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Cherries

A virtual pub for off topic, light hearted pub related banter and discussion. No trainers
simsqu
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Cherries

#430485

Postby simsqu » July 26th, 2021, 1:13 pm

God knows, I loathe nostalgia. I believe it to be a completely deranged and false delusion. The thought that things used to be so much better in the olden days. This is claptrap. I strongly suspect there was much more disease, ill health, death, poverty, war, famine, misery and child molestation. Also far more sexual orientation, racial and religious persecution and intolerance, not to mention more violence, degradation, humiliation and suppression of and against women. You just didn't hear about it so much.

However.

There appears, against my better judgement, to be one notable exception.

What has happened to cherries? Cherries have always been my absolute favouritest fruit, and each year I look forward with anticipation (is that a tautology?) to the short, but delightful cherry season. I was born and brought up in Kent, which certainly used to be truly the Garden of England: hops, Worcester apples, Comice pears, greengages, plums, and top of the list, cherries. Smallish, firm fruit, light to medium red in colour, sweet, juicy but above all, with the most delicious intense cherry flavour, and they lasted for days if not weeks if kept in the pantry.

Fantastic.

But this year, every cherry I have come across, whether from a supermarket, a local fruit & veg shop, or even the Isawyoucoming ridiculously overpriced especially for the North London Liberal Lefties, Organic Muswell Hill Comestible Emporium, have been of one variety: huge, bloated, watery, tasteless monsters, the sickly dark, dull purplish colour of your deeply bruised forearm after being whacked repeatedly by a mallet. They have flabby skin, and go off almost as soon as you’ve put them in the fruit bowl. They’ll last a day if you’re lucky. In fact, if you’re unlucky, because then you have to eat them. I think I would prefer them to go off before they get to the fruit bowl, so I can throw them directly in the bin, which would save me the ordeal of having to eat them.

Thank you. I feel better now

monabri
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Re: Cherries

#430487

Postby monabri » July 26th, 2021, 1:23 pm

Cherry pie! Luvvely!

UncleEbenezer
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Re: Cherries

#430493

Postby UncleEbenezer » July 26th, 2021, 1:40 pm

I've had some very nice cherries this year.

They tend to be a dark red these days: colour of a plum, or of red wine. If you specifically want the lighter, more strawberry-coloured ones, they do seem to be more elusive than of old. Possibly they were less popular: a lighter colour was sometimes indicative of being under-ripe, so I and (I suspect) many others tended to choose the darker ones.

ReformedCharacter
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Re: Cherries

#430498

Postby ReformedCharacter » July 26th, 2021, 1:58 pm

simsqu wrote:
What has happened to cherries?

But this year, every cherry I have come across, whether from a supermarket, a local fruit & veg shop, or even the Isawyoucoming ridiculously overpriced especially for the North London Liberal Lefties, Organic Muswell Hill Comestible Emporium, have been of one variety: huge, bloated, watery, tasteless monsters, the sickly dark, dull purplish colour of your deeply bruised forearm after being whacked repeatedly by a mallet. They have flabby skin, and go off almost as soon as you’ve put them in the fruit bowl. They’ll last a day if you’re lucky. In fact, if you’re unlucky, because then you have to eat them. I think I would prefer them to go off before they get to the fruit bowl, so I can throw them directly in the bin, which would save me the ordeal of having to eat them.

Thank you. I feel better now

Do you know where the cherries you dislike come from, ie. are they imported? I suspect they are going the way of the plum in the UK which used to be popular and economically worthwhile for producers but AFAIK hardly any are grown commercially in the UK and those that are, are unlikely to be replaced at the end of their productive lives.

RC

simsqu
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Re: Cherries

#430500

Postby simsqu » July 26th, 2021, 2:00 pm

ReformedCharacter wrote:Do you know where the cherries you dislike come from, ie. are they imported?
RC


Good question. I suspect they have cleared the last remnants of the Amazonian Rain Forest to build vast cherry-breeding hydroponic laboratories

monabri
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Re: Cherries

#430508

Postby monabri » July 26th, 2021, 3:01 pm

Off on a tangent ( HYP card played :) ) the Bolivian grapes from Aldi are by far and away the best I've ever tasted.

stevensfo
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Re: Cherries

#430561

Postby stevensfo » July 26th, 2021, 7:34 pm

simsqu wrote:God knows, I loathe nostalgia. I believe it to be a completely deranged and false delusion. The thought that things used to be so much better in the olden days. This is claptrap. I strongly suspect there was much more disease, ill health, death, poverty, war, famine, misery and child molestation. Also far more sexual orientation, racial and religious persecution and intolerance, not to mention more violence, degradation, humiliation and suppression of and against women. You just didn't hear about it so much.

