Does "white" produce have a bland flavor?

[Lynne Guinne]

buckytom had asked me if I had ever tried white cherries in the "Tomorrow you are only allowed one food ingredient" thread. When I mentioned that I thought white any-produce had less flavor than the colored version, @morning glory thought that this might be a topic for discussion. Tada!

White asparagus. White peaches. White nectarines. To my taste buds they are inferior versions of their more colorful twins. Add to that the fact that many stores charge a higher price for the same weight of this trendier option. My thought is why should I spend more money on something with less flavor? Maybe they look prettier on a plate, but as much as I like to eat first with my eyes, I'd much rather have flavor over appearance.

How do you feel about pale produce? Does it taste bland, the same, or possibly even better to you that the more colorful version?

There is one lonely vegetable for which I search out the palest one in the bin: celery. Ages ago, I remember my Dad telling me to buy celery that is pale green rather than the deep green stalk. He explained how celery is grown and the labor-intense wrapping of the stalk to keep the celery tender. So pale celery gets a thumbs-up. Pale anything else? Not so much.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

white rice, white bread, `white` grapefruit, I much prefer the alternatives. But I have met some nice, not great, but nice white bread.
And I think like you , I can't really think of anything 'white' that I prefer to the alternative version of it, including white chocolate! What else is there. I must admit that the sour cherries we have here are white fleshed and they are amazing straight off the tree, but their skins are white and red, more red tbh.

True white, white beans, so butter beans - they are nice, navy beans - they are OK
white flour, white sugar, much prefer the ones with flavour and substance....

cauliflower - OK perhaps that one. Purple cauliflower is good (best home grown), green cauliflower I am not overly enamoured with

Can I think of any other?

 

[epicuric]

Just the opposite with onions. White onions have a stronger, more pungent smell and taste than brown or red varieties.

 

[Morning Glory]

White strawberries taste as good as red ones. Horseradish packs a punch.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

White strawberries taste as good as red ones.

Not so sure on that one, nor the white raspberries. Both tried (before I left the UK last year), both courtesey of Waitrose.

Just the opposite with onions. White onions have a stronger, more pungent smell and taste than brown or red varieties.

That's a good one. I'd agree with that. Here in Australia white onions don't have make your eyes water!

 

[Kake Lover]

Personally I would say there is nothing bland about a decent Chardonnay!

Other delicious white produce include :
mashed potato
meringue
cream

 

[Lynne Guinne]

Wait, I didn't say that ALL white foodstuffs are bland! My (poorly put forth) premise was that the new, "improved" white version of a fruit or vegetable that had normally been offered for sale in it's old-fashioned recognized state - such as green asparagus, peachy colored peaches and nectarines - has less flavor. I personally prefer white cauliflower over green or purple...but isn't the white version the one that has been sold in grocery stores and greengrocers for decades and scores? Onions, by their variety, have always (at least in my lifetime) been available in brown (yellow), red, white, purple (shallots), green (spring onions, scallions). And the white onions I buy here are rather strong.

@Kake Lover, chardonnay IS delicious, but it doesn't count in this argument. The grapes come with green skins, so of course the wine would be "white". Same with a Riesling, Viognier, Chablis...

And anybody who says that white bread has no flavor needs to stop by for a slice of my Sally Lunn bread before it's all gone. Better hurry!

 

[epicuric]

By way of coincidence I saw some white asparagus in Tesco yesterday. It was on sale as nobody was buying it. I'm not surprised really - it looked awful - deformed and totally unnatural.

 

[buckytom]

The kind of white produce tbat you mentioned, LG, I think is especially sensitive to the amount of time elapsed from harvesting to eating.

I've grown asparagus crowns before, and one year tried to cover some as they sprouted so I could get white spears.
The whites were delicious with a slightly different nutty flavor than the green spears right next to it.
But to make my point, both kinds were eaten within an hour or so of harvesting.

The same goes for white peaches. We go peach picking in the summer, and the white peaches have a sublime sweetness not achieved by their more naturally yellowish counterparts. However, both were fantastic, just different.

Agsin, I think the whities have less of a tolerance for time and travel.