How Do You Pick Out Your FRESH Fruits and Veggies?

You've got a lot of good advice here. I'll just add a link to one article about the "dirty dozen." If you can buy organic versions of these fruits and veggies, you'll avoid a lot of pesticide: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/dirt... .

BIG HINT: the produce guys at any good store will walk you through finding the best and how to.

It's different with every category of fruit/ veggie/ root/ herb/ melon

A few things I DON'T see people doing (buy should)

- bouncing oranges - aka hand weighing, although a scale works hand weighing is faster (heavy ones have a lot of juice, because they were picked later, so are sweeter and more 'orange' tasting.

- squeezing garlic heads (they should be rock hard, a soft head means its either growing or breaking down into dust)

- peeking in artichoke leaves (avoid the thorns, but mealworms love artichokes. Any black dots inside the leaf pack means worm poop, which means a worm about half the time)

- thumping melons... All melons should sound hollow. Drum on a bunch lightly with straight hands, and you'll hear the sound difference.

- smelling tomatoes. Tomatoes should smell like tomatoes. If the don't, they're just red things with no flavor.

- checking mushroom gills in button mushrooms... Those mushrooms should have sealed gills... And be eye popping white or very dry brown tops (wash both VERY well, they grow in maneure)

- feeling up pea pods. If you can't feel the peas in then they fonts have peas yet and were picked too early.

With things like melons and pineapples if they smell like the fruit...they need to be cut right away. If they smell REALLY fruity, they are past their prime. On cantaloupes, push down the blