They’ve gotten less bitter since we were young. Also, if you’ve only ever had them boiled, try them again. Cut them in half and roast them in the oven with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
I always figured we were just better at cooking them than our parents (see: cut them in half and roast them vs boil them) but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d also been selectively bred for sweetness as well.
edit: just saw someone else mention they’d been bred for a less challenging flavour. neat I think.
they were bred for sustinence, flavor, and general survivability pre-modernity, but the demands and logic of large, commercial production in the 20th century presented plant breeders with a series of entirely novel demands, some extreme: high density plantings, early yield/fast growth, shelf stability, response to fertility/irrigation, etc.
the better tasting lines of post-1990 involved reaching back into earlier developed lines to cross them into modern, high yield lines.
and a “high yield” trait is a moving target that changes over time as diseases and other biological pressures are constantly evolving to overcome a plant’s defenses to hijack it before we have a chance to harvest and eat it.
They’ve gotten less bitter since we were young. Also, if you’ve only ever had them boiled, try them again. Cut them in half and roast them in the oven with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Is that a personal observation?
I always figured we were just better at cooking them than our parents (see: cut them in half and roast them vs boil them) but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’d also been selectively bred for sweetness as well.
edit: just saw someone else mention they’d been bred for a less challenging flavour. neat I think.
I had a friend once assure me that they had been bred to be sweeter. Made sense to me so now I repeat it haha.
what a bizarre way to spell “dogshit”
They’ve been bred for flavour for what, 4000 years now?
they were bred for sustinence, flavor, and general survivability pre-modernity, but the demands and logic of large, commercial production in the 20th century presented plant breeders with a series of entirely novel demands, some extreme: high density plantings, early yield/fast growth, shelf stability, response to fertility/irrigation, etc.
the better tasting lines of post-1990 involved reaching back into earlier developed lines to cross them into modern, high yield lines.
and a “high yield” trait is a moving target that changes over time as diseases and other biological pressures are constantly evolving to overcome a plant’s defenses to hijack it before we have a chance to harvest and eat it.
I can always count on hexbear to educate me further. Thank you!
Indeed so it would be interesting if they’ve been modified significantly in the last decade or two.