Wonky food

[SandwichShortOfAPicnic]

Personally I like wonky food.
The uniformity is boring and I enjoy the irregular.
I also like to know efforts to grow and energy from the planet doesn't end up rejected and binned.
But whats your take on food beauty?
Aesthetic's matter in food presentation so where's the line?

‘It’s not beautiful, but you can still eat it’: climate crisis leads to more wonky vegetables in Netherlands

 

[badjak]

I don't mind wonky at all.
Dad had a veg garden, so I basically grew up with them wonky things

 

[TastyReuben]

I think about this every time I’m at the grocery store, nearly; especially a larger one that has a specific section for wonky/ugly fruit and vegetables.

My main concern with anything like that is that it’s not got bad spots on it or starting to go - too soft, mushy, etc.

Looks don’t bother me so much, but then here comes the dilemma I face - as long as the store continues to sell the “pretty” ones…the ones of uniform shape and size…the ones that could be the centerfold model for this month’s issue of (think of something clever, Tasty!)…of…Playpear Magazine…well, those are probably going to be the ones I choose, simply because it’ll be easier to determine the amount I need since they’re all about the same size, and they’ll likely be easier to work with, since there are no unusual shapes to work a peeler around, etc.

 

[Timenspace]

Brilliant topic! I praise the Dutch efforts to save the food and supply food banks, as in the article.
I have watched several reportages over the Covvid years, of more people needing to reach to food banks. Which is terrifying in a way. Not to get too deep into that...

My Grandma was The Master of saving food. Back in those days, tomatoes did go bad...she worked miracles and provided splendid meals on a shoestring budget.

At 2 points, we had gardens, one was a city garden , the other a cottage garden. Long gone. But I remember eating fresh off the stems and off the ground. The wonkier, the cuter.

When my daughter was a toddler, the GP told us, taken all pesticides and antibiotics pushed into our food, you are best of, while she is still this little and delicate, to look for the smallest and ugliest apples, pears and carrots at the farmers' market. As those could be the least toxic.

I don't mind wonky at all. As long as they are safe to eat.

if it so happens that a part of an ingredient is getting bad... I find myself 'saving' a half of an apple,or tomato, cutting of and throwing the mushy side out...If its beyond reasonable and safety, it gets thrown out. But I try my best to minimize such instances.

A habit I developed over the last 4,5 years is to wrap food that is still very good to eat, but we can't finish it, for any reason, put it in a bag and hang it onto the trash container in front of our building. For the worse off to pick up...

 

[karadekoolaid]

There's no "manic size control" in supermarkets in Venezuela. They buy all the veg, regardless of size, and all the veg are on show in the supermarket. That pleases me enormously; at least I know the farmer is able to sell all his crop, rather than having 50% of wonky veg rotting on his farm. I also have the advantage of being able to buy the SIZE of vegetable that I want, so I get a choice rather than having to conform to industry "standards". I also believe firmly that smaller vegetables have more flavour.
If I've got a dinner party or an event and I want to serve, for example, an artichoke appetiser, I don't want a monstrous vegetable that weighs in at over 250 gms. It's also very likely that "monster"has been on the plant for longer, and therefore is more likely to be woody or bland, so flavour also enters the equation. I might have a recipe that calls for "1 small red onion" and, since we don't often use red onions at home, it would be pointless if I had to buy a big, "standard" one.
Wonky doesn't necessarily mean "inferior quality", either. A wonky carrot, for example, may just be misshapen because it hit a rock while growing. Same for all root vegetables. Small artichokes are more likely to have a smaller, or non-existent "choke" in the middle, which means I can use them for carciofi alla romana (Roman-style artichokes). A small cauliflower means I can present the vegetable whole, for one lunch/dinner service, instead of having leftovers. I might also want just a small amount of celery, instead of those ginormous things which are still in my fridge 2 months later.