Choosing Fruits 'n Vegetables

Revised-Fruit added 11/2/10

Here’s a subject that doesn’t get discussed very often – Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – What are they and how do you tell? How do you pick the best of the lot?

Well to start with you have a much better chance of picking when the produce is displayed loose! “Fresh & Easy” a new market packages everything – not good.

First use your senses all of them - especially smell, if it doesn’t smell like what you’re buying, it probably isn’t ripe and was picked too soon. Next sight – look the item over carefully, looking for bruises, soft spot, or signs of wilting or drying. Color and gloss are two important indicators of freshness and ripeness. Lastly – feel. Pick it up “weigh” it in your hand, does it seem light or too heavy? Get used to feeling the heft of each item. Run your hand over it feeling for imperfections and softness, often missed when looking at it

Most of all TAKE YOUR TIME try not to shop in a hurry, you won’t select the best.

Now to specifics on the individual items:

Asparagus – Select straight spears with dark green to purple tips, little finger size. Avoid spears with striations along the stems, soft tips or dry-brown ends. Peeling the spear below the tip will make even the largest of spears tender.

Beans – Choose shorter (3 to 4”), thin, crisp straight, blemish-free pods. They should be smooth and free from bulging, the tips un-wilted and should snap easily. Thinner beans are usually tenderer.

Beets - Choose firm, round, smooth, deep red-colored roots. Fresh-looking tops. Those with long roots and rough, scaly areas on surface will be tough and fibrous with a strong flavored. Preferably beets attached to red stems and fresh green tops are fresher. Beets without their tops are typically older.

Broccoli - Firm, closed, dark-green florets with firm blemish-free stalks. Yellowing or open flowers are signs of old and over mature.

Brussels sprouts - Miniature, compact, bright-green heads. Loose leaves and excessively long stems will just be discarded. Brown patches and dry brown stem ends are old.

Cabbage - Well-trimmed heads without loose leaves, solid heavy for size are best. Avoid any with yellowing or wilted leaves.

Carrots - Firm, bright-colored, smooth, clean, well-shaped. Avoid rough, cracked or green-tinged roots or new light green leafs at the top. Medium sized are the best. Avoid hairy or carrots with shriveled ends.

Cauliflower – Choose bright-green leaves, firm, closely packed creamy-white florets. Avoid bruised or open florets or brown spots on them.

Celery - Crisp branches. Preferably light green stalks. No wilting of the leaves, rough look or puffy feel to the stalk.

Chard, Chicory, Collards, Kales, Watercress – And other leafy green vegetable. It goes without saying; select those with the best and most vibrant color and glossy appearance. Avoid any brown tips or wilting.

Corn / Sweet corn – Well this is a doozie – The fresher the better, saying that, Pick up each ear, feel it for firmness without mushy-ness, The ear should feel about the same size from top to bottom. Thickening toward the bottom is a sure sign of large kernels. The silk should be brown! Peel back three inches or so of the husk. Look at the size of the kernels, your looking for well formed small kernels that go all the way to the end of the ear. The husks should be fresh and green, without holes (worms).

Cucumbers – Select dark green ones that are firm, well-shaped without yellow. The thinner longer ones are best. The fat ones will have lots of seeds and will tend to be mushy inside. Watch for soft spots or wilted ends.

Eggplant (Aubergene) – Look for shiny even dark purple skin with green cap. Smooth skin and free of bruises or cuts. Select long and thin ones, the “Bell Shaped” will have a lot of seeds. Try to find Chinese or Italian varieties if available.

Kohlrabi – Choose those with fresh-looking leaves, bright, even color and no soft spots or cracks. The size of a peach or smaller will have the best texture and flavor.

Leeks – Here we are looking for dark green leaves and white bulbs. Leaves that have yellow and brown spotting on the leaves indicate old or overripe.

Lettuce – Bib, Butter and Sugar, Romaine. Green leaves with no wilted, brown tips or bruised areas. Core should not have turned brown. A heavy weight for its size will yield a full tight heads.

Mushrooms – They should be free of bruises and other blemishes no wrinkling or slimy.
Dry, firm caps and stems, the shorter the stem the better.

Onions - Well-shaped, hard, small necks with dry, papery skins. Free of soft spots, green spots or depressed leathery areas. The “Squat” shaped ones will be the sweetest.

Green Onions (Scallions) - Crisp green tops small to medium bulb with white roots.

