In the summer of 2000, I had an encounter with pasta that changed my perception of food.

I was 16 and visiting family in a rural backwater in northeastern Italy. At a modest hotel restaurant, I ordered a plate of spaghetti with cherry tomatoes. The dish was revelatory. Despite the simple ingredients — pasta, tomatoes, basil, olive oil, salt — it was densely packed with flavor. The tomatoes had the perfect ratio of sweetness to acidity, tasting nothing like the watery produce I was used to in North America.

I’ve since learned that many people have similar experiences while traveling around the Mediterranean. In Italy (or France or Spain or Turkey), they’ll find palate-awakening tomatoes (or watermelons or peaches or lemons) — and then wonder why food doesn’t taste nearly as good in the United States. Why does Europe get amazing produce while we’re left with pabulum?

I wanted to figure out why Americans seem to be cheated of these experiences, so I spoke to researchers who study agriculture, experts on flavor, and even cooks to find out.

I was surprised to hear that there’s no scientific explanation for the difference. There’s nothing special about the sun in southern Italy or the soil in Turkey that makes those countries’ produce taste better. The experts told me we can just as easily grow food in the United States that’s as delicious as — or more delicious than — the food you eat in Europe. It’s just that most of the time, we choose not to. The main difference between the food here and there, they all said, is culture and preferences.