Organic Food

[Xpose]

I love the stuff, it tastes so much better, fresher and natural. Some people cannot understand however why i will spend more to buy it, so my question is, do you buy Organic and can you taste the difference?

[littleblonde]

If you want organic I say grow your own.

Bloody hippies :p

[I love organic food - I just cbf spending that much money on it]

[central_smurf]

i was living down in melbourne recently so i frequently visited the queen vic markets where there are organic ppl selling their produce.

i have to say that some of it looked awful! I know it probably tastes heaps better but it really didnt look all that appealing, not to mention about twice as much in price...

edit - my bf's parents grow their own vegies etc and they are great.. they look good and taste good too... HOWEVER in the grand scheme of things i honestly cant taste THAT much difference between their stuff and the produce we buy at our fruit market

[Xpose]

Yeah i'm lucky in Adelaide we have a fantastic fresh food market, yes some may be smaller or odd in shape and some peeps dont wanna pay $5 a kilo for apples but my god it's worth it.

[supa]

organic tomatoes are so much nicer. i haven't sampled a fuller range of organic foods but if it wasn't so damn expensive i'd really like to buy organic chicken.... it's pretty feral eating the scrappy hormone induced specimens most people eat on a day to day basis.

[Xpose]

I buy all my fruit and veg and chicken, i dont eat a lot of red meat at home so am not as fussy with that.

There is also a fantastic organic pizza place in adelaide the triple smoked organic bacon and organic duck pizzas are :drool: worthy!

[Ralph Wiggum]

Organic is awesome, worth every penny :)

Edit: GM food scares me :meh:

[Serotonin]

For the last 2 years i only buy organic chicken and meats. It is trial and error some things taste better like mince and chicken breast not to mention its not pumped full of shit. But i found the organic lamb cutlets taste like shit and i dont bother with them anymore.. Organic is well worth the money its the way food is ment to be if you dont like the taste straight off its because you are used to the chemicals in non organic foods.

[Faulks]

I know this lady who sells organic pet food.. Mainly for dogs its meant to be really good for them

[krafty_x]

Having grown up in the country with my Grandad's enormous and plentifully stocked fruit and vege garden I was very spoilt for fresh produce.

I don't but anything from supermarkets. I spend my money locally and use my local fruit and veg shops.

Tomatoes are the killer. My grandad has a tomato variety named after him he grew such great tomatoes and thay are just utterly flavourless in the shops these days. :(

My folx still grow their own tomatoes for that reason. Can't beat 'em.

k_x oxo

[supa]

mmmmn maybe i buy a big pot and grow a tomato tree on my back patio :-D

[alowflyingpig]

we grow our own tomatoes and they are SO much nicer, juicier, and they are actually red! not this off red/orange colour...

they taste SO much better as well! :)

[alowflyingpig]

^^^ or grow them in your backyard ;)

[Jazmine]

Comparison of Organic vs Non-Organic Produce
Component Mean % increase in organic produce vs non-organic produce

Dry matter +26%
Potassium +13%
Calcium +56%
Magnesium +49%
Iron +290% (oh my god?)
Copper +34%
Manganese +28%
Protein +12%
Essential amino acids +35%
Nitrates +69%
Phosphorous +6%


Organic food is SO much better for you it really is worth paying more for the amount of extra nutrition you get from it. SO MUCH BETTER.

[bricktop712]

It depends on the type of food of course. But in general I can't tell the difference.

Organic all the way especially for steak and some veges. The contrast in quality in regards to meat is especially astounding. It can get really expensive but it's soooo worth paying that much extra.

Complete waste of money for eggs, bread, and fruit in my opinion. Can't tell the difference or taste noticably better. I mean eating organic is all well and good, but really, is it that beneficial for your health? I think not. Is the taste that much better in general? For some yes, but isn't for most.

[Jazmine]

The only eggs I would buy is free range organic fed eggs. The conditions of battery farms is appalling. I wouldn't buy organic fruit & veg for the taste but for the proven increase in nutrition considering i don't really eat enough fruit & veg, when I do I want to get as much as I can from them.

[peepyfun]

i can only notice difference in tomatos and chicken.

we're so accustomed to eating supermarket food that organic food will always taste different. just have to train our brains again.

[krafty_x]

There's so much more to food than taste though.

And werd on the eggs. :)

Free range eggs = better colour and flavour.

k_x oxo

[SPOKEYDOKEY]

organic food makes you smell smellier than a smelly hippy

[Xpose]

There's so much more to food than taste though.

And werd on the eggs. :)

Free range eggs = better colour and flavour.

k_x oxo
Werd. First time i sent the extra dosh i couldnt believe how orange the yolks were.

Everybody saying the taste isnt that noticeable i defy you to go back to eating supermarket produce after having a truly sweet carrot or a mandarin that actually tastes like it was meant to, even the herbs taste better !

Disclaimer - despite my food leanings i do not drive a kombi van and listen to psy trance!

[krafty_x]

I was about to say same.

I don't drive a combi but I'll have to go back on the psytrance.

OMG what has happened to me?

*GASP*

k_x oxo

[SPOKEYDOKEY]

filthy dirty hippy...worse than them bloody ibis :lol:

[krafty_x]

I know. As soon as I started to like the music I woke up and never wanted to shower again.

k_x oxo

[bricktop712]

Well as I said, I can't taste any perceptable difference between free-range, happy chickens that lay golden eggs blah blah blah. And I can't say I would really pay double to have 'yellow-er' eggs or whatever. I'm all about value for money.

Your grocery bills must be outrageous and I can only assume ya'll are hardcore culinary conissoirs (sp).

[Xpose]

I am a food nazi yes, however by shopping at the markets rather than the supermarkets i spend about the same :thumb:

But i have paid $150 for a degustation meal in a restaurant as well.

