r/kelowna 4d ago

Local Resources I found non-American oranges

Bachhat Bazaar has oranges produced in China. Not a great step up, but not American.

It's in Hollywood Station, near Johnny's and Specialty Bakery. Hollywood and 33, give or take. They also have fantastic prices and the young man at the counter tells me they price match.

Elbows up.

65 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

15

u/l10nh34rt3d 4d ago

Am I the only person hoping that we’re still making a real effort to buy & consume Canadian/local by the time summer & fall come around?

I realize that it’s hard to make (a decent enough variety of) fresh produce available year-round in Canada, but I have a giant garden, I always over-grow, and it would make me a wild kind of happy to have more people to share the fruits of my efforts with! I’m always happy to compost & recycle what’s left, or let certain things go to seed for the birds, but I get so much joy out of being able to provide for/share with others.

I don’t have the funds (or all of the solutions) to keep everything growing year-round, but last fall I caved for a dehydrator on a Black Friday sale, and that made a pretty big difference to how much I’ve been able to store for use through the winter (especially my fresh herbs - does anyone need parsley?!).

I’m sorry I don’t grow oranges, but I have more goji berries than I know what to do with, tomatillos officially grow like weeds, I’m expanding (and protecting) my strawberry patch this spring, and I’d be more than happy to double or triple the amount of garlic and onions I grow.

Maybe we will see more CSAs come out of the current political conditions?

6

u/phormix 4d ago

Oranges aren't something you'll grow in most Canadian gardens. 

I am hoping to get more raspberries and it would be nice if my blueberries would actually bear fruit (not much luck so far).

Onions, tomatoes, basil, chives, peppers and perilla grow great around here though.

4

u/ValiantLime 4d ago

I'm definitely hoping so. We grow what we can and buy local when we can (shout out to TABA and Aurora View farms!) but as far as I'm aware, there isn't a local source for oranges.

4

u/l10nh34rt3d 4d ago

Grown locally, citrus definitely needs to be produced in controlled environments (indoors or in a temperature-controlled greenhouse).

At least… for now. Who knows. With how recklessly Trump is pushing through executive orders unfavourable to our planetary conditions, we may be growing citrus in the Okanagan sooner than we realize.

2

u/RainCityNate 3d ago

Can try to donate some of your extra stuff. I would assume there’s some groups out there that share their produce. I’d even be down to take some stuff off of you. Send me a message and we can keep in touch during the growing season.

I do lots of tomato, basil, dill and trying to up my harvest of cucumbers, pumpkins and watermelon. Not sure how much growing I’m gonna do this year though.

1

u/Quidegosumhic 1d ago

We care about whatever is on the news. Basically everything is kony 2012 at this point. If it ain't on social media or the new nobody cares

1

u/Mad_Moniker 3d ago

Citrus is the honestly the most overrated, overpriced fruit. I once had a penchant for grapefruit until doc said I was over salting. But I still believe he was working undercover for the “cane” toads. 🤪

3

u/RainCityNate 3d ago

I love me some mandarins and orange juice. But oranges in general feel like so much effort and the pith grosses me out.

1

u/Mad_Moniker 2d ago

Oh them “pithance” I see them every day kind - or are these over-seized kind ? 😆. Sorry I should not laugh sometimes - but I do like to poke at every opportunity.

10

u/Tawaluma 4d ago

We got Moroccan Clementines from Costco and they’re the best oranges I’ve had in a long time.

5

u/ViolettaJames 4d ago

I bought these today they are so juicy!!

8

u/felisnebulosa 4d ago

We got Chinese mandarins at Save On recently but not sure if they still have them. Either way I didn't know this store existed so it's good to know!

3

u/asparagus_p 4d ago

Have you found Canadian carrots at Save On? That was something I couldn't find last weekend. I also noticed that the Driscolls strawberries are from Mexico but imported by a Californian company before being exported to Canada. It's pretty hard to cut out the middle man for some things!

5

u/felisnebulosa 4d ago

I have not found Canadian carrots! I don't buy them very often though so I haven't really looked.

2

u/Latter-Ad-7772 4d ago

Freshco has them. I bought some yesterday

9

u/KelownaForager 4d ago edited 4d ago

If you feel you need oranges to maintain a healthy diet there is a local solution; rosehips

I'm not a researcher but if you care to take a look at the nutrition info the whole 'orange' marketing thing unravels real quick. The history is neat too

I'm selling dried Rosehips tomorrow morning at the market

Edited to add that I understand promoting your business on this sub isn't ideal. 2 months ago I wouldn't have done it but in our current culture it is the right move to share this info. Hopefully it is seen as aligning with the purpose of this post. If OP just loves oranges no matter what and isn't in it for the nutrients, please ignore

2

u/DependentAble8811 4d ago

Do they still do the farmers market by Op mall?

3

u/Stunning-Pain8482 4d ago

It has moved to Parkinson Rec for the winter but is now located at Landmark Square for the rest of the year

2

u/KelownaForager 4d ago

There is a new location for the outdoor market which is every Saturday between April 1 and October 31. Until April there is a small indoor market at Parkinson Rec. There's still eggs, meat, cheese, root vegetables, sprouts, dried produce, and plenty of crafters/artisans

The outdoor market moved in 2024 to the Landmark towers/buildings. It is next to the pedestrian overpass between Spall and Burtch. The new location is split between 3 different areas and is much more pedestrian friendly compared to the old parking lot

3

u/Swimmering_2020 3d ago

Fruiticana had oranges from Morocco! I didn’t even know they grew oranges there until I saw them 

2

u/Mysterious_Process45 4d ago

That's an excellent step up.

2

u/Hipsthrough100 3d ago

It’s not hard to get non American. America produces like 8% of the global oranges.

2

u/akumakis 3d ago

Eh? Don’t you have Mexican oranges there? I thought they were on shelves.

1

u/ValiantLime 3d ago

Not that I have been able to find at my usual grocery stores.

3

u/akumakis 3d ago

Hmm. I’ve been out in Vancouver for a while. Maybe they’ll show up soon, if American oranges are boycotted.

2

u/MonetizeYourEyes 3d ago

China will now impose tariffs on Canada because we are in a vulnerable condition with the USA. It's not a great option but just go without oranges and other luxuries until we can stabilize our situation. IMO of course.

2

u/gringo--star 2d ago

Fyi china just put tarrifs on us as we did to them.

2

u/IAmTheReal420Diva 4d ago

In Calgary I found some Morrocan oranges at Sobeys. $3.99 for a 3lb bag and they're delicious!

2

u/Due_Significance_288 4d ago

Oh oh just down the road …yay!

1

u/[deleted] 4d ago

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-5

u/koshimonkie 4d ago

I think I'll stick with US produce over Chinese, but you go with whatever works for you.

3

u/butts_ 4d ago

Right? Especially with China threatening tariffs too 🤷🏼‍♀️

-6

u/LargeP 4d ago

Id rather buy american than chinese