According to the BBC, “Flavour is a re-emerging trend, without a doubt,” says Franco Fubini, founder of fruit and vegetable supplier Natoora.
You might be surprised that flavour ever went out of fashion.
But finding truly tasty fruit and vegetable varieties can be difficult, largely due to the requirements of supermarkets, he says.
“They started demanding that varieties have a longer shelf life, so for example in the case of a tomato, it has a thicker skin, so the skins don’t split more easily; a tomato that perhaps ripens faster, that can absorb more water.
“So over time you breed your varieties for attributes other than flavour. The flavour attribute starts falling in importance, and as nature has it, if you breed for other traits you breed out flavour.”
Mr Fubini’s company specialises in seasonal produce selected for flavour, and sells its produce to restaurants and high-end shops around the world.
“Some of this rebirth comes from restaurants because chefs have quite a lot of influence,” he says. “That and travel have both spurred on this rebirth of flavour, this search for flavour.”
Breeders and researchers are leading this search, using sophisticated techniques to produce fruit and vegetables that have all the flavour of traditional varieties – while still keeping the supermarkets happy.
Further reading:
- Agrifood Brief: Fifty shades of green
- Inside food’s new Silicon Valley
- Technology can deliver greener delicious food
