On Wednesday I popped into a grocery store on my way home from Calgary to pick up a few supper items. At the checkout, the cashier asked the stock boy to put back what she referred to as "this perfect tomato." By the usual standards, it was pretty "perfect." Huge size, even shape, bright red. It hadn't been purchased because the customer before me refused to pay $4 for once single tomato.
This whole scenario got me thinking for 2 reasons:
1. $4 for ONE tomato??? Are you kidding me? I even said to the cashier "No kidding, he can buy a whole plant for that a get tomatoes all summer!"
2. Our quest for perfection. These days, it seems we are programmed to only want to eat "perfect" food. So much of our produce is genetically modified, and sprayed with pesticides, that we don't see many wormholes, sun spots, or odd shapes in our food. But if you take a look at some heirloom tomatoe varieties, they are "ugly" compared to what we are used to. But the TASTE!
My favourite apples are an organic variety called "Pink Lady." They are sweet, firm, and just the right size. They are also often bruised, or have sun spots.
And is the tradeoff really worth it? A high pesticide load just for how nice it looks?
So my challenge is this-look past how pretty your food is. The ugly food might have a great personality!
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