Peas - Best eaten within minutes of picking. But; well-filled, bright green pods are best. Stay away from swollen, light-colored or spotted pods as they contain tough, starchy peas.

Peppers – Here, well-shaped, firm exterior and bright, glossy skin. Wrinkles, dried stem or softness means old. The darkest of Red will be the sweetest of the “Bell” peppers. Heftiness will generally mean thicker flesh. Properly formed straight peppers will be easier to clean and cut.

Potatoes – First if bagged, get your nose up to the opening and smell you’ll pick up the odor of any of rotten ones. Is loose, choose those firm, fairly smooth, well-shaped, free of blemishes. Avoid bruised, sprouting, shriveled or green-tinged.

Radish – BTW the leaves can also be eaten in salads. Choose medium-sized about 1inch bright red color, plump, round, firm, crisp, without splits and bright green tops.

Rutabaga – Look for small to medium size, smooth and firm. The best have few leaf scars at top and few fibrous roots at base. Yellow-skinned with larger roots are normal.

Shallots - More fiery bite then an onion. Choose firm, ones with dry skin. They tend to show a purple hue, but avoid any bulbs that have started to sprout or have dark or soft spots.

Snow Peas - Best eaten within minutes of picking. Small, bright green pods are best. Swollen, light-colored or spotted pods are to be avoided; there should be no spots or wilting.

Spinach – Large, bright, blemish-free leaves with good green color. Yellowing indicates the start of decay. Avoid leaves with coarse stems. Of course, "baby" leaves are the most tender.

Squash – Don’t like it, don’t eat it and don’t know how to pick it.

Sweet Potato / Yams - They are different, but still, choose medium-sized with no bruises or decay. They should taper at the end

Tomatoes – Well-formed blemish-free with an over all deep rich red color and on the firm side, just a little softness. Remove the stem and smell the socket – It should smell like a tomato.

Turnips - Small to medium size, smooth-skinned, firm and free of decay or bruising. Purple topped with white bottom are the sweetest. They should seem heavy for their size. The larger yellow, usually waxed ones tend to be strong flavored.

Fruits:

Apples: They should feel firm and crisp, not soft or mushy. Skip any that have bruises (will have brown flesh under the bruise) or cuts. Although blemishes don’t harm the fruit, they just aren’t as appealing. Some varieties are designated as eating, while others are good for cooking.

Blueberries: As is with most fruit, firm and plump with bright color are ideal properties to look fore. Softness is inductive of over-ripe berries. The color should be uniform without discolorations. As blueberries are susceptible to mold, check fore it. Don’t wash them ‘till you are going to use them as they store best dry. One last thought blueberries do not ripen once they are picked.

Grapes: Here again brightness of color and smooth skin are signs of the best fruit. Odor is another tell-tail sign of good fresh fruit. They should be well attached to the stem, shake the bunch to see if the individual grapes are falling off – if so put it down and select another bunch.
As with blueberries, they should be stored dry and only washed when ready to use them.

Melons: Melons have increased in variety of late, but they all can be selected using the same basic techniques. First pick up the prospect and smell it – No melon fragrance? Put it down and continue. While you have the melon in your hand, check for soft spots, but a riper melon should “give” to gentle pressure at the end opposite the stem. “Thumping” a melon can indicate the degree of ripeness; a hollow sound indicates the melon is still green. Cantaloupe will continue to ripen on the counter, however Honeydews and the like will not. A melon that is or feels heavy for it’s size indicates the flesh is thicker.

Peaches: Peaches seam to be difficult to get that just taste good anymore. Well to ensure the best chance of a sweet juicy peach¸ pull out the stem and smell it. If it doesn’t smell like a ripe peach, IT ISN’T. A ripe peach should give to gentle pressure, but not be mushy. The skin should be yellow preferably with a dark rep patch which indicates it was ripened in the sun. Any green is a sure sign the peach was picked too early.

Pears: First off appearance and aroma are the prime indicators of a good piece of fruit. Give the pear a good smell test and feel for firmness, choosing only those without soft spots or bruises. You can tell when they are ripe enough by pressing the stem end, which should yield to pressure more easily then the body of the fruit. Pears will continue to ripen on the counter, but will become soft and mushy quickly.

Strawberries: Strawberries should be bright red, firm and without white or green areas, and again smell like strawberries. The stem end cap should be green and fresh looking, not wilted. As they tend to mold easily, check for that also. Berries will not continue to ripen once picked. Store them dry and flush they at serving time, don’t soak them.

That's it for now