General Discussion

pecwae

(8,021 posts)

21. I was just thinking

Tue Jul 16, 2013, 02:56 PM

Jul 2013

the same thing about fruits and vegetables. I haven't had a really good watermelon or cantaloupe in a long time. This year's tomatoes aren't tasting as they should.

Don't know about snacks and I don't eat fast food, but having just returned from Europe I can tell a huge difference in many foods here as opposed to there. The dairy products are especially different; so fresh in Austria, so bland here.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

129 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Did pastries and fast foods use to taste better? [View all] hedgehog Jul 2013 OP

Your reasoning is correct, but also remember: your taste buds get weaker as you get older. n/t FSogol Jul 2013 #1

The same reason, IMO that broccoli tastes better as you get older. tridim Jul 2013 #4

Broccoli will never taste better to me Art_from_Ark Jul 2013 #98

All you have to do is compare homemade doughnuts to commercial ones. Big Blue Marble Jul 2013 #43

NIH disagrees. FSogol Jul 2013 #67

You are absolutely right. SheilaT Jul 2013 #70

Wonderful that you treat your coworkers with your home cooked cakes and cookies.. nenagh Jul 2013 #109

It's that or eventually weigh 800 pounds. SheilaT Jul 2013 #111

.. nenagh Jul 2013 #113

wow that donut list is stunning grasswire Jul 2013 #2

Half the ingredients are for the chocolate buttercreme filling. FarCenter Jul 2013 #30

Remember that most processed corn products are GMO. PDJane Jul 2013 #3

The four years I spent in Europe gave me the opportunity to get away from all of that crap MrScorpio Jul 2013 #5

I've lived in the UK for 7 years FunkyLeprechaun Jul 2013 #35

I've heard that... mockmonkey Jul 2013 #42

Yep! FunkyLeprechaun Jul 2013 #46

The big "chocolate" bar manufacturers in America kentauros Jul 2013 #49

I'm Canadian and I think that u4ic Jul 2013 #99

My British son in law thinks " it tastes like sick." vanlassie Jul 2013 #110

An apt description! u4ic Jul 2013 #128

Ruined it for ME! He brings me Malteasers...ummm! vanlassie Jul 2013 #129

Maybe it's the plutocracy's answer to overpopulation IrishAyes Jul 2013 #54

Europe is starting to get much like the US Major Nikon Jul 2013 #100

Add to that.... defacto7 Jul 2013 #108

Mmmmm donuts... SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #6

I think KS raised donuts are good, too. CrispyQ Jul 2013 #20

Have you tried the "soft cookies"? SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #73

When did you last eat a Tim Hortons doughnut? naturallyselected Jul 2013 #63

I was in upstate NY last week and a friend from Canada SomethingFishy Jul 2013 #72

Years ago I worked for a CPA firm. We had to work on upaloopa Jul 2013 #7

Sounds like McDeath's IrishAyes Jul 2013 #60

Yes and no jberryhill Jul 2013 #8

French fries used to taste better because they were fried in lard. Shrike47 Jul 2013 #9

Beef Tallow, more likely. MineralMan Jul 2013 #10

Not fried in beef extract, but it was added to the fries until about ten years ago ... SomeGuyInEagan Jul 2013 #61

I knew it was beef tallow at some point. MineralMan Jul 2013 #62

Pie crusts made with lard ... incredibly flaky and tasty. SomeGuyInEagan Jul 2013 #93

Make your own raspberry jam and jelly from those fresh raspberries! Stonepounder Jul 2013 #71

And freezer jam is even easier to make. Arugula Latte Jul 2013 #116

Where did you find that ingredients list? MineralMan Jul 2013 #11

It's from a famous donut chain - hedgehog Jul 2013 #13

Go to your local bakery, instead. Try different ones until you MineralMan Jul 2013 #17

Just remember, the local bakery may buy its donuts wholesale from a chain. 40 years ago I worked the Nay Jul 2013 #55

Ask. I don't assume anything. MineralMan Jul 2013 #85

The Baker's Wife BainsBane Jul 2013 #81

stick to honest bakeries BainsBane Jul 2013 #34

Which one? AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #53

The very original McDonalds burger circa 1950 was quite tasty. My mom and Cleita Jul 2013 #12

Fast food was a treat for us back in the 60's. hedgehog Jul 2013 #14

A & W Skittles Jul 2013 #33

I went to school in tenth grade with the daughter of one of the franchise owners of A & W. Cleita Jul 2013 #37

OMG OMG OMG Skittles Jul 2013 #75

I remember going to the now long-defunct A&W drive-in Art_from_Ark Jul 2013 #101

so strange, that song quote Skittles Jul 2013 #103

Biff Burger in FL! What a treat once every couple of weeks! nt Nay Jul 2013 #58

Big Mac's and Whoppers have become uneatable.... WCGreen Jul 2013 #36

Whoppers haven't changed, for me, in 20 years. AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #57

I'm talking 30 - 35 years ago... WCGreen Jul 2013 #66

Of course these ingredients diminish flavor. Common sense. closeupready Jul 2013 #15

It's a good way of purging your cupboard of fattening foods! hedgehog Jul 2013 #16

Yes indeed - I cook fresh most of the time, and brown bag closeupready Jul 2013 #18

