148 // 149 The Science of Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds

Are organic fruits and vegetables

BETTER THAN NON-ORGANIC?
Many believe that organic produce, grown without artificial pesticides or fertilizers, has better flavor and more nutrients.

Taste isn’t just about a food’s aroma and flavor molecules. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE
Research shows that our beliefs about the food we eat
tangibly affect its flavor, and that the moral satisfaction we Small-scale production Large-scale production
get when we eat ethically produced organic produce enhances Produce from small farms can Mass-producing fruits and
our enjoyment of the food. The nutritional and flavor claims have the edge in terms of flavor. vegetables can impact flavor.
made by organic food producers, however, are not always borne Harvest from small farms Intensively produced
out by science. Testing shows mixed results distributed locally has less fruits and vegetables are
for nutrient levels, the consensus being time to degrade and is less more likely to be damaged
likely to be bruised, which if harvested by machine,
that organic has only a slight helps preserve flavor. impacting flavor and
edge. The flavor molecules nutrients (see opposite).
SOIL DEEP
in organic and nonorganic
Small farms are more
MOR E NUTRITI ONA LLY produce are similar and trained likely to grow intense- Mass-produced varieties
IMPORTA NT TH AN OR GANI C tasters rarely spot differences. tasting heirloom varieties can taste bland, but some
STATUS IS THE Q UA LI TY (see below) and sweet- have been bred to be
O F THE SO I L A ND
Farming methods can impact
tasting vine-grown produce sweeter and more palatable
TH E MI NERA LS IT quality (see right). Organic than industrial-scale farms. than bitter heirloom
PRO VI DES. produce is most likely to varieties (see below).
come from small, local farms.

HEIRLOOM FRUITS AND VEGETA BLE S

Dozens of traditional fruit and vegetable varieties exist,
compared to the handful of highly productive commercial
varieties we are used to buying.
Are heirloom varieties
TASTIER?
Keeping rare varieties of fruits and vegetables alive
helps us to continue diversity in the plant kingdom.

HEIRLOOMS
CAN HAVE
93%
of vegetable
Heirloom breeds are traditional varieties that have
not been cross-pollinated in the past 50 years for
intensive farming. They promise us a flavor of the
INTENSE crop varieties are past, with a stronger tasting, more nutritious product.
Heirloom varieties can offer more vitamins and
estimated to have
FLAVOR. become extinct in antioxidants, although the total mineral content is
the past century. dictated by soil quality, rather than the actual breed.
It is no secret that many fruit and vegetable breeds
THE BITTER - TASTI NG of old were smaller, tougher, and more bitter tasting
C R AB APPL E HA S
MANY than the produce of today, which has been specifically
15 TI MES MOR E
AN TIO XI DA NTS THA N VARIETIES bred to be larger, softer, and generally sweeter. Whether
THE SWEET, MOR E heirlooms are tastier really comes down to personal
WATERY GO LDEN
CAN HAVE A
preference, but for the cook in search of an intensity
DELICIO US. SOUR TASTE. of flavor that modern vegetables don’t deliver, an
heirloom variety can be a worthwhile investment.