How
to pick fresh fruit?
Tips on how to select fruit that will be flavorful and how to
store fruit are the majority of fruit should be firm, not mushy, and
should be refrigerated to preserve flavor, especially if it is cut.
Some fruits can be ripened in paper bags.
We all have our favorite ways to eat our favorite fruits. One
person's wonderfully ripe banana is only fit for another person's
banana bread. Some folks will only buy fruit when it's at the height
of ripeness. Others like to let it ripen at home.
Here are some more-or-less universal
tips on how to pick and store fresh fruit:
1.
Search for the
certain fruit you want until you have found it. The less popular
fruits may not be in season which can mean that they will not be in
the store at that time.
2.
Look for mold on the
fruit. If you found any do not take it.
3.
Check if the color is
what it's supposed to be. For example, don't take a green
strawberry.
4.
Look for bruises and
spots that indicate the fruit has been roughly handled and damaged.
5. Smell the fruit. Some
fruits have a "ripe" odor, like cantaloupe and honeydew
melons. Some fruit may have a sour odor if they are beginning to
spoil.
6.
Feel the fruit, but
do so carefully. Firm fruits like apples and pears should
feel...FIRM, but peaches, plums, and other "soft" fleshed
fruits should feel slightly soft. Please don’t damage the fruit,
if you test it this way, do so carefully.
7.
Select fruit in a bin
or open storage box, not in bulk bags or boxes. The old saying
"One rotten apple will spoil the whole lot" is often true,
and you will seldom find a large bag of fruit without at least some
damaged fruits in it.
8.
Pick the fruit up and
if it's heavy for its size, then you have successfully found
yourself a good fruit!
More Several Tips For You:
§
Select fruit "in
season". The modern market does import fruits from around the
globe, and so the spring fruits in the northern hemisphere may be
grown and harvested fresh in the southern hemisphere, but it has
traveled thousands of miles to your supermarket shelf, and may have
been damaged traveling.
§
Look for fruits (and
vegetables) at local farmer's markets or "U-pick" farms
and orchards.
§
Just because the
fruit is good, doesn't mean it will be ripe!
§
Be aware that perfect
fruit means it has probably been treated with insecticides, and may
be waxed or otherwise treated to preserve its color and texture.
Apples
Look For: Look
for crisp, firm, well-colored apples. The taste of an apple is based
upon its maturity at the time it is picked, so look for apples that
have matured on the tree. Apples picked too soon may have a
shriveled appearance and lack color.
Avoid: Bruised fruit or fruit that yields to slight pressure
on the skin. Hard tan or brown areas may not seriously affect the
taste.
Apricots
Look For: Plump
and juicy-looking fruit with a uniform, golden-orange color. Ripe
apricots yield to gentle pressure on the skin.
Avoid: Dull-looking, soft, or mushy fruit (it's overripe) and
very firm, pale yellow, or greenish-yellow fruit (it's underripe).
Bananas
Look For:
Fruit that is firm, bright, and free of bruises or other injuries.
Tastes vary, but for most people, bananas taste best when the skin
is specked with brown. Bananas with green tips or with practically
no yellow color have not developed their full flavor.
Avoid: Bruised fruit, discolored skins, or a dull, grayish,
aged appearance (which means the fruit has been exposed to cold and
won't ripen properly).
Blueberries
Look For: Dark
blue fruit with a silvery cast. Also, berries that are plump, firm,
the same size, dry, and free of stems or leaves.
Avoid: Soft, mushy, moldy, or leaking berries.
Cantaloupes
Look For: A 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 don't hurt the fruit.
Avoid: A strong yellow-colored rind, a softening over the
entire rind, or mold growth, particularly in the stem scar.
Cherries
Look For:
A very dark color and bright, glossy, plump-looking surfaces. For
the richest flavor, most varieties should range from deep maroon or
mahogany red to black.
Avoid: Shriveled fruit, soft, leaking flesh, brown
discoloration, mold, and a generally dull look. Cherries are
normally dark in color, so decay areas are often inconspicuous.
Grapefruit
Look For:
Firm fruit that is 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 such
as scales, scars, thorn scratches, or discoloration usually do not
affect the taste.
Avoid: Soft, water-soaked 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
Look For:
Well-colored, plump grapes that are firmly attached to the stem.
White or green grapes are sweetest when they have a yellowish cast,
with a tinge of amber.
