I visited. I know what fresh Washington apples taste like, and they suck. The nectarines and cherries were fabulous, though.
For the last few weeks, a couple of really nice people from the havurah have done my grocery shopping for me, but someday I'm going to resume doing it for myself. I am likely to want apples. I like apples, and they are cheap and versatile. The sign with the big friendly letters will tell me the price for granny smith apples, or whatever, and will tell me if they're organic. They might tell me if they're from the USA or New Zealand. There's a little sticker on each apple confirming it's a granny smith apple, or whatever, and possibly admitting it came from Washington. With the eyes I have available at the moment, I can only read such small print by taking off my regular glasses and holding the text very close to my face (and/or putting on my reading glasses. For reading a label in the Before Time, it was easier to just raise my glasses an inch and peek under them.) How is that going to work with a mask and social distancing? It's hard for me to imagine standing there, picking up fruit, touching my face with one hand and nose printing the apple with the other, then putting the apple down. Maybe I should get a magnifying glass.
*Redbird lived near Seattle for a few years, and took me to farmers' markets when I visited. I know what fresh Washington apples taste like, and they suck. The nectarines and cherries were fabulous, though.
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Date: 2020-05-18 11:37 pm (UTC)Someday, when summer farmers markets resume on a more normal footing, there will be a farm that shows up by South Station on Tuesdays to sell a rotating selection of 12 different varieties from absolutely boggling number of different heirloom types. I used to go almost every week after work to pick up a few of something new-to-me to try that week.
Which is to say: my housemate and I have absolutely been eating close to 5lbs of fantastic MA-local apples every week and that's a possibility for you as well.
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Date: 2020-05-19 12:26 am (UTC)Someday, when summer farmers markets resume on a more normal footing, there will be a farm that shows up by South Station on Tuesdays to sell a rotating selection of 12 different varieties from absolutely boggling number of different heirloom types. I used to go almost every week after work to pick up a few of something new-to-me to try that week.
I used to go to the Copley market on Tuesdays, and there were several farmers there with impressive varieties. But I may not want to deal with subway stations, when there are at least 4 markets I can reach with a single bus ride.