Frozen Vegetables in Blu

[Lena11033]

I think food decline is just everywhere at the moment not just cruise lines. We went grocery shopping Saturday and picked up a salad, opened it yesterday the top looks fine but under was not. Had to throw out half the salad.

 

I think I have to start shopping the day I want the salad because it's not making it to the store in good shape. Most veggies I've already switched to frozen for that reason but salad you can't really get around 

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Unlike the internet, it seems most cruise lines are in a constant state of decline in both quality and selection.  Good thing I don't cruise for the food.

Me neither but I do cruise for the drinking. 😆 

[mayleeman]

On 10/30/2022 at 11:57 AM, C4HCG said:

Can I ask what relevance the fact that you have been sailing in sky suites has to frozen beans? 🤔

 

You seem to have objected to the suite'mention, so, yeah, I too thought you must have found somerhing wrong with it.

[C4HCG]

1 minute ago, mayleeman said:

 

You seem to have objected to the suite'mention, so, yeah, I too thought you must have found somerhing wrong with it.

I didn’t object to it at all, I didn’t understand the relevance of it. Quite simple.

[wikoffclan]

On 10/29/2022 at 8:42 AM, Cruising Princess said:

Okay do folks remember growing up when your mother served you string beans that were previously frozen. They were olive green colored and mushy and tasted nasty.

Those nasty, olive green, mushy string beans your Mom served you were canned. The same ones she used in the "Green Bean Casserole" recipe she served for Thanksgiving dinner.

If the beans were nasty and mushy, they probably defrosted and refroze a time or 2 before they got to your plate. Bad kitchen management.

I'll take frozen veggies over canned any day. They go from field to packer in less than 24 hours. Any "fresh" veggies that you get in the grocery store are several days, and can be weeks, old. We grow and freeze (within hours of picking) more than 100 pounds of vegetables every summer. I'll take my frozen veggies over "fresh" from the grocery store any day. 

Funny story - My boys are now both in their 30's. Grew up eating the produce (fresh and frozen) from Dad's garden. I decided to serve corn for Sunday dinner a few years ago, but all I had was canned. They both looked at me and said what's this?!!? I suddenly realized that neither of them had Ever had canned corn before. They thought it was pretty disgusting. 🤣

[upwarduk]

14 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

We went grocery shopping Saturday and picked up a salad, opened it yesterday the top looks fine but under was not. Had to throw out half the salad.

I have noticed that the supermarket where I shop have stopped using ‘Best before dates.’

Supposedly to cut down on waste.

But I suggest they are selling old stock, as there is no way of checking on freshness.😱

[Lena11033]

2 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I have noticed that the supermarket where I shop have stopped using ‘Best before dates.’

Supposedly to cut down on waste.

But I suggest they are selling old stock, as there is no way of checking on freshness.😱

Lovely and it's hard if in packaging to see how fresh it is. Speaking of best before dates I've had to be really careful, more than once I've picked up things in store that were on the shelf AFTER the best before date certain canned/packaged things I'm less worried about but when it's dairy I rather not have that 🤢

[southernbreezes]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:46 PM, phoenix_dream said:

OMG stop!  Just stop!  I don't know if I can take more of these kinds of posts.  We've gone from complaining about dress codes, and chair hogs, and whatever else and now we're down to berating the green beans.  Where does it end?!?!?!

I agree STOP!. Some people do have way to much time on there hands or they just are not happy unless they have something to complain about. I come on here to get travel advice and cruise tips I think I need to take a break for a month or maybe ten. And just to add my last Cruise on the EDGE was the best food ever and I have been cruising for 50 years. 

[drakes2]

25 minutes ago, southernbreezes said:

And just to add my last Cruise on the EDGE was the best food ever and I have been cruising for 50 years. 

I agree the food on my February Edge cruise was excellent in all the MDR's especially the French restaurant. Looking forward to our April 2023 15 night Western Europe TA on the Apex. Its almost a brand new ship as inaugural sail date was last November. 

[drakes2]

3 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I have noticed that the supermarket where I shop have stopped using ‘Best before dates.’

Supposedly to cut down on waste.

But I suggest they are selling old stock, as there is no way of checking on freshness.😱

My local supermarket marks down a lot of fresh veggies a couple days prior to expiry so pick up for fresh salad what is left goes into a shrimp stir fry.  Never have any food waste and save money   

[kenb]

11 hours ago, southernbreezes said:

I agree STOP!. Some people do have way to much time on there hands or they just are not happy unless they have something to complain about. I come on here to get travel advice and cruise tips I think I need to take a break for a month or maybe ten. And just to add my last Cruise on the EDGE was the best food ever and I have been cruising for 50 years. 

What , you don't like a "lively" discussion that gets totally off topic? 