Everything used to taste better. Punkingal Jul 2013 #19

I was just thinking pecwae Jul 2013 #21

I'm reading "Much Depends on Dinner" - by a Margaret Visser, from 1986, closeupready Jul 2013 #22

I appreciate that tip! pecwae Jul 2013 #23

Industrial tomatoes have no flavor. progressoid Jul 2013 #27

I've planted nothing but 'heirloom' varieties in my garden, and they taste the way they should. ColesCountyDem Jul 2013 #39

Three apples today = the iron content of one apple from 1950. Auggie Jul 2013 #51

A good book about that is "Eating on the Wild Side" laundry_queen Jul 2013 #79

Thanks! This looks fantastic. Auggie Jul 2013 #82

Donuts have to be really fresh to be good BainsBane Jul 2013 #24

I used to live in a small coastal town in California. MineralMan Jul 2013 #112

Have you tried the bakeries I mentioned? BainsBane Jul 2013 #114

Yah, they're not close enough for me to run over MineralMan Jul 2013 #123

There are some on the West side of St Paul I haven't tried BainsBane Jul 2013 #125

I'm still working on trying the closer ones. MineralMan Jul 2013 #126

Yes, most everything did. I used to think it was simply getting older, but then Egalitarian Thug Jul 2013 #25

Remember when Dunkin Donuts were made in the store fresh... Historic NY Jul 2013 #26

I suspect ingredients are part of it, but I also think our individual tastes change petronius Jul 2013 #28

Sorry, I read that as... RC Jul 2013 #29

I read the same damn thing. Time to correct the prescription....AGAIN. nt msanthrope Jul 2013 #87

Many years ago a local bakery supply warehouse was closing its doors SnowCritter Jul 2013 #31

Yep. Unless you buy it from a mom n pop bakery or make it yourself, it all tastes basicallythe same. Myrina Jul 2013 #32

Best BornLooser Jul 2013 #38

I admit to being very fond of Kincaid's. n/t Laelth Jul 2013 #64

O.R. Gentry's method is still in use...to this day. BornLooser Jul 2013 #76

McDonald's mockmonkey Jul 2013 #40

I got one for you. Try to find Concord Grapes.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #41

I can usually get them, in season, at Eastern Market susanna Jul 2013 #77

I mention them on the West Coast and people just don't get it. Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #86

Maybe because indigenous American grapes are looked down on because of the... susanna Jul 2013 #88

It's like FOODCO doesn't want people to know about that stuff.... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #89

Yes, that is the attitude of Foodco. susanna Jul 2013 #94

The OP is right though that the quality of commercial food has gone down... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #95

Oh, absolutely! susanna Jul 2013 #106

You might like this... Spitfire of ATJ Jul 2013 #107

Message auto-removed Name removed Jul 2013 #117

Be Careful What You Eat....Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Half-Century Man Jul 2013 #44

Pasturizing milk w moderate heat = better taste. Pasturizing w higher heat = quicker & profitable. AnotherMcIntosh Jul 2013 #45

I like the 'Lactose Free' stuff, and they hyper-pasteurize it. AtheistCrusader Jul 2013 #59

I sooooo agree. I've always wanted to see what the formula or recipe Pretzel_Warrior Jul 2013 #47

i blame all the kids on my lawn Enrique Jul 2013 #48

Yeah, when they used real EC Jul 2013 #50

What you said, IrishAyes Jul 2013 #52

50 years has increased profits in the biotech fake food industrial complex. That is all. ancianita Jul 2013 #56

Most of our familiar processed foods Freddie Jul 2013 #65

Prepared-for-you-foods are now mostly franken-foods SoCalDem Jul 2013 #68

I was just speaking about this with friends... slor Jul 2013 #69

Even simple foods, like milk, are different now KurtNYC Jul 2013 #74

During the war (WWII) my grandmother got pasteurized milk from the local dairy Cleita Jul 2013 #80

I had a Twinkie yesterday brooklynite Jul 2013 #78

I haven't had a good donut in 30 years Ratty Jul 2013 #83

Yes. Though with baked goods, texture tended to be either harder or more doughy. haele Jul 2013 #84

The local shop around here makes the best doughnuts I've ever had. LeftyMom Jul 2013 #90

My mother was a young Navy wife in Oakland in the 50's when she was pregnant with me - hedgehog Jul 2013 #91

McDonald's hamburgers Aerows Jul 2013 #92

I notice it leaves a film in my mouth. xmas74 Jul 2013 #96

Au contraire! Major Nikon Jul 2013 #97

Salt Sugar Fat u4ic Jul 2013 #102

One thing jumps out at me and it's the use of vegetable oils Warpy Jul 2013 #104

I remember real good donuts from the Helm's man Politicalboi Jul 2013 #105

Ah yes, and the huge Venice Blvd. Helm's building is a treat to this day. Bluenorthwest Jul 2013 #118

Message auto-removed Name removed Jul 2013 #115

Small city/town in upstate New York - hedgehog Jul 2013 #120

Buy local and high quality. Baked goods in particular... Bluenorthwest Jul 2013 #119

I don't dispute that some things may have indeed changed in quality but... Silent3 Jul 2013 #121

I'd like to see the Penn and teller test done with baked goods - hedgehog Jul 2013 #122

When two halves of the very same banana produce that much florid verbiage... Silent3 Jul 2013 #124

The bakery I used to go to used HFCS. I suspect that is the reason why baked goods don't applegrove Jul 2013 #127