[roel_v]

I don't have the reference at hand, but I read a paper a few months ago that explained this. You prefer flavors you grew up with. Flavors change, so as you get older, you think flavors get worse. Except they don't, the double blind testing showed age cohort related preference clustering, but no proof for 'everything was better in the old days'. This study was for strawberries but I don't see why it would be different.

[pluma]

Meanwhile I'm 31 and have semi-recently had both strawberries with a distinct strawberry flavour and strawberries that tasted like edible water. Ditto for tomatoes and even watermelons.

It's not that the flavour got worse, it's that a lot of fruits and vegetables were selected for other factors than what they taste like. They don't taste different, they just don't taste much like anything.

I'm not saying this confirms that "everything was better in the old days" but flavour differences are real and being picky about strawberries or tomatoes isn't just about preferring what you grew up with. The watery breeds aren't so widespread because younger people prefer them, they're widespread for economical reasons and younger people (allegedly) prefer them because they're more familiar with them.

[kbart]

While in principle I agree, I'm afraid that when it comes to supermarket goods, they are really tasteless and age has nothing to do here. Do a simple experiment: get generic strawberries from a supermarket and fresh ones from a garden. You would be amazed by the difference, it's like a totally different thing. Same goes for pretty much any fruit or vegetable.

[Retric]

Alternatively, younger people don't know what they are missing. As the article points out it's not a sudden drop it's a low change over time where A is almost as good as B and B is almost as good as C ... until it's cardboard.

I have done this experiment with Apples and Oranges kids really prefer the full flavor options and they are not just preferring their childhood tastes as they are still kids.

[hexane360]

Time to break open a seed vault and see who's right. We give young'uns the old stuff and see how they react. And then make a fortune if you're right, and make nothing if your parent comment is right.

[pluma]

I think you're missing the point: it's not that the flavour of the breeds has gotten words, it's that the breeds with the more distinct flavours have largely gone away.

When there are less than a handful varieties widely available anymore and the breeds that made it were picked based on practical concerns rather than taste, it's pretty obvious why someone who experienced the full range of flavours might consider today's offerings quite bland.

Case in point: there is a wide range of apple breeds with very different flavours that was used for various dishes traditionally. Trying to use the same one or two breeds that are still widely available for the same dishes leads to naturally very different (and arguably inferior as the recipes were specifically created with those breeds in minds) results regardless of whether the apple by itself would have been any tastier.

[riffraff]

I have friends who grow heirloom varieties of vegetables, they often complain that it's hard to compete with supermarket stuff because of productivity (price), seasonality, appearance (I.e. some tomato never gets properly red and people think it's less tasty) etc.

Their stuff tastes great, but you won't be making a fortune with it unless you cater to people who care about this stuff and are willing to pay more.

Afaict this is what "whole foods" does in the US and they are pretty successful.

[gozur88]

>Flavors change, so as you get older, you think flavors get worse.

Yeah, except that it's more like flavors didn't change so much as disappear.