Quote:
Originally Posted by Nyororin
Even after living here 10 years, I think I have only once spotted a square watermelon... And it was in a display advertising a store, not really on sale.
In general, the fruit usually is quite good. When I say "greenhouse" in reference to Japan, I probably should use "plastic sheet house" as it`s a more accurate term. The stuff is grown outside, just shielded from the more extreme weather by a thin vinyl sheet tent like thing.
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I have to agree here, fruit in Japan is great and they take a lot more care in growing it. The greenhouse is for climate control - it's still grown in the ground.
A lot of why fruit in most countries isn't as good is it's picked before it's ripe so it can be transported without being damaged. Unripe fruit is hard and durable, ripe fruit is soft and needs lots of packaging. You can see this done to the extreme with Avocados and Pineapples - they literally have to sit for weeks to ripe on a shelf after arriving.
This is the case for almost all fruit in the US, even many local sources. You can grow much better stuff in your own backyard, or get it direct from the farm. The biggest difference in higher end restaurants aside from preparation is the freshness and ripeness of their ingredients - they take care to source their ingredients with this in mind.