My wife picking me up tomatoes from the store.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

larry_stewart

Master Chef
Joined
Dec 25, 2006
Messages
6,169
Location
Long Island, New York
I figured you guys would get a kick out of this. 90% of the food shopping I do, Especially if its something I need to cook with (not prepared). Veggies, I almost always pick them out whether it be from the store, or in season , from the garden. Anyway, my wife was stopping off at the market on her way home from work, and asked if there was anything I needed. I'm trying a new dish I just saw online, and realized I need some tomatoes for it ( which I didnt pick up myself, cause I didnt realized I would be needing them this week). Anyway, I tell her I need the tomatoes, preferably the Roma type, but if she cant find those or they dont look good, she can get me the rounder ones. I get a text later on with a picture of Roma tomatoes saying "Which one?". Me, being very picky in the veggies I select, didnt think anything of it, so I edited the picture and circled the exact tomatoes I wanted. With a note to check the other sides for bruises or blemishes, and I sent it to her. After I sent my edited, marked up pic, I realized she had sent 2 pictures, one of the Romas and the other of a different variety. She just waned to know which variety, not the exact tomatoes :LOL:. She must think I'really a PIA!!!! But I guess I am when it comes to picking out produce. I actually thought it was kinda cool hate she asked. Sometimes I laugh when Im at the store doing it, wondering what the people behind me are thinking when I'm examining the veggies before buying them. What aI find bizarre is people who just grab aimlessly and toss them in a bag. Must the husbands who were told pick something up.
 

Attachments

  • Which one.png
    Which one.png
    409.5 KB · Views: 14
  • Seleced.png
    Seleced.png
    860.4 KB · Views: 14
  • Which one 2.png
    Which one 2.png
    869.4 KB · Views: 14
"What aI find bizarre is people who just grab aimlessly and toss them in a bag."

Equally bizarre and frustrating are people who pick up, examine and handle all the produce -- like 25 tomatoes -- before putting one into the cart. My mother was like that. It took her 2 hours to grocery shop for just herself.
 
"What aI find bizarre is people who just grab aimlessly and toss them in a bag."

Equally bizarre and frustrating are people who pick up, examine and handle all the produce -- like 25 tomatoes -- before putting one into the cart. My mother was like that. It took her 2 hours to grocery shop for just herself.
Im not a 2 hour veggie picker outer, but I do take my time. You're probably the one behind me getting angry lol
 
Yep, the poor guys that have to call home for help. I usually stop and try to help them. One guy, I overheard him asking his wife what to do because the store doesn't have the Living Butter Lettuce, I had to interrupt and tell him to look up. At this store, they put the boxed lettuce on the very top shelf...I'll admit it is a bit hard to see it up there.

Another time, I overheard a guy, obviously new to the area, speaking to his wife on the phone. He told her, "No, they do not have any of my favorite hot sauces. I'm going to have to get Dad to ship it to me!"

I hope he didn't think that I was some kind of nut, but I explained to go up the road about a mile to the Park Rose Hardware store...they have a fabulous selection of hot sauces! (And BBQ sauces and rubs...and Real Sugar Soda's for that matter.) And, if you don't find anything there, go down to the World Market on Mill Plain. I also suggested a few brands that he might try. He was very grateful...or at least, he seemed to be.
 
I've had people come to me in he store and ask me questions cause they think I work there . Im there so frequently and pay close attention to detail, that most of the times I could answer their questions. Although, once I was wearing scrubs when someone asked me if I worked there. I tried to make sense of it in my head, but couldn't. I still helped her out.
 
I was once at the store and a lady was feeling the avocadoes to see if they were ripe. But, she was using her thumb and probably making dents. I thought I was just thinking, "Don't do that! That's how the avocadoes get mushy!". But, much to my embarassment, I was using my out loud voice. She turned to me and asked, "Really? How should I feel them?" I was relieved that she wasn't mad at me. I showed her how to feel the avocado by putting it in the palm of her hand and gently squeezing. She thanked me.
 
Think we all have stories like that - too bad not all are a humorous as Larry's. Mine was annoying.
A young woman was standing in front of the carambola's and asked me if it was Star Anise. I said no, Star Anise is a spice, in the next aisle. This is a fruit called Carambola, aka Star Fruit.
Just then another woman came barging in (literally between us) - yes, yes this is Star Fruit/Anise - see the shape! and she proceeded to shove some at the poor girl.
I just shook my head and left.
 
...Sometimes I laugh when Im at the store doing it, wondering what the people behind me are thinking when I'm examining the veggies before buying them. What aI find bizarre is people who just grab aimlessly and toss them in a bag. Must the husbands who were told pick something up.
I'll confess to being a picker/sniffer shopper. I do not want to spend good money on bad produce. I give a good look all around anything that might get bruised. Make sure there are no rotting grapes or cherries in a bag. I am considerate when sniffing, however. Certain fruits will smell "green" to me; I have found that they rarely get ripe before spoiling. I'll cup my hand around the stem end of stone fruits or cantaloupe, then sniff the air in the cupped area of my hand. Works for me practically every time.