However.

There appears, against my better judgement, to be one notable exception.

What has happened to cherries? Cherries have always been my absolute favouritest fruit, and each year I look forward with anticipation (is that a tautology?) to the short, but delightful cherry season. I was born and brought up in Kent, which certainly used to be truly the Garden of England: hops, Worcester apples, Comice pears, greengages, plums, and top of the list, cherries. Smallish, firm fruit, light to medium red in colour, sweet, juicy but above all, with the most delicious intense cherry flavour, and they lasted for days if not weeks if kept in the pantry.

Fantastic.

But this year, every cherry I have come across, whether from a supermarket, a local fruit & veg shop, or even the Isawyoucoming ridiculously overpriced especially for the North London Liberal Lefties, Organic Muswell Hill Comestible Emporium, have been of one variety: huge, bloated, watery, tasteless monsters, the sickly dark, dull purplish colour of your deeply bruised forearm after being whacked repeatedly by a mallet. They have flabby skin, and go off almost as soon as you’ve put them in the fruit bowl. They’ll last a day if you’re lucky. In fact, if you’re unlucky, because then you have to eat them. I think I would prefer them to go off before they get to the fruit bowl, so I can throw them directly in the bin, which would save me the ordeal of having to eat them.

Thank you. I feel better now


If you have a garden, plant some young cherry trees. They shoot up like a Russian weightlifter on steroids and you'll be having to prune the damn things to stop them reaching the clouds. Ours always seemed to have alternate years for producing the goods.

Steve

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Re: Cherries

#430568

Postby GrahamPlatt » July 26th, 2021, 8:13 pm

simsqu wrote:The thought that things used to be so much better in the olden days.


They always were, for almost everyone and at all times in history*. Because we were younger then. All our senses and physical abilities were better. It was brighter, clearer, smelled and tasted better, you could almost hear the bats and could run and jump for mere joie de vivre.

But perhaps you never were a Shropshire Lad.

*excepting some very unfortunate cases.
Last edited by GrahamPlatt on July 26th, 2021, 8:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Nimrod103
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Re: Cherries

#430576

Postby Nimrod103 » July 26th, 2021, 8:37 pm

stevensfo wrote:If you have a garden, plant some young cherry trees. They shoot up like a Russian weightlifter on steroids and you'll be having to prune the damn things to stop them reaching the clouds. Ours always seemed to have alternate years for producing the goods.

Steve


How do you stop the birds eating the lot before you can pick them?

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Re: Cherries

#430582

Postby kempiejon » July 26th, 2021, 9:07 pm

Nimrod103 wrote:
stevensfo wrote:If you have a garden, plant some young cherry trees. They shoot up like a Russian weightlifter on steroids and you'll be having to prune the damn things to stop them reaching the clouds. Ours always seemed to have alternate years for producing the goods.

Steve


How do you stop the birds eating the lot before you can pick them?


I have heard that plastic snakes in the branches can deter some birds.
This is a novel one on me, https://www.goodfruit.com/sugar-sours-b ... rry-crops/
The University of Wyoming zoologist first posited way back in his 1995 doctoral dissertation that the inability of certain birds to digest sucrose may make sugar a viable pest control option. Few took him seriously, he recalled.Still bound to lead the wasps to take them instead

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Re: Cherries

#430599

Postby Mike4 » July 26th, 2021, 10:43 pm

simsqu wrote: greengages


Hmmm my mother used to prattle on about those when I was a brat. They did sound fascinating and I always imagined they were some sort of apparatus for measuring the weight of a steam engine. But no, it turned out they were something to eat. Not that I've ever actually seen one, let alone eaten it.

Do they sell them on Ocado?

simsqu
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Re: Cherries

#430605

Postby simsqu » July 26th, 2021, 11:13 pm

Mike4 wrote:
simsqu wrote: greengages



Do they sell them on Ocado?


I have no idea. Never used Ocado. They have a very short season (really only a couple of weeks in early autumn) but are absolutely delicious. Well worth a try if you can find them.

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Re: Cherries

#430612

Postby Mike4 » July 26th, 2021, 11:41 pm

simsqu wrote:
Mike4 wrote:
simsqu wrote: greengages



Do they sell them on Ocado?


I have no idea. Never used Ocado.


But, but, but you live in norf London. How on earth else would you get your groceries delivered?????

