# Did anyone else think this was a particulary crappy year for fruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495 "2013-11-22T03:49:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/1 "2013-11-22T03:49:51Z")
Odd question, I know. And it’s Arizona, OK, but this year, the stone fruits were awful, the melons all had a weird kind of medicinal taste, berries without much sweetness or flavor overall. And I look forward to those so much. The Rainier cherries-wow, that was weird, they were here for about a week, were simply not for sale anywhere for about 3 weeks (I asked all the produce guys I found), then they were back, but really not up to what I usually expect. The Bartletts are good this year, but now it’s a long winter of oranges. Anyone else have this experience? ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/2 "2013-11-22T04:41:23Z")
We don’t eat a lot of fruit. All I’ve noticed is that the Honey Crisp apples weren’t as sweet, and the tangerines we’ve tried are bitter. Raspberries were okay and so were the Rainiers. Haven’t had any oranges yet. We grew our own cantaloupe and they were exceptionally good. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/3 "2013-11-22T04:45:42Z")
Here in the Midwest, we had a bumper crop of apples. My neighbor brought over a bag a friend gave her, and I’ve been eating those for probably a month. (Yes, she gave me a LOT.) They’re delicious, so I haven’t had to buy Honey Crisps, my own personal favorite, yet. My brother, who lives 50 miles away, has several apple trees and they all produced well despite the drought. This area also had bumper crops of squash and pumpkins, of all types. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/4 "2013-11-22T05:24:15Z")
The Jazz apples I’ve gotten have been abysmal. It’s made me sad. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/5 "2013-11-22T06:30:40Z")
Yeah, I just had some melon (honey dew and watermelon) within the last couple days that had basically no flavor whatsoever. It was abysmally bad. I threw it away after a few bites. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/6 "2013-11-22T06:44:21Z")
My diet is about 50% fruit. I think that the stone fruits were not very good this year, and the citrus was particularly bad. OTOH, so far the apples and pears have been excellent. I’ve been eating some ridiculous honeycrisps that are 3.5 inches in diameter. I’ve also had a lot of delicious grapes. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/7 "2013-11-22T06:49:54Z")
What we noticed this year was the corn (we live in Georgia). The produce section’s fresh corn on the cob was really bland and tasteless. The frozen corn was a LOT better. Repeat, a LOT better … more flavorsome and juicier. I have no idea why. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/8 "2013-11-22T09:06:21Z")
Here in the S.F. Bay Area we had a lousy year for cherries, but the plums were good. I had some good apricots, but the season was short. I got some fantastic peaches from a farm in Healdsburg. I found some great melons. The apples have been good this year - lately I’ve been eating Pink Ladies and Newtown Pippins. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/9 "2013-11-22T14:29:09Z")
I think I’ve only seen Honey Crisp apples twice this year at my local grocery. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/10 "2013-11-22T14:58:31Z")
Here in Maryland, we only got a couple of weeks of hot weather. Neither my tomatoes nor my peppers produced well at all. And, of course, the stink bugs managed to get first pick of the tomatoes. On the plus side, my habaneros were some of the hottest I’ve ever tasted. It’s just a shame I only got one smokeable batch from my two plants all season. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/11 "2013-11-22T15:00:36Z")
I agree. There hasn’t been a good choice this year. I’m getting so afraid of cantaloupe, you almost have to force me to eat it these days. ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/12 "2013-11-22T15:08:08Z")
Agreed, however…strawberries have been awesome. Even ones I bought a few days ago. I’m making a strawberry tart tonight. I haven’t even SEEN a watermelon since August. :mad: I’m pregnant, and I would settle for a tasteless one, as long as it isn’t mealy. I thought they were still being harvested down South. On that note, I have also had bad luck with cucumbers. Bitter, and half the time seem to go soggy before I can eat one. I gave up on stone fruits about a decade ago unless they come from the farmer’s market. Bleargh. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2013, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/13 "2013-11-22T17:19:54Z")
I thought the apples in Upstate NY were pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Lightlystarched](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Lightlystarched](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightlystarched)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/14 "2013-11-23T03:13:50Z")
Cantaloupe is a crap shoot. About every 3rd one was sweet and delicious. The others blech. I did especially enjoy the Bosc pears. I ended up buying a big bag of pears for several weeks in a row from Costco that were the best pears ever. I was very sad the week I went and the Boscs were gone. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/15 "2013-11-23T15:26:41Z")
There were bumper crops in the PNW. Our pear tree, which produced 13 pears last year, gave us 80+ pounds this year. The local honeycrisp apples were enormous, although a bit tart. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/16 "2013-11-23T15:31:23Z")
Without trying to resurrect the fruit/vegetable argument, I was extremely disappointed in this year’s tomato harvest (something I look forward to every year). I’ve also run into a lot of bland fruit-fruit. There are few things as disappointing as biting into a piece of fresh fruit and coming up with a mouthful of meh. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/17 "2013-11-24T02:30:44Z")
The tomatoes this year were so bad. I don’t think I had a single good one. I don’t recall peaches ever being very good either. But I’ve had great luck with my honey crisps! Even Aldi has a bag of smaller ones cheap and they’re juicy and sweet-tart as usual. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/18 "2013-11-24T03:36:59Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > The tomatoes this year were so bad. I don’t think I had a single good one. It all depends on where you are. This was a very good year for tomatoes in the Berkeley area (as good as it gets around here, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2013, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/19 "2013-11-24T11:36:55Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I thought the apples in Upstate NY were pretty good. Agreed. It was a great year for apples, making up for the poor year last year. ---
**Author:** ![TaoPilot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TaoPilot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TaoPilot)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2013, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495/20 "2013-11-25T04:43:26Z")
I just tried some pineapple and strawberries today, and they were fantastic! The grapes I’ve had have been pretty darn good for this time of year, too. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-anyone-else-think-this-was-a-particulary-crappy-year-for-fruit/674495.md?page=2)