And just in case I buy produce that someone like me handled earlier? I give it a good washing before I eat it. :LOL:
 
for winter tomatoes . . . Roma's are a pretty certain bet - long my 'go to'
more recently I've found the Campari more better tasting - much more expensive.... (sigh)

tomatoes-on-the-vine (primarily a Canadian hot house product..) ain't too bad if you have 4-5 days to let them "ripen"

buying (locally) 'out of season' stuff is absolutely a dicey adventure.
 
buying (locally) 'out of season' stuff is absolutely a dicey adventure.
Couldn't agree with you more.
In general, my purchasing of tomatoes goes down significantly off season . Not to sound like a tomato snob, but having had 2 or 3 months of fresh, perfectly ripe tomatoes at my hands, its almost impossible to find anything close. And Id settle for close, but tasteless and mushy, just hard to make that taste good. the grape tomatoes are usually ok.

I was once at the store and a lady was feeling the avocadoes to see if they were ripe. But, she was using her thumb and probably making dents. I thought I was just thinking, "Don't do that! That's how the avocadoes get mushy!". But, much to my embarassment, I was using my out loud voice. She turned to me and asked, "Really? How should I feel them?" I was relieved that she wasn't mad at me. I showed her how to feel the avocado by putting it in the palm of her hand and gently squeezing. She thanked me.
I went to a farmers market, just outside of Philly years ago. They had a sign on their peaches that read " you'd be soft too If 100 people squeezed you all day long". Unfortunately , it was pre-phone cameras, so I didnt get a pic.
 
SO and I do a weekly shopping. Sometimes we also stop at Costco right don the street from our supermarket. When we cannot find an item we create a mini list for the next time SO goes out. Last week I had to put extra dry vermouth on the list. I use it for cooking because it lasts longer because it's fortified. I told her she didn't need to buy the most expensive brand. She called from the store and we discussed what she was seeing. She told me Martini and Rossi was on sale so it cost less than some other brands. I told her OK get that. She walked in and happily handed me a bottle of Martini and Rossi RED vermouth. . .
 
SO and I do a weekly shopping. Sometimes we also stop at Costco right don the street from our supermarket. When we cannot find an item we create a mini list for the next time SO goes out. Last week I had to put extra dry vermouth on the list. I use it for cooking because it lasts longer because it's fortified. I told her she didn't need to buy the most expensive brand. She called from the store and we discussed what she was seeing. She told me Martini and Rossi was on sale so it cost less than some other brands. I told her OK get that. She walked in and happily handed me a bottle of Martini and Rossi RED vermouth. . .
It's been a very long time since I have tasted red vermouth, so I don't remember. How sweet is it? There must be something that would be enhanced by an addition of red vermouth.
 
It's icky sweet, in my opinion @dragnlaw. I like Bourbon, love Campari (the Italian liqueur in this case, not the tomato), and bought a small bottle of red to make a Boulevardier, a mixed drink that sounded interesting. What a horrible way to ruin two delightful alcohol products.

Apologies to anyone who likes sweet vermouth, etc...
 
If
It's icky sweet, in my opinion @dragnlaw. I like Bourbon, love Campari (the Italian liqueur in this case, not the tomato), and bought a small bottle of red to make a Boulevardier, a mixed drink that sounded interesting. What a horrible way to ruin two delightful alcohol products.

Apologies to anyone who likes sweet vermouth, etc...
If I remember correctly, sweet (red) vermouth is pretty good with ginger ale, 7 Up, or Sprite.
 
Tomatoes are all the same ... It's the prices that are different!
No they aren't. There are woody, tasteless tomatoes. There are lovely tomatoes with loads of flavour. There are little tomatoes (cherry, grape, etc.) that tend to have as much flavour each as many of the bigger ones. There are sweeter tomatoes and others that are more acidic. In a big chain supermarket, maybe most of the tomatoes they offer do taste the same, but that's certainly not the only tomatoes commercially available. And then, there are the juicy, tasty, freshly picked, home grown tomatoes. There is a lot of variation, even among just the red ones.
 
No they aren't. There are woody, tasteless tomatoes. There are lovely tomatoes with loads of flavour. There are little tomatoes (cherry, grape, etc.) that tend to have as much flavour each as many of the bigger ones. There are sweeter tomatoes and others that are more acidic. In a big chain supermarket, maybe most of the tomatoes they offer do taste the same, but that's certainly not the only tomatoes commercially available. And then, there are the juicy, tasty, freshly picked, home grown tomatoes. There is a lot of variation, even among just the red ones.
Then there are the people in California growing the square shinny red ones because the retailer can stack more on the tomato float display.
 
Back
Top Bottom