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Re: Cherries

#430640

Postby Leothebear » July 27th, 2021, 8:22 am

I don't know about cherries, but the strawberries aren't what they were. The English ones I've had this year are little better that the N African stuff available in the Winter months.

Don't get me started on Jersey Royals.

simsqu
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Re: Cherries

#430641

Postby simsqu » July 27th, 2021, 8:23 am

Mike4 wrote:
simsqu wrote:
Mike4 wrote:

Do they sell them on Ocado?


I have no idea. Never used Ocado.


But, but, but you live in norf London. How on earth else would you get your groceries delivered?????


(hanging his head in shame) Morrisons

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Re: Cherries

#430659

Postby Imbiber » July 27th, 2021, 9:57 am

simsqu wrote:
However.

There appears, against my better judgement, to be one notable exception.

What has happened to cherries? Cherries have always been my absolute favouritest fruit, and each year I look forward with anticipation (is that a tautology?) to the short, but delightful cherry season. I was born and brought up in Kent, which certainly used to be truly the Garden of England: hops, Worcester apples, Comice pears, greengages, plums, and top of the list, cherries. Smallish, firm fruit, light to medium red in colour, sweet, juicy but above all, with the most delicious intense cherry flavour, and they lasted for days if not weeks if kept in the pantry.

Fantastic.


I live in Kent, 5 miles or so from a fruit farm. They sell cherries at the gate, £5 a kilo. They have been superb this year, Sunday 1st August us the last picking day. All the cherries I have seen in the local supermarkets have been imported. Village shops nearby have local fruit.

I

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Re: Cherries

#430676

Postby 88V8 » July 27th, 2021, 10:47 am

simsqu wrote:What has happened to cherries?

We bought some from a stall in Stroud farmers' market last Saturday.
They were only selling cherries, their own.... big and plump and luvverly.

We had a cherry tree at our previous house. Sixty+ years old and 50ft across... the cherries weren't great but the birds enjoyed them.

Seen here in the centre, by which time it was 85+ years ... with a taller wild cherry to the left

Image

V8

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Re: Cherries

#430682

Postby UncleEbenezer » July 27th, 2021, 11:05 am

Leothebear wrote:I don't know about cherries, but the strawberries aren't what they were. The English ones I've had this year are little better that the N African stuff available in the Winter months.

Don't get me started on Jersey Royals.

Strawberries are a mix in recent years. This year a majority have been nice, but a couple of batches were tasteless.

Paying a bit more for local produce of known provenance sometimes helps. When strawberries have a bad year it becomes the only option other than shun them altogether.

This year, the raspberries have disappointed.

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Re: Cherries

#430686

Postby stevensfo » July 27th, 2021, 11:24 am

Nimrod103 wrote:
stevensfo wrote:If you have a garden, plant some young cherry trees. They shoot up like a Russian weightlifter on steroids and you'll be having to prune the damn things to stop them reaching the clouds. Ours always seemed to have alternate years for producing the goods.

Steve


How do you stop the birds eating the lot before you can pick them?


Actually, that's a mystery. My wife is paranoid about using any chemicals so everything is 100% Bio. A few years ago, we had a bumper crop and they appeared to be untouched by birds. We have a lot of magpies around us so perhaps they keep the others away? On the other hand, our apples seem to be scoffed by insects and although we usually have plenty of plums, they have an annoying habit of falling before they're ripe.

Just don't get me started on the enormous rhubarb plant that takes up so much room. I wish some birds would take that!

Steve

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Re: Cherries

#430696

Postby brightncheerful » July 27th, 2021, 12:20 pm

Nostalgia doesn't have to imply thinking that things were so much better in the olden days.

It means a sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past. (I'll resist the temptation for menopause humour.)

There are many things I have a wistful affection for without them being so much better.

Cherries, for example, are a short season crop, much of which is eaten by the birds before the cherries can be harvested. The birds aren''t going to leave the really juicy tasty ones to humans. More likely the birds will think humans are daft to allow the birds to eat the pick of the crop. Of course, in the old days things were so much better for humans because there weren't so many birds whose tastebuds had been refined from feasting on tasty morsels in the waste bins of organic emporia.

As a short season crop for which demand exceeds supply, that the number of marketable cherries has been reduced by lack of winter chilling, which leads to poor fruit set, and timing of late-spring rains, doesn't stop growers and wholesalers from dumping the tasteless cherries on the masses whilst keeping the creme-de-la-creme for themselves and the birds.

Tasteless? Think of benzaldehyde whose molecule is in cherry pits and stems.


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