Usually clementines/mandarins/cuties whatever you want to call them are so tasty in the winter, but I think it must have been a bad year for crops because every bag I've purchased has tasted horrible! Maybe it's just in my area, but the only fruit that tastes good lately is apples and bananas.
What about in your neck of the woods?
squash / 13208 posts
Gosh we have been living on clementines and mangos here - they are the only good fruit we can find!
Oh grapes are good too but crazy expensive right now!
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@Mrs. Bee: really?? I just got a box from NYC and they were super sweet! We also brought back persimmon, these tiny pears not sure what variety and pomelo. All delicious!
blogger / coconut / 8306 posts
Our last bag of cuties were great, but the one we bought yesterday doesn't look at good.
I'll report back after I eat one!
eggplant / 11824 posts
Yes; strawberries have been horrible this year. LO refuses to eat many of the fresh ones I buy and gives me a disgusted look after tasting them!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
We have bought a few 5 pound boxes of clementines and one box I didn't like at all, and then there were some clementines in the good boxes that were already mushy which I don't like. We have been getting a lot of apples and bananas as well but mostly because I can't afford to pay so much for the berries that aren't in season.
pomegranate / 3503 posts
We mostly get bananas and apples as well. And frozen fruits for juices. I'm thinking about getting a dehydrator and dehydrating fruits from the summer so we can enjoy them in the winter. We had some at a friend's house recently and my son loves them!
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22646 posts
Our first box of cuties were delish! The last few blahhhhh
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@BoogieBea: canning is also a great way to preserve for the winter!
pomegranate / 3503 posts
@locavore_mama: Oh yeah, that's an idea too. I find canned fruit way too sweet though. Maybe that has more to do with the process?
grapefruit / 4903 posts
I'm with you about this year's clementine crop. We've bought three boxes over the last three months, and all have been meh at best.
papaya / 10343 posts
Clementines have been hit or miss. Grapes have been good. Kiwis have been meh. Pineapple has been hit or miss.
GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts
@BoogieBea: I use a brine that has no added sugar! I think a lot of commercially canned fruit has tons of sugar added. I basically just do a hot water bath.
coconut / 8475 posts
YES! Bananas have been awesome as usual! But, citrus (kiwi, oranges, clementines) has been terrible. Our apples are hit & miss so I've stopped buying them. We did have some good blackberries but the strawberries are terrible. I haven't gotten any melons or pears this season.
I didn't love the red and yellow bell peppers either, as a side note.
pomelo / 5509 posts
We mainly buy bananas and apples in the winter, but we have gotten a couple of decent bags of oranges...can't remember what "brand" though. The clementines have been hit or miss. Some in the box are good, others are mushy and taste, well, past their prime.
GOLD / wonderful coffee bean / 18478 posts
I haven't had good luck with apples. They taste pretty bland.
apricot / 441 posts
This makes me so so glad to live in a warm climate. San Diego's oranges have been awesome! I've enjoyed mandarin and blood oranges - when they don't give me heartburn.
persimmon / 1286 posts
i got a great bag of cuties at fairway, but i feel like it's so hit or miss. bananas and apples have been fine (but apples are sooo $$$) but i just got strawberries and they were tasteless. gross.
pear / 1723 posts
Our apples have been good, but the honeycrisp are almost gone 
Our bananas have been funky everywhere lately.
We got some surprisingly good blueberries at costco this weekend though!
coconut / 8861 posts
Apples, bananas, blueberries and strawberries have been pretty good lately. The grapes were great until they got tiny and expensive due to crop issues. I love, love grapes in the morning. These sad grapes aren't making me happy lately.
kiwi / 589 posts
Yes! Every box of clementines we got this winter have been bad. At first I thought it was the store/brand, but after a few bad boxes I stopped buying them. I'm so sad because I usually live on them in the winter! We're currently on vacation in Puerto Rico and the fruit has been amazing, along with giant ripe avocados!
honeydew / 7916 posts
There was a sign at WF recently saying that this year's apple season is over sooner than usual and demand was higher than ever.
pear / 1823 posts
Our clementines have been pretty blah this year and they're usually the winter fruit I can count on!
@brady80: We'll be in PR next month. Besides the warm weather, now I'll have good fruit to look forward to!
pomegranate / 3983 posts
Yes! Fruit has been horrible! Only apples and bananas for weeks now. We just got our first pineapple of the season though so hopefully soon. (But generally when it's bad here, it's bad everywhere...)
cherry / 171 posts
I'm in Utah and I've had bad luck with oranges and even most apples. I experiences a small miracle yesterday when I ate a really good Fuji apple!
honeydew / 7488 posts
Clementines weren't that great, but my last bag of Texas oranges were really great. I actually got a really great box of strawberries at Sam's club.. They were domestic too, which surprised me.
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Fruit has been good here! Strawberries have been so good! Bananas, apples, clementines, blueberries, raspberries, pears..
nectarine / 2217 posts
agreed about the less than stellar fruit this year...
i have however been REALLY REALLY enjoying the asian ya pears from costco -- they are pretty expensive at 7-8$ for a package of 8 pears, but oh my goodness they are good. and non bruised. not organic or anything, though (canadian prices)
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
Ugh, I hate buying clementines/cuties/mandarins because I'm always afraid of getting a bad batch. Last year I got 3 bad batches in a row-- all sour, and all started molding in days! This year I'm finding they have been sweet, but dry. Not that juicy. I always look for ones where the peel is thick and bulging off the fruit flesh, you know, you just pull it and the peel comes off in one big fluffy piece. But all the batches I've seen so far have had thin, hard peels that are stuck right to the fruit. Sigh. At least the kids still like them.
blogger / watermelon / 14218 posts
@chopsuey: our strawberries and blueberries have been great too!!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
berries have been horrible here... they're coming from california i believe and they're so tart even when i put sugar on them the kids won't eat it!
pomegranate / 3393 posts
Yes! When I was visiting my parents in CA, I was looking forward to gorging myself on satsumas, but they were meh. I've heard that FL & CA have had issues with crops this year, but yeah. Citrus is the one good thing about winter and this year we don't even have that!
coconut / 8483 posts
I stopped buying clementines because I kept getting bad ones! Pineapple/apple/lemons/limes are my usuals and they have been good.. and DH said bananas have been fine too.
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