Avoid: Soft, moldy, or wrinkled grapes and grapes with
bleached areas around the stem ends.
Guava
Look For:
Soft green fruit with a fragrant aroma.
Avoid: Hard fruit.
Honeydew Melon
Look For:
A soft, velvety texture, slight softening at the blossom end, a
faint fruit aroma, and a yellowish-white to creamy rind color.
Avoid: Large, water-soaked, bruised areas are signs of
injury. Cuts or punctures in the rind can lead to decay.
Kiwifruit
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's normal and doesn't
affect the taste. You can eat the skin.
Avoid: Fruit that shows signs of shriveling, mold, or
excessive softening.
Lemons
Look For: Heavy
and firm fruit with a rich yellow color and reasonably
smooth-textured skin with a slight gloss. A pale or greenish-yellow
color means very flesh fruit with slightly higher acidity. Coarse or
rough skin texture means thick skin and not much juice.
Avoid: Lemons with a darker yellow or dull color, or with
hardened or shriveled skin, soft spots, mold, or punctures.
Limes
Look For:
Fruit with glossy skin that's heavy and plump for its size.
Avoid: Fruit with dull, dry skin or soft spots, mold, or
punctures.
Mangos
Look For: Plump
fruit with smooth skin that has at least begun to color, and a
slight softness.
Avoid: Very green, rock-hard, shriveled, or mushy fruit, or
fruit with bruises, rot, or large black spots.
Oranges
Look For: Firm,
heavy fruit with fresh, bright-looking skin that is smooth for the
variety.
Avoid: Lightweight oranges are likely to lack flesh and
juice. Very rough skin texture means thick skin and less flesh. Also
avoid dull, dry skin and spongy feel, soft spots on the surface, and
discolored, weakened skin at the ends.
Papaya
Look For:
Firm, unblemished fruit whose green color is turning yellow.
Avoid: Solid green or mushy fruit, or fruit with bruises or
pebbly skin.
Peaches
Look For: Fruit
that is fairly firm or a little soft. The skin between the red areas
should be yellow, or at least creamy. The amount of red blush does
not indicate ripeness.
Avoid: Hard fruit with a distinctly green color, which
probably won't ripen. Also very soft fruit, large flattened bruises,
or any sign of decay. Decay starts as a pale tan spot that expands
in a circle and slowly turns darker.
Pears
Look For: No
matter what type of pear you are selecting, keep in mind that it
should be firm. Next look at the color and this will vary with the
type of pear you choose. The
Anjou
and Comice pears should appear light green to yellowish-green. The
Bosc pear should appear greenish-yellow to brownish-yellow. The
popular
Bartlett
pear should have pale-yellow or a rich-yellow color.
Avoid: Wilted or shriveled pears with dull-appearing skin and
slight withering of the flesh near the stem. They won't ripen. Also
avoid spots; corky tissue may be underneath.
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: Fruit with sunken eyes, dull yellowish-green color, a
dried look, bruises, soft spots, mold, or an unpleasant vinegary
odor.
Plums
Look For:
Plump fruit that is fairly firm to slightly soft.
Avoid: Fruit that is too hard or too soft, or with skin
breaks, punctures, or brownish discoloration.
Raspberries and Boysenberries
Look For:
Uniform color. The small cells that make up the berry should be
plump and tender but not mushy.
Avoid: Leaky, moldy berries and wet or stained spots on wood
or fiber containers.
Strawberries
Look For: Berries
with a full red color and bright luster, firm flesh, and the cap
stem still attached. Medium to small strawberries usually taste
better than larger ones.
Avoid: Fruit with large uncolored or seedy areas, a shrunken
look, or softness or mold, which can spread rapidly from one berry
to another.
Tangerines
Look For:
Deep yellow or orange color and a bright luster. Because the skin is
loose, tangerines often don't feel firm to the touch.
Avoid: Very pale yellow or greenish fruits, which probably
lack flavor (small green areas on otherwise high-colored fruit are
okay), punctured skins, or very soft spots.
Watermelon
Look For: Firm,
juicy flesh with good red color and dark brown or black seeds
(whitish seeds mean the melon is immature). With uncut watermelons,
look for 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.
Avoid: Pale-colored flesh; white streaks; whitish seeds; dry,
mealy flesh; or watery, stringy flesh.
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© 2007 RedChiliRecipe.com
all rights reserved.
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