Fruit

I love any type of fruit...but they seem so expensive.  Is there anyway to buy them at a cheap store; I know that the frozen types are okay, but they never taste as good.  What do you guys do to solve this fruitless search:)

buy in season! like right now apples are pretty cheap because theyre in season, especially in the US. Plus, when you buy out of season the fruit has to be shipped in from either Europe or South America. Also, figs, pomegranates, pears (my favorite are the HUGE asian ones, if you go to an asian grocery store theyre easy to find and usually cheaper). winter you have chestnuts, grapefruits, oranges (esp. clemintines). Spring you have mangos, pineapples, and strawberries. and summer you have cherries (the black ones have an awesome flavor), all kinds of berries.

just remember if the price is too good to be true (3 pounds of cherries for 1.00) it usually is. Half of them might be bad, small, or not taste good. its always better to spend more and end up with better tasting fruit (kind of like clothes from Forever 21, after 3 washes you have to throw it out, where as buying from macys they have the potentional to last for years)

Original Post by eberger101:

buy in season! like right now apples are pretty cheap because theyre in season, especially in the US. Plus, when you buy out of season the fruit has to be shipped in from either Europe or South America.

The USA and Europe are  both in the northern hemisphere so the seasons are the same. The USA has apples so Europe has apples.

Original Post by fredajones:

Original Post by eberger101:

buy in season! like right now apples are pretty cheap because theyre in season, especially in the US. Plus, when you buy out of season the fruit has to be shipped in from either Europe or South America.

The USA and Europe are  both in the northern hemisphere so the seasons are the same. The USA has apples so Europe has apples.

 I think you mean Austrailia or New Zealand where the seasons are opposite of Europe/Americas.

Though in the US much fruit comes from FL/CA which has much longer growing seasons.

I suggest buying in season, watch for sales, and when ever you can go to a local farmers market.

Where do you live?

I live in good ol' chicago.  The tax alone tends to be high:(

Bananas are usually inexpensive.  Right now apples and pears should be priced right, and citrus fruits are beginning to come in from Florida.  I got some inexpensive tangerines last week. 

I'm glad Pennsylvania doesn't tax food.

North Dakota taxes junk food but not "regular food". its a complicated law.  I'm in ND, where fruit can be expensive during the winter, but I usually buy what is on sale, assuming it is of decent quality. Most of it is trucked in either from FL/CA or South America or Australia.

In the summer its still a little high but not too bad when certain things are season.

Since you are in IL, there may be some cool buys right now at Farmers markets and such, before it gets too cold and they close up.

I do often resort to frozen for really expensive things like berries as they are much more economical.

I know frozen fruits don't taste as good as fresh, nor do they have the nice texture.  But If you buy fruits in season and freeze them yourself it's a real money saver. 

It really depends on how much freezer space you have.  Mine is small, but I did manage to freeze a lot of strawberries which I use in frozen smoothies.  I cleaned and halved them before freezing.  Once when bananas were .29 a pound I bought a lot and froze them slice and used them in smoothies.  The frozen fruit makes the smoothie very thick like a milkshake.

Mangos and peaches are also good frozen. 

Good luck in seeking out inexpensive produce.

Thanks, it just drives my parents nuts when they see how much it costs (by the way, they eat it too...).