Harvestman I've had a similar experience with greens and cantaloupe which I attributed to some undefined mineral in the soil. They had a metallic or bitter taste. We grow nanking cherry fruit now in the same spot and don't have anything but wonderful fruit. The soil was very alkaline and would not grow anything. First I dug ditches in the soil and added a foot of hay in the ditch and then dug a ditch beside it shoveling the dirt from the new ditch on the hay and so on and so forth until I was done with the 20 x 5 area. That was hard work! I added biochar to the soil and 3 inches of cow manure at the time. I added a foot of wood chips over the entire area. I did what I did to increase the acidity and raise moisture levels which I assumed would make minerals available which worked. I believe the metal taste was from freeing up minerals in the soil previously unavailable but honestly I don't know. The soil would not even grow grass (literally) when I obtained the property. We never had the problem except for that first year.

I've never had bitter fruit where it was previously good. But have had bitter greens, cabbage, and carrots when it was too hot and possibly lacking sufficient water.

Withholding water on my fruit can bring on a somewhat fermented taste in a few things but never bitter.

Harvestman maybe this article will help explain whats going on.

Here is a link that might be useful: ajcn

Clark:

Thanks for the link. That's an interesting subject to me more from an anthropological angle than anything else. Evolution has taught animals including us to find certain tastes and smells objectionable. This can save us from things like rotten or poisonous food but might also cause us to avoid healthy foods.

The other interesting aspect is that we may be breeding or processing healthy components out of our food.

Good and bad tastes and smells are very interesting because that's all a function of our brain. No food intrinsically tastes bad, it's all how our brain has been taught to interpret certain signals from sensory organs. Rotten meat probably tastes like pot roast to a vulture.

I suspect it will become one of the many unsolved mysteries involved in raising fruit. There are so many variables that, unless the problem shows up at another site, I probably won't be able to put an explanation together. Next year things will probably be normal on this site.

On Monday I will reach out to the Cornell gurus.

Last weekend I picked up a few Redhavens at a fruit stand while visiting PA. The looked and smelled great. However they were terrible. They were dry, stringy, and had no flavor. I wonder if this is typical for peaches grown in drought conditions or did something else cause it?

"Withholding water on my fruit can bring on a somewhat fermented taste in a few things but never bitter."

Fruitnut,

I'm positive I've read restricting too much water has produced bitter fruit in your greenhouse. I'm not sure I'm able to find it, but positive I've read it from your post.

I've also experienced it in 2012. We had the driest summer on record, even drier than the driest year of the dust bowl (1937 as I recall from records) and some of the fruit was indeed bitter. I remember experiencing what you had previously written (i.e. too much water deficit produces very high brix, but bitter fruit.)

olpea:

I can't recall ever experiencing what I'd call bitter. But have had off flavors outdoors with very high brix. Maybe I said it once but can't recall that. Bitter or not water deficit can be taken too far.

I checked back and didn't find any such posts for Fruitnut, but I did find one from Carolync1, who said:

"From early-season water deficit in white nectarines (without leaf drop), I've had bitter fruit. Really nasty-tasting."

Fruitnut, I found a post where you indicated water deficit nects can have off flavor, but you never said bitter. Evidently I interpreted your comment through my own experiences.

My apology.

Harvestman, It has been a 'cool' temperature summer here. Everything I'm growing is slow or backward. Even my Elberta peaches are still hard as rocks. Huge, but hard as rocks. All of my lettuces were bitter and inedible this summer, and they were watered daily. Is it too simplistic to think we had little 'hot' weather that cranks up ripening and flavor? My fall raspberries are still green. Mrs. G

Mrs. G, what makes this such a mystery is it is only at one site- and a site where it's never been a problem before- On my own site peaches have ranged from mediocre to absolutely wonderful.

I should warn you that Coralstar was in the mediocre realm although they were huge. When that tree was smaller it produced wonderful tasting peaches but now they seem watered down.

Cool temps are likely to be more a problem where you are because you're near the water and further north. The ocean keeps day temps down a few degrees.

No Kidding H-man! Our summer finally started three days ago with temps finally reaching into the 80's. Do you think our winter will be cold too? Mrs. G

I don't expect a truly cold winter simply because its been so long since we've had one here, but maybe I should change my standards and call last winter cold- here it never got below -10 which is about an average low by the old standards.

My predictions are only more precise than flipping a coin when I'm guessing about rain on the morning I go out to work. I'm not sure, but I think my predictions are better than the coin in that situation.

Supposedly El Nino has set up and the weather will likely take a change from what we've been having. The last two years have actually been extremely good here for most fruit- so you know that can't last!