fruits and produce in Canada

Hi... I don't know if I'm really in the right place to ask a question
like this, but I am looking for information on who I should contact if
I have questions about Canadian fruit and produce items... particularly
concerning which ones are most readily available in supermarkets and
which are rather hard to find up there (or if not totally unavailable,
at least hard to find in premium quality) I am an American, living down
in Florida, where quite the assortment of fruits tends to be
available... my relatives in upstate New York practically beg us to
bring some high quality oranges and grapefruits when we visit! This may
be a bit of an odd question, but I would greatly appreciate anyone
pointing me in the right direction (maybe contact information for some
Canadian grocery chains?)... or perhaps speaking from your own
experience as a Canadian grocery shopping customer, or even just
letting me know somewhere online where I can find lots of Canadians to
ask the same question to. Thanks in advance! :-)

DW I do know what a truck is... in fact, just yesterday, a man gave me
a ride on his big red one, and even let me wear his shiny red hat! His
little spotted doggy was so nice, it licked my face.

OK well I guess my question was not specific enough, but I just sort of
assumed that if good citrus were difficult to find in upstate New York,
it might be in certain parts of Canada too, and so might certain other
fruits. A hasty assumption, but a fairly logical one.

I should have relegated my inquiry to specific parts of Canada, you
don't have to tell me that because I am already kicking myself in the
rump over that. Nonetheless, I have found that the special Canadian in
my life (who would have been the one I asked except I want the fruit
gift to be a surprise! She lives a fairly rural area a bit north of
Toronto) is having trouble finding an asian fruit called "durian",
which I can easily find due to the high proliferation of Vietnamese
people here in central Florida. A very pungent fruit and a slightly odd
christmas gift indeed, but I think it will be quite well received.

thanks to anyone who resisted the urge to lash out verbally... I did
deserve it slightly (and it is not the least of my recent idiocies,
yesterday I missed a wedding due to misinterpreting the directions and
driving two hours past its location)

<hideous_beak@m> wrote in message
news:1133644041.613561.215910@g43g2000cwa. o...
> DW I do know what a truck is... in fact, just yesterday, a man gave me
> a ride on his big red one, and even let me wear his shiny red hat! His
> little spotted doggy was so nice, it licked my face.
>
> OK well I guess my question was not specific enough, but I just sort
of
> assumed that if good citrus were difficult to find in upstate New
York,
> it might be in certain parts of Canada too, and so might certain other
> fruits. A hasty assumption, but a fairly logical one.
>
> I should have relegated my inquiry to specific parts of Canada, you
> don't have to tell me that because I am already kicking myself in the
> rump over that. Nonetheless, I have found that the special Canadian in
> my life (who would have been the one I asked except I want the fruit
> gift to be a surprise! She lives a fairly rural area a bit north of
> Toronto) is having trouble finding an asian fruit called "durian",
> which I can easily find due to the high proliferation of Vietnamese
> people here in central Florida. A very pungent fruit and a slightly
odd
> christmas gift indeed, but I think it will be quite well received.
>
> thanks to anyone who resisted the urge to lash out verbally... I did
> deserve it slightly (and it is not the least of my recent idiocies,
> yesterday I missed a wedding due to misinterpreting the directions and
> driving two hours past its location)
>

Does Toronto have a Chinatown? Check it out, it might have durian for
sale. They're especially available in winter months.

That is correct. I was able to by frozen Durian in the chinatown here
in Chicago. It wasn't too bad for a frozen item. I am sure it is
available in Toronto.

Ok well I guess what I'll do is I will see if I can't hunt down a place
in Toronto that would ship some fresh durian (yes, must be fresh!) to
the more rural town the recipient of my gift lives in. That way, I
don't have to deal with international shipping laws.

Carmanah, I see your point. But granted, I had already made it quite
clear that I recognize how not well thought out my original question
was, lol! It is long past the point where this whole thread could be
construed as possible comic relief within the context of some of these
forums, and I certainly do not take myself overly seriously. But now
that you mention it, I had thought durian was more of a southeastern
asian fruit and not so much Chinese... I guess I was wrong! But you are
right, and I think all I need to do is maybe find someplace, preferably
in Toronto, that I can pay to ship some fresh fruits. Preferably
uncommon fruits. Judy, I might try the K&K that you mentioned.

Hey, finally tried some durian myself! Kind of enjoyed it, but then I
have always had weird tastes. I think what gets people the most, beside
the smell, is the sort of pus-like texture of the inner goop, and the
slightly "onion/garlic" like tinge it has to its taste (whereas the
rest of the taste is more "sweet/fruity") I will admit, I couldn't eat
too much in one sitting... seems like one of those foods that, if you
got sick from eating it, seeing or smelling it again (EVER again) would
be enough to recreate the vomiting experience

Makes your pee smell real nice too! btw, my problem is pretty much
solved at this point. But of course, feel free to keep talking about
durian experiences! It's also good murder weapon, no cannon needed! It
would be like that Hitchcock movie where the killer serves the evidence
to the cops as dinner... don't know if that would work with durian,
though

Just about any type of fruit and vegetable is available in Canadian
Supermarkets if you want to pay the price. For instance, grapes from Chile
were recently available in a small supermarket in Eastern Ontario for a mere
$4.00/lb. The quality was poor however, rather than reduce the price, the
past shelf life grapes went to the local landfill. Florida oranges are
available in season but a 3 lb bag costs $8.00 Can funds but the quality is
good. Since you live in Florida, you can consume fresh local produce all the
time. When you come to Canada, why not check out our local produce? We
produce everything from A-Z in season. How about some fresh cherries,
peaches, plums, apples, pears and strawberries in late summer. Tender fruits
from S.W. Ontario and the Okanagan Valley of B.C. are particularly good.
Enjoy the taste of vegetables grown in a cool climate. Go to local farmers
markets where the price and quality will be far superior top supermarket
goods. Stop at local road side stands for the really good stuff.

Farmer John

<hideous_beak@m> wrote in message
news:1133499148.820384.188560@o13g2000cwo. o...
> Hi... I don't know if I'm really in the right place to ask a question
> like this, but I am looking for information on who I should contact if
> I have questions about Canadian fruit and produce items... particularly
> concerning which ones are most readily available in supermarkets and
> which are rather hard to find up there (or if not totally unavailable,
> at least hard to find in premium quality) I am an American, living down
> in Florida, where quite the assortment of fruits tends to be
> available... my relatives in upstate New York practically beg us to
> bring some high quality oranges and grapefruits when we visit! This may
> be a bit of an odd question, but I would greatly appreciate anyone
> pointing me in the right direction (maybe contact information for some
> Canadian grocery chains?)... or perhaps speaking from your own
> experience as a Canadian grocery shopping customer, or even just
> letting me know somewhere online where I can find lots of Canadians to
> ask the same question to. Thanks in advance! :-)
>