[zitsky]

28 minutes ago, kenb said:

What , you don't like a "lively" discussion that gets totally off topic? 

I’m pretty celery about my food.  I don’t mind a food thread.  And don’t call me Shirley.  🥸

[drakes2]

11 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’m pretty celery about my food.  I don’t mind a food thread.  And don’t call me Shirley.  🥸

I don't mind a food thread either; always something to learn from others 

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 10/31/2022 at 10:17 AM, Lena11033 said:

I think food decline is just everywhere at the moment not just cruise lines. We went grocery shopping Saturday and picked up a salad, opened it yesterday the top looks fine but under was not. Had to throw out half the salad.

 

I think I have to start shopping the day I want the salad because it's not making it to the store in good shape. Most veggies I've already switched to frozen for that reason but salad you can't really get around 

 

14 hours ago, upwarduk said:

I have noticed that the supermarket where I shop have stopped using ‘Best before dates.’

Supposedly to cut down on waste.

But I suggest they are selling old stock, as there is no way of checking on freshness.😱

 

11 hours ago, drakes2 said:

My local supermarket marks down a lot of fresh veggies a couple days prior to expiry so pick up for fresh salad what is left goes into a shrimp stir fry.  Never have any food waste and save money   

 

Supermarkets...I travel a lot and shop at a lot of supermarkets all over, haven't noticed any rotting produce...I would suggest visiting another supermarket or even Costco.

 

Restaurants...Here in L.A. we're always considered in the top ten food cities in the US (some lists have us in the top 3).  During the pandemic, our restaurants were shut down for dine in service twice, only option was take out/delivery.  Take out removes a restaurant service, atmosphere and even presentation, meaning it's only about the taste of the food.  If you have bad tasting food, you're probably going out of business.  Again, it seems all cruise lines let the bean counters win as while land-based restaurants as a whole, seem to improve, it always seems to be on the decline on a cruise ship.

 

[Lena11033]

10 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

 

 

Supermarkets...I travel a lot and shop at a lot of supermarkets all over, haven't noticed any rotting produce...I would suggest visiting another supermarket or even Costco.

 

 

In May I moved 400km across province, same issues with the supermarkets in the old location as the new one. I stopped with Costco fresh vegetables a while back because they were coming in bruised and mouldy. I think for us because it takes longer to get food here it's just going to be an issue for a while unless I only buy only local foods (not always possible like bananas for example). I would say I should try going to Costco in Detroit as it's probably better than here, but not sure I could get that one past the customs coming back into Canada 🤣

[chengkp75]

While I can't speak to Celebrity personally, I will give my thoughts on the great "frozen/fresh" debate.  Regarding the "vast walk in freezers" onboard, probably half of them are "chill boxes" and not freezers.  About the only food that comes aboard frozen is proteins.

 

I have personally seen fresh produce last on a ship for over 14 days, many times, in fact, in most cases it will if not used.  Produce is graded when it comes aboard by the Provisions Master, as to what is ripe and needs to be used "first" and what can be used later.  In fact, they will often specifically order cases of ripe and unripe produce of the same type.  The "use now" cases are placed at the front of the walk in boxes, and the rest are moved around the boxes to areas known to have better or less air circulation to help or retard ripening.  The boxes have CO2 monitors in them, used to control the amount of ventilation, as CO2 levels above 3% can cause browning.   The boxes will have ozone generators in them to create ozone to react with ethylene.  Ethylene is given off by ripe fruits and vegetables, and will increase the premature rotting of the produce if levels are high in storage.  Ozone reacts with ethylene to produce CO2 and water, and extends the life of even ripe produce.  Further, the provisions team goes through many boxes of produce daily, looking for produce that is either turning or about to turn, and will remove it from the box to prevent the spread to other produce in the box.  This "hand picking" takes hours each day, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the produce.

 

I have to agree that if your childhood vegetables were mushy and bad tasting, they were likely canned and not frozen.  But, I digress.

 

The fresh produce, lets say green beans, are placed in an appliance known as a "tilting box", which is a rectangular pressure cooker about 3' x 2' x 1' (so, about 6 cubic feet, or 4.5 bushels of beans).  This cooks these beans in a very few minutes (heated by the ship's steam system) 2-3 minutes for this entire quantity of green beans.

 

Now, whether the galley staff training has fallen, and the pressure cooker is not watched closely, overcooking can happen.

[Barwick Cruiser]

4 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

While I can't speak to Celebrity personally, I will give my thoughts on the great "frozen/fresh" debate.  Regarding the "vast walk in freezers" onboard, probably half of them are "chill boxes" and not freezers.  About the only food that comes aboard frozen is proteins.

