Picking Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
APPLES
Look for firm apples that are free from bruises. Red-colored apples should be mostly red. Yellow-colored apples should be mostly bright yellow. Red and yellow apples should not have patches of green on them.
ASPARAGUS
Stalks should be straight, bright green and have stiff tips.
BANANAS
Bananas should not have bruises or soft spots, especially along the undersides of the bottom row.
BEETS
Beets should be firm and attached to red stems and fresh green tops. Loose beets without tops tend to be older.
BLUEBERRIES
Look for firm fresh blueberries. Frozen wild blueberries are good and are available all year.
BROCCOLI
Look for tightly budded heads that are dark green in color.
CANTALOUPE
Look for thick, coarse, corky netting covering the skin. A ripe cantaloupe has a yellowish rind, a cantaloupe smell, and yields slightly to light thumb pressure on the non-stem end. Small bruises normally do not hurt the fruit.
At home if cantaloupe is not ready to eat, store at room temperature. The longer it sits out, the softer and juicier it becomes.
CHERRIES
Cherries should have a very dark color and bright, glossy, plump-looking surfaces. Avoid shriveled fruit, soft, leaking flesh, brown discoloration, mold, and a generally dull look.
CUCUMBERS
Cucumbers should be firm, unblemished and dark green.
EGGPLANT
Choose eggplants that are heavy for their size and have smooth skin.
GARLIC
Garlic bulbs should be plump, firm and completely surrounded by their tissue-like covering. Avoid ones that have green sprouts.
GRAPEFRUIT
Grapefruit should be firm and heavy for its size. Smooth, thin-skinned fruits have more juice than coarse-skinned ones. If a grapefruit is pointed at the stem end, it is likely to be thick-skinned. Skin defects usually do not affect the taste. Avoid water-soaked, soft areas, lack of bright color, and soft, tender peel that breaks easily with finger pressure. Rough, ridged, or wrinkled skin can also be a sign of thick skin, pulpiness, and lack of juice.
GRAPES
Choose grapes that are firm. If a grape is soft or feels like a water balloon, it is too ripe. Wash grapes just before serving.
GUAVA
Choose soft green fruit with a fragrant aroma. Avoid hard fruit.
HONEYDEW MELONS
Melons should be free of bruises and broken skin. They should have a soft, velvety texture, slight softening at the blossom end, a faint fruit aroma, and a yellowish-white to creamy rind color. Leave melons at room temperature until they give ever so slightly to heavy pressure. Their skins may wrinkle slightly and they may give off a mild melon fragrance when they are ripe.
KIWI FRUIT
Look for plump, unwrinkled fruit, either firm or slightly yielding. Kiwifruit is ripe when it gives to the touch, but isn’t soft. Sometimes the fruit has a “water-stained” exterior. It is normal and does not affect the taste. You can eat the skin. If it is shriveling, moldy or has excessive softening avoid it.
Ripen at room temperature. To accelerate ripening put kiwi in a paper bag with a banana or an apple.
LEEKS
Look for leeks that have dark green leaves and white bulbs. Leaves that have yellow and brown spots are usually overripe.
LEMONS
Lemons should be heavy and firm with a rich yellow color. The texture of the skin should be reasonably smooth with a slight gloss. A pale or greenish-yellow color means very fresh fruit with slightly higher acidity. Coarse or rough skin texture means thick skin and not much juice.
Store lemons in the refrigerator. If you microwave a whole lemon for ten seconds, it will release more juice. Applying pressure while rolling the lemon back and forth on the countertop will release more juice.
LIMES
Limes should have glossy skin and be heavy and plump for its size.
MANGOS
Look for plump fruit with smooth skin that has at least begun to color, and a slight softness. Do not buy very green, rock-hard, shriveled, or mushy fruit, or fruit with bruises, rot, or large black spots. Refrigerate when completely ripened.
MUSHROOMS
Look for mushrooms that are free of bruises and other blemishes. Fresh mushrooms are not wrinkled or slimy.
NECTARINES
Look for rich color and plumpness, and a slight softening along the “seam” – the ridge that runs down one side of the fruit. Most nectarines are orange-yellow between the red areas, but some varieties are greenish. Hard tan stains on the skin do not affect the taste. Ripen at room temperature in a paper bag.
ORANGES
Look for firm, heavy fruit with fresh, bright-looking skin that is smooth for the variety. Avoid lightweight oranges, very rough skin texture, dull, dry skin and a spongy feel, soft spots on the surface, and discolored, weakened skin at the ends.
ONIONS
When looking for dry onions, choose those that have bright green leaves and are not slimy.
ORANGES
For eating out of hand, choose California navel oranges that are heavy for their size and without obvious blemishes.
PAPAYA
Papaya should be firm and unblemished whose green color is turning yellow. Ripen in a paper bag at room temperature until softened and golden. Avoid solid green or mushy fruit, or fruit with bruises or pebbly skin.
PEACHES
Choose peaches that have smooth skin without bruises, and that give a bit to pressure. Peaches that do not give to pressure can ripen, but often do not get as soft and sweet as those that are already somewhat ripe at the market.
PEARS
Choose pears that have smooth skin, no bruises and have begun to soften. Ripen at room temperature in a paper bag.
PINEAPPLES
Look for bright yellow-orange color, fragrant pineapple aroma and a very slight separation of the eyes (the berry-like fruitlets that run in a spiral pattern on the skin). Avoid if it has an unpleasant vinegary odor, a dried look, bruises, soft spots, a dried look or a dull yellowish-green color.
PLUMS
Plums should be plump and fairly firm to slightly soft. Avoid fruit that is too hard or too soft, with skin breaks, punctures, or brownish discoloration.
POTATOES
Potatoes should be firm and free of bruises and cracks.
RASPBERRIES
Raspberries should be bright red and free from mold. Don’t wash until ready to eat.
RED PEPPERS
Red Peppers should have thick, smooth skin.
SPINACH
Spinach should be dark green with no signs of yellowing, sliminess or wilting.
STRAWBERRIES
Choose strawberries that are plump, dark red, and without bruises. Fresh strawberries should have a distinct strawberry fragrance. Keep strawberries dry. Do not wash until ready to eat.
TANGERINES
Look for deep yellow or orange color and a bright luster. They do not feel firm to the touch.
TOMATOES
Tomatoes should be bright red, firm and free from bruises. They will have a distinct tomato fragrance.
WATERMELON
Watermelon should have a firm, dark green rind with a smooth, slightly dull surface. The ends should be filled out and rounded, and the “belly” (the underside that rests on the ground) should have a creamy color. A slight hollow sound upon tapping with your knuckles is often a sign of a full and juicy melon.
WINTER SQUASH
Squash should have hard, smooth skin.
YAMS
Choose yams that do not have any cracks or soft spots.
ZUCCHINI
Zucchini should have firm, dark green skin. Old zucchini are soft and wrinkly.
Taken from www.chetday.com.pickingfruitsvegetables.htm and
http://findarticles.com/p/articles//mi_m0813/is_n4_v25/ai_n27531889
|
|