Have you ever wondered why garden tomatoes taste better than store tomatoes?
They might have the same look and quality; however, they taste absolutely different from each other.
When comparing the two, it all comes down to quality over quantity, nutrients, care, and other things that cause both to taste different.
So, here in this post, we are going to find out why garden-grown tomatoes taste different from store-bought tomatoes.
If you are a home gardener who grows tomatoes, I am sure you can tell the difference between a store-bought tomato and a home-grown tomato.
Remember, we mentioned care earlier?
Well, it goes like this: if you value something you created yourself, like planting your tomatoes.
You will naturally care more for your plant product than something made or planted by someone else.
Store Tomatoes
Store tomatoes do not technically ripen on the trees; they are sometimes picked early, even before they are fully mature.
If you spray the tomato plant with chemicals (non-dangerous pesticide chemicals) plus the chemicals that all tomatoes produce themselves as they ripen, it will slow down its ripening process.
So, when it comes to tomatoes, their ripening process stops when they are picked early. If they are not fully mature, oftentimes they will become spoiled and rotten.
However, if they are mature enough before fully ripening, they will barely develop the proper color or tasty flavor they should have.
When it comes to ripe tomatoes on a tree, they will quickly become very soft, susceptible to rotten bruising, and have a low shelf life.
So, what this means is that getting ripe or overripe tomatoes on a grocery store shelf is incredibly difficult and not profitable.
Ripen tomatoes don’t last long enough to make it from the vine to the shelf and then to your plate through those means.
Garden Tomatoes
When it comes to growing your own garden tomatoes, you don’t have to pick them unfit or unripe. That way, they can make it through the process of ripening naturally.
The thing is, you don’t have to artificially kickstart their ripening process by spraying the tomatoes with chemicals.
All you have to do is let the tomatoes stay on the vines and let them ripen naturally on their own.
Why Are Store-Bought Tomatoes So Tasteless and Unpleasant to Eat?
The reason why store-bought tomatoes are tasteless is based on the breed of the tomatoes. Store-bought tomatoes are more durable for transport and more pest- and disease-resistant.
The flavor of store-bought tomatoes is not considered to be sweet overall because there is a tradeoff between its overall flavor and transport durability to stay fresh on the store shelves This is not just for tomatoes, but for other fruits and vegetables as well.
Store tomatoes that are for sale in places where shelf life is important. They are often picked green or unripe. The reason for that is that the tomatoes will last longer on the shelves.
Nevertheless, the riper the fruit, the shorter the shelf lifespan is, and this applies to many other fruits and vegetables as well.
Tomatoes get their flavor from the absorption of nutrients and the accumulation of sugars, which come through their root stems.
However, once it’s picked off the vine too early, all those nutrients stop.
To get good varieties of tomatoes, such as garden tomatoes, with good flavor, they would have to be picked ripe.
However, the only problem would be that it could only last a few hours.
One of the best practices local supermarkets could radically change to have better-tasting tomatoes would be just-in-time ordering infrastructure. This would push all the way down to the end-consumer level.
This is where people could place orders for tomatoes literally on their way from the field and collect them the same day.
However, that would not be as profitable as swapping quantity and sustainability for quality.
Why do most homegrown tomatoes have no flavor?
The reason why most homegrown tomatoes have no flavor or grow into flavorless bred is caused by watery disappointments.
What this means is that the tomato plant accumulates excessive or too much water.
When homegrown tomato plants absorb too much water, especially late when the fruits develop maturely and almost ripen, the tomatoes on the plant will grow rapidly and the tasty flavor will become diluted.
Why do homegrown vegetables taste better?
Based on a study from the USDA, the quality of most homegrown vegetables that taste better is based on the time between the last watering and harvest; this, in most cases, will affect the taste of the vegetable.
Homegrown tomatoes go days without getting any water before harvesting them once they are fully mature and ripened, resulting in a better flavorful taste.
Why Homegrown Tomatoes Taste Better Than Store-Bought
The reason why homegrown tomatoes taste better than store-bought tomatoes is that stored tomatoes have an incentive to produce lots of tomatoes and to sell as many as possible to make a profit.
The methods of creating a lucrative sales funnel are within the legal framework; as in “Degreening,” most businesses will most likely take advantage of this lucrative business framework like a machine.
However, garden-grown or homegrown tomatoes absorb quality nutrients found in the soil along with sunlight and water.
The organic relationship between garden-grown tomatoes and the love and care for growing this fruit will flourish with a flavorful taste, unlike store-bought tomatoes.
It’s like comparing a packaged brownie mix with a brownie made with high-quality ingredients. You will notice the difference.
How Do You Make Homegrown Tomatoes Taste Better?
To make your homegrown tomatoes taste better, it all depends on the soil, meaning the type of compost and nutrients used, the tender loving care of the tomato plant, meaning how many times per day you water, and the lack of use of pesticides on your home-grown or garden-grown tomatoes.
Doing all that will help improve the taste and quality of your garden-grown tomatoes.
So, this is why garden-grown tomatoes are the best-tasting tomatoes you can have.
If you have a garden at home, it is better to plant your garden-grown tomatoes to avoid chemicals used on store-bought tomatoes.
And, if you don’t have a garden yet, now would be the best time to start your homegrown tomato garden.
This way, you will know what is going into your tomatoes while loving and caring for them in the process.
