Tomato Shortage??

[diddlydo]

I fail to see what all the fuss is about regarding the shortage of tomatoes, cucumbers etc. Who needs/wants tasteless imported tomatoes in an English winter because I don't.

[pastafreak]

I'll agree that cucumbers are tasteless. But I always manage to get lovely tomatoes with flavour, so I do miss them if I can't get them.

[Barmaid]

I'm not bothered. We have frozen veg from our harvest last year. We tend not to eat cucumbers and tomatoes this time of year. I've got tomato passata in the freezer and a big bag of peppers, plus a load of other things. There is currently no shortage which is bothering us. We'll get the greenhouse going next month and will eat seasonally.

[diddlydo]

Barmaid - exactly! Eat with the seasons. I have enough tomatoes in various forms in the freezer from our bumper crop last summer to last until the next home-grown lot come round.

[Old_Geezer]

They are still full of nutrients, and add colour. Why wouldn't you want some tomatoes.

No offence, but I don't believe any cucumber is tasteless. Were it so it'd corner the market and the stomach churning flavour ones wouldn't get a look in.

[Cloverjo]

I also can’t see what all the fuss is about shortages. Aldi had loads of toms, cucumbers and peppers the other day.
Quite decent tomatoes, really.
I don’t think cucumber is tasteless. I love munching on a big chunk of one. Thin slices just don’t do it.

[pastafreak]

Ok...I just don't like cucumbers;)

Diddly...some of us aren't able to garden...so do not have loads in their freezer. We rely on what is in the shops.
Maybe you did not think of that?
Aldi and Lidl here have most things. But the city centre Sainsbury's, Tesco and M and S have nothing...at least not in the afternoons.

[Barsel]

I've just done my shop online at Tesco and there were 4 makes to choose from!
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/search?query=Eggs&icid=tescohp_sws-1_m-ft_in-Eggs_ab-226-b_out-Eggs&department=Milk%2C%20Butter%20%26%20Eggs&viewAll=department

[barry1010]

I eat a large salad every day, fresh tomatoes included. The tomatoes I buy are very tasty

[Maydup]

I bought delicious vine tomatoes today from the independent greengrocers. They are tasty and bright not like the English ones grown in the mega glass houses at this time of year.

[roopower]

I don't eat much salad this time of year but do like a bit of tomato or cucumber in a sandwich. I have groceries delivered and haven't noticed any shortage. Probably media hype in a lot of cases again.

[Vagus]

I buy tomatoes every week, all year, and the ones I buy are very tasty on the vine ones which cost a bit more but are worth it.
I’ve not had any problem getting them from Sainsbury’s. And there are cucumbers a plenty there too.

[bhg481]

As baby-boomers we grew up eating food which was in season eg, at this time of year we had mashed potatoes or chips because potatoes were old and just didn't boil nicely; then new potatoes came along and what a treat! Now, if a particular food is in short supply, we just eat something else. We wait for home-grown strawberries and they are a treat; eating them all year round takes away the treat element. If you can't buy a particular food at the moment just wait and when it becomes available again you'll enjoy it all the more.

[Vagus]

Oh yes, I agree about strawberries. We eat pounds and pounds of them when they’re in season in the UK, I never buy them out of season from abroad, horrible.

[barry1010]

bhg, when I was growing up my dad had a huge garden and two allotments where he grew our fruit and veg.
We didn't have a freezer but my parents preserved a lot of the food using old fashioned methods such as salting, pickling and careful storage. So we had 'fresh' peas and runner beans and 'new' potatoes with our Christmas dinner and roast potatoes, mash and chips from 'old' potatoes in the summer.
When domestic chest freezers became common it made their lives so much easier although they still salted, pickled and jammed.

I agree about strawberries, we only eat home grown ones.

[barry1010]

Tinned or frozen tomatoes are not a part of my salads although I do use both in cooking

[pastafreak]

Frozen tomatoes?
Only if already transformed into a lovely thick sauce.

[fitdarren]

I had some very tasty cherry tomatoes with my lunch today, bought from Asda. I loathe cucumber, not just the taste, but the smell too!