rabble_rouser

Just an observation about Australian produce; supermarket fruit and veg is well presented - no doubt, but some of the flavour profiles are utterly underwhelming.

Tomatoes: Sour if lucky, but usually just tasteless. I am stunned that Australia does not produce quality tomatoes.

Chilies: Lamentable chili breeds available. The chili touted as 'birds eye' are not. I want to get the type of birds eye I could get in England.

Oranges: I don't waste my time any more.

Oysters: Of dubious quality. I never quite trust an Oyster in Brisbane (Oysters are not strictly a vegetable of course, but seeing as I am in whinging mode I may as well). Also, is it possible to get fresh non green lip mussels?

This may sound like a petty complaint but I don't find the above workable. What I need are advice on where to source decent vegetables around the Brisbane area.

In contrast I do appreciate that certain produce are outstanding. Avocados, mangoes etc are exceptional in quality. Nor do I have complaints about dairy which also is excellent and meat which is available cheaply and of reasonable to good quality.

KJCherokee

There are plenty of farmer's markets around Brisbane where you can get good fruit and vegetables (oysters and mussels are not on my shopping list. Northside my local ones are Nundah (Sunday Mornings) and Carseldine (Saturday mornings) and southside I've been to Boggo Road which isn't bad.

Occasionally the truss tomatoes in the supermarkets aren't too bad, but the standard ones are uniformly hopeless.

spouse of scouse

Tomatoes from the big supermarkets are revolting - they're held in cold storage and ripened with gas. I buy mine direct from the grower.

rabble_rouser

Which grower?

Pollyana

She's in Perth......I agree about Queensland tomatoes but Perth is too far to travel to get some good ones!! I love Tassie ones, but same issue there.....!
Only place I've ever had oysters is Tassie too, they were out of this world. Not been tempted to try them up here.

spouse of scouse

A nice Italian man up the Brookton Highway. In Perth

Amazulu

Don't et oysters and will agree about oranges but supermarket tomatoes are equally as bad in the UK

Strawberries can be hit and miss but they are over there too. Best I've ever had were from the US

We're on holiday at the moment and yesterday I needed some lemons - $1.50 each at Coles. They grow wild FFS

One thing you struggle to get is really large potatoes for doing jacket spuds

Plenty of quality markets to get fruit and vegetables, so no need to buy the supermarket

Beoz

I had an amazing tomato in South West France a couple of weeks back. I couldn't believe a plain old tomato could taste so good. I wanted to ask the owner where he gets them but he took great offence at us turning 2 tables into one so I figured a tomato conversation was off the table.

mikelincs

Standard UK supermarket tomatos are disgusting and tasteless, always buy the vine ripened ones, they at least have some taste. The cherry tomatoes are much tastier, and, if you go to places like M&S and Waitrose you get named varieties that are usually so much nicer, even better if you buy them at a reduced price because they are close to their sell by date.

Beoz

It is amazing what a good tomato can do.

Pica

Come to Italy-local grown toms are amazing!

bobbyftm

Get a couple of buckets or pots and some tomato plants from Bunnings or wherever stick in pots and water ( liquid feed as well ) ,that's as much as there is to it. Queensland has lovely weather for tomato growing much the year round and my home grown ones are lush as out !

gorjulin

I tried growing my own toms ........ no way!, too many Brisbane bugs like to eat them too !! I found the best toms I can get are the different varieties of small ones at Coles or Woolies! ....... tiny cherry, baby Romano, (Especially) Perino red or gold. As good as any UK supermarket tom I ever had.

astera

In general I would agree - yes.

But overall the BEST tomatoes by far CAN be found in a supermarket, but they're not the generic ones.

Check out the Kumato tomatoes at Woolies - they're the ones that have this almost wine-like, going into dark greenish colour that's similar to a very ripe avocado.

Once you try Kumato other tomatoes cease to exist.

ozzieeagle

Wrong state mate.

Best food in Aus is in Tasmania..... It's possibly overall and across the board up there with the best in the world. Seems that nature has to have cooler conditions as part of the climate to produce fine quality food.