 

I have personally seen fresh produce last on a ship for over 14 days, many times, in fact, in most cases it will if not used.  Produce is graded when it comes aboard by the Provisions Master, as to what is ripe and needs to be used "first" and what can be used later.  In fact, they will often specifically order cases of ripe and unripe produce of the same type.  The "use now" cases are placed at the front of the walk in boxes, and the rest are moved around the boxes to areas known to have better or less air circulation to help or retard ripening.  The boxes have CO2 monitors in them, used to control the amount of ventilation, as CO2 levels above 3% can cause browning.   The boxes will have ozone generators in them to create ozone to react with ethylene.  Ethylene is given off by ripe fruits and vegetables, and will increase the premature rotting of the produce if levels are high in storage.  Ozone reacts with ethylene to produce CO2 and water, and extends the life of even ripe produce.  Further, the provisions team goes through many boxes of produce daily, looking for produce that is either turning or about to turn, and will remove it from the box to prevent the spread to other produce in the box.  This "hand picking" takes hours each day, and contributes greatly to the longevity of the produce.

 

I have to agree that if your childhood vegetables were mushy and bad tasting, they were likely canned and not frozen.  But, I digress.

 

The fresh produce, lets say green beans, are placed in an appliance known as a "tilting box", which is a rectangular pressure cooker about 3' x 2' x 1' (so, about 6 cubic feet, or 4.5 bushels of beans).  This cooks these beans in a very few minutes (heated by the ship's steam system) 2-3 minutes for this entire quantity of green beans.

 

Now, whether the galley staff training has fallen, and the pressure cooker is not watched closely, overcooking can happen.

Thank you, once again, for this great information. I’ve learned a lot of new and interesting info from you today! 

[Arizona Wildcat]

I personally object to being served frozen vegetables.   They are impossible to cut and am afraid of breaking a tooth.  Canned except tomatoes are dreadful too.

[calicakes]

6 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

In May I moved 400km across province, same issues with the supermarkets in the old location as the new one. I stopped with Costco fresh vegetables a while back because they were coming in bruised and mouldy. I think for us because it takes longer to get food here it's just going to be an issue for a while unless I only buy only local foods (not always possible like bananas for example). I would say I should try going to Costco in Detroit as it's probably better than here, but not sure I could get that one past the customs coming back into Canada 🤣

I lived in Ontario and would cross once a week into Port Huron to go shopping( I'm American).  Pick up mail, visit Target or doctors( before I was eligible for OHIP).  I brought back cheese, chicken, butter, other dairy, jiffy corn muffin mixes.  I never had an issue.  I never brought Produce back though.  

[Lena11033]

18 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I lived in Ontario and would cross once a week into Port Huron to go shopping( I'm American).  Pick up mail, visit Target or doctors( before I was eligible for OHIP).  I brought back cheese, chicken, butter, other dairy, jiffy corn muffin mixes.  I never had an issue.  I never brought Produce back though.  

Thanks, good to know because shopping in Detroit is looking pretty good these days with costs of things 

[calicakes]

13 minutes ago, Lena11033 said:

Thanks, good to know because shopping in Detroit is looking pretty good these days with costs of things 

But the Canadian dollar has tanked.   Is it still a good deal to shop in the US? 

[davekathy]

On 10/29/2022 at 7:42 AM, Cruising Princess said:

Well that’s what they are now serving in Blu (aqua class) restaurant

Glad we only eat in the MDR. 😂

Edited November 2, 2022 by davekathy

[Lena11033]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

But the Canadian dollar has tanked.   Is it still a good deal to shop in the US? 

I think it depends on what you are buying but typically everything here costs more normally.

The prices have gone through the roof for cost of living in general in the last little bit but I think normally we're a good % higher for the same products. I'm just glad gas came down a bit I think today was 1.67 per litre, a few months ago it was 2.07 a litre (that was really painful).

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

I lived in Ontario and would cross once a week into Port Huron to go shopping( I'm American).  Pick up mail, visit Target or doctors( before I was eligible for OHIP).  I brought back cheese, chicken, butter, other dairy, jiffy corn muffin mixes.  I never had an issue.  I never brought Produce back though.  

I live in Southern Ontario an hour from Buffalo NY and used to go shopping quite a bit across the border but with the exchange rate upwards of 1.40 its not worth. Actually we get better bargains right here plus I collect points for just about all groceries I buy which makes it so worthwhile. 

[Lena11033]

16 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I live in Southern Ontario an hour from Buffalo NY and used to go shopping quite a bit across the border but with the exchange rate upwards of 1.40 its not worth. Actually we get better bargains right here plus I collect points for just about all groceries I buy which makes it so worthwhile. 

 I moved from Burlington - the points system for PC sucked where I lived I didn't get much for my $.

I moved to Windsor I'm getting better pricing on groceries here and more points for my $. I've got more money back in PC points since May than I did in the last year in Burlington. I guess they though people in Burlington had money, I was house poor I needed deals 😅