What was the original fruity aroma of tomatoes like? Visiting small farmers' memories
Walking intothe tomato greenhouse, what greets you is not lush green tomato vines, nor is there a maze-like walkway bursting with greenery; instead, only sparse little tomatoes hang from the branches. "Because we use no pesticides, chemical fertilizers, sweeteners, fruit-setting agents or hormones to make them bigger, our yield is only five jin a day!" says Lin Meizhu. Looking closely,the tomatoes vary enormously in size. I picked one and ate it on the spot; the skin was rather thick, the taste was sweet and sour, and once I bit into it the tomato flavor was very intense. Honestly, it was completely different from the thin-skinned, juicy, sugary little tomatoes you find outside. This flavor shook me, not because of its sweetness, but because it brought back the most original taste of tomatoes in my memory.
Such delicious, pesticide-free little tomatoes sell for only 120 yuan per jin. Why sell them so cheap? "Because my husband says if we sell them too expensive, who would want to eat them?" says Lin Meizhu. I have always yearned for affordable, toxin-free produce. Compared with prices sold online, the price when shipped to the produce market for wholesale is only one quarter (sometimes when the appearance is poor it is not even worth shipping, and after deducting shipping and handling fees there is no profit at all). Who takes the price difference in between? The big distributors, mid-level distributors, farmers' associations, restaurants. What actually goes back to the farmer is very little. If we gave back some of the three quarters earned by the distributors to consumers who buy directly from farmers, then building affordable, toxin-free produce would be feasible, wouldn't it?
"Chongmei Farm Produce has no organic certification, only the certification of conscience." Many crops that claim to have passed organic certification are secretly sprayed with pesticides behind the scenes. People living nearby know it well, and only consumers are kept in the dark. So Sister Meizhu's produce has not applied for certification; those who believe in them will naturally buy. This coincides exactly with my philosophy. I believe that building a relationship of mutual trust with consumers is far more important than applying for a pile of certifications. Consumers are willing to buy agricultural products directly from farmers because they trust the farmer's character, not because of that pile of certificates!
Today, I met a kindred spirit and found the true fragrance of tomatoes, that most original flavor.
If you don't mind large and small fruit, low sweetness, and thicker skin, you are welcome to join in the search for original little tomatoes!
Chongmei Farm Produce: https://www.facebook.com/daisy329
Chongxian Frozen Seafood: https://www.facebook.com/chiu3290