Picking Fresh Fruits And Vegetable Guide Though Tips

It’s a common sight in the produce section of the supermarket: people poking, prodding and even sniffing the fruits and veggies. Everyone has their own not-so-secret method of predicting if the produce is ready to use. But how accurate are these techniques? We’ve compiled the most effective ripeness tests for all your favorite fruits and veggies.

Biting into a perfectly ripened piece of fruit is enough to convince you to give up baked goods and plant your own garden or orchard.

While looks do count, a whole host of other factors should come into play when you decide which fruits are ready to go home with you.

Apples in spring are generally imported from far away or are being harvested several months before they should be.

If it smells ripe, sweet, and you can tell what kind of fruit it is even with your eyes closed, then that fruit should go home with you ASAP. If you smell a piece of fruit and you get a faint to the nonexistent aroma, put it back on the stack.

Alas, this trick works only at farmer's markets since refrigeration in supermarkets checks the development of aroma.

On many fruits, the black spots are signs that bees have been at it, which is a good thing since they head for the sweetest, ripest fruit.

It's also good to know what fruits continue to ripen after picking, which will get sweeter in taste, which will change color but not in sweetness, and which won't ripen after picking at all

One tried and true ripeness test is to judge based on the size of the vegetable or fruit compared with others of the same type. Smaller than average? It was likely harvested too early and won’t ripen adequately. If it’s dramatically bigger–think zucchini–it was left on the plant too long and will be bland or tough and fibrous. A heavier fruit likely has higher water content and will be juicier than a lighter one of similar size, and certain fruits, such as limes, should be heavier than you expect them to be.

Choosing the ripest, freshest and most delicious produce in your supermarket is not like finding a needle in a haystack if just know the values of sniffing, squeezing or thumping.

The next time you rearrange the fridge to make room for your produce haul, move fruits like apples and pears as far away from the veggies as possible. As they ripen, these fruits release ethylene gas, which can cause nearby veggies to yellow and spoil

How to store them
Place whole carrots in a ventilated bag with a damp paper towel, which keeps veggies from drying out. Store baby carrots in the baggie they come in.
How long they last Whole carrots: two to three weeks; baby carrots: about a month. (A whitish color on baby carrots is a sign they’ve lost moisture. They’re still safe to eat; just rehydrate the sticks by placing them in water for a few minutes.)

How to store it Refrigerate the cucumber in a ventilated bag.
How long it lasts Four to six days

If you forget to use up a bunch of lettuce or head of cauliflower in time (hey, it happens), check out the food’s color, texture, and aroma to determine if it’s okay to eat. If you just see a few wrinkles on veggies like carrots, celery stalks, or peppers, keep ‘em. These can still be used in soups and other cooked dishes. But if the item is slimy, discolored, smells off or–gag!—you spot mold, toss it, says Garden-Robinson. Definitely not worth getting sick over.