Tomato nostalgia as I relive my Croatian island childhood

Why supermarket tomatoes taste bad

• Many commenters say supermarket tomatoes are bred and selected for appearance, durability, and transportability, not flavor.
• Tomatoes are usually picked underripe and ripened off-vine, which several claim prevents full flavor development.
• Industrial cultivars often have thick skins and firm, greenish interiors with low sugar; good-tasting heirlooms bruise easily and have very short peak windows, making them hard to ship.
• Canned tomatoes (especially Italian brands) are repeatedly praised as tastier than “fresh” supermarket ones because they’re picked ripe and processed immediately.

Capitalism, markets, and regulation

• One view: “capitalism” optimizes for efficiency and yield, so we get bland but cheap “porno-tomatoes.”
• Counterview: capitalism would happily supply great tomatoes if enough consumers paid the premium; farmer’s markets and CSA boxes are cited as proof.
• Disagreement on regulation: some blame food and market regulations/subsidies for squeezing out small shops and local producers; others argue big chains thrive despite regulation and that deregulation would worsen quality and competition.
• Information asymmetry is raised: in supermarkets, paying more rarely yields proportionally better taste, so scale for high-quality options never develops.

Regional differences

• Strong contrast between northern Europe (UK, Netherlands, Scandinavia) and southern/SE Europe (Croatia, Balkans, Greece, Spain, Italy).
• Many in the north complain tomatoes are watery and tasteless, with exceptions for expensive specialty lines or imports.
• Southern and Balkan posters describe intensely flavorful local or homegrown tomatoes, often contrasted with Dutch greenhouse exports, which look perfect but taste bland.
• Climate and sun are frequently cited; one Greek commenter says recent heatwaves and climate change are now degrading flavor even there.

Home growing, varieties, and gardening challenges

• Numerous people now grow their own tomatoes (even on balconies) and describe huge flavor differences.
• Others push back that tomatoes are disease-prone, labor-intensive, and emotionally costly when crops fail; good seed choice (heirloom vs supermarket hybrids) is emphasized.
• Specific varieties mentioned: oxheart, beefsteak, cherry types, Monte Carlo, plum, malinowy/“raspberry” tomatoes, Rutgers, Sun Sugar, “Pineapple” tomatoes.

Food safety and “homegrown” risk

• A warning is raised about widespread smuggling and misuse of banned pesticides by small growers in parts of the Adriatic/Balkan region.
• Claim: supermarket supply chains at least test for residues, whereas anonymous “homegrown” market produce may be riskier unless you know the grower.

Broader food-quality nostalgia

• Many extend the discussion to eggs, meat, seafood, strawberries, carrots, celery, and other vegetables, often claiming stark differences between industrial and local/homegrown.
• Some skepticism appears: blind taste tests sometimes fail to show differences, and suggestibility from branding/appearance is noted.
• Overall tone mixes nostalgia (“real tomatoes from childhood”) with resignation that industrialization and global transport have traded flavor for consistency and cost.