[Kinki Jedi]

I choose organic when I can, and never buy fruit at the supermarket. I love organic jam, mmm.....

For anyone in Brissie southside, get your fruit and veg from the little fruit shop across from Woolies at Westfield Carindale, really good quality stuff (not organic though).

[krafty_x]

Actually no bricktop. It costs me about $12-15 to make dinner for two on the average weekday.

And that pretty much includes stuff like spagetti bolognaise, leek tart and salad, good quality sausages and a traditional mash, fish with herb and potato salad and steamed veges, wild mushroom risotto, sweet potato soup with goats cheese, cauliflour soup with smoked salmon coated croutons.

All fresh ingredients.

The thing is fresh ingrediants is pretty much ALL I buy. I don't eat packaged garbage and I don't eat takeaway crap and I don't snack on chips and whatnot so I prolly spend less than a lot of people on food.

As for 'hardcore culinary conissoirs'. Dunno about hardcore but yes I love my food. Who doesn't?

:D

Damn I'm hungry now.

k_x oxo

[Xpose]

MMMmmm wanna cook for me tonight krafty ?? i was only gonna do a puttanesca but now i crave more.

[krafty_x]

:lol:

Yeah I think ima go nuts at the fruit and vege shop when I get outa here. I've just got to decide what to have though.

I'm thinking soup.

Maybe the sweet potato and goats cheese.

Or roast capsicum and tomato.

k_x oxo

[nettsu]

Or roast capsicum and tomato.

k_x oxo

this gets my vote :thumb:

also roast a couple of chillies

its awesome ;D

[Xpose]

Sweet potato goats cheese with chives and parmesan croutons and a little bit of crispy pancetta mmmmmm

[krafty_x]

Sold by the chap with the captital X in front.

mmmmm.

k_x oxo

[supa]

i have difficulty finding goats cheese anywhere that isn't really expensive. it seems to always be close to the $6 mark for 150g :(. are there any cheaper brands?

[krafty_x]

Yeah it is a bit pricey... but it's sooo goooood. And considering all I have to buy for tonight is a couple of sweet potato, onion, bread and the rest of the ingredients I already have it's only going to cost me $10 to make this meal.

:)

k_x oxo

[emskina]

yeah, I love goats cheese, use it a bit in cooking

wild mushroom risotto krafty?
/emskina faints in delight

[Optimus Rhyme]

But i have paid $150 for a degustation meal in a restaurant as well.


What is one of those?

[matchka]

A lot goes on behind the scenes that most people don't know.

Small greengrocer's produce are more likely to contain high Maximum Residue Limits than Supermarkets.

Organic is great, though it's not proven to be more nutritious. Fertilizers used are different and so is the quality of soil. That affects the taste. It's a great system of sustainable farming, but takes a long time to set up, seeing the land needs to be organically prepared a few years before anything is allowed to be grown on it. Yields are also not high.

Hormone pumped chickens are prohibited in Australia, and you wouldn't find them in supermarkets

:blush:

[navskore]

I do sometimes, but like I don't ever eat sausages pretty much ever. ( I think they look, taste and smell disgusting) And I bought these organic chicken chipolatas and they are the best sausages I've ever tasted for sure

[No Rehersal]

Those nananas with the red wax on the end aren't necessarily organically grown...

fuxors

[rayza_kool]

yeah i like that, the stupid doctors and politicians are complaining that so many kids are obese these days but buying organic food is soooo expensive :mad:

still, its worth buying it, tastes absolutely beudiful (especially crispy apples and crunchy carrots!!!)

[Xpose]

What is one of those?
Usually between 5 and 8 courses, small but packed with intense flavours. You can generally buy the matching wines for each curse for another $120 odd !

totally extravagant but i wanted to try the food of Cheong Liew after he was named one of the worlds ten greatest chefs!

[supa]

yeah i like that, the stupid doctors and politicians are complaining that so many kids are obese these days but buying organic food is soooo expensive :mad:

still, its worth buying it, tastes absolutely beudiful (especially crispy apples and crunchy carrots!!!)

organic foods are highly subsidised in australia, even if they are still extremely expensive.

i have a friend who runs an organic farm. they really don't make any money from their produce, the $$ come from government grants.

i also think that although organic foods are expensive they are becoming cheaper all the time...they will be affordable eventually.

[bricktop712]

I don't think there is any proven link between obesity and organic or non-organic produce rather.

Most people I know buy bulk from markets and pay good prices. The downside is you have to wake at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning to get the good stuff.

[krafty_x]

Yes emsk.

It's great if you can marinate the mushrooms in white wine and garlic for a few hours before cooking but otherwise it's pretty simple.

I just boil the rice until cooked, strain, mix through the mushrooms then add white wine and vegetable stock until the rice stops absorbing and gets the right risotto texture and consistency.

Mix through some finely chopped chives and some grated parmesan, pepper and salt to taste.

Serve with bread and extra parmesan.

That's my quick and simple method anyway.

k_x oxo

[Xpose]

Yes emsk.

It's great if you can marinate the mushrooms in white wine and garlic for a few hours before cooking but otherwise it's pretty simple.

I just boil the rice until cooked, strain, mix through the mushrooms then add white wine and vegetable stock until the rice stops absorbing and gets the right risotto texture and consistency.

Mix through some finely chopped chives and some grated parmesan, pepper and salt to taste.

Serve with bread and extra parmesan.

That's my quick and simple method anyway.

k_x oxo
I love getting a stack of different mushrooms from the markets splurging on some porcini and stuff then making one of these !!

Again bricktop im lucky in Adelaide our markets is open tuesday thursday, friday till 9pm and saturday i normally go sat about 10 or 11 and all the good stuff is still there.

[emskina]

:drool: Shall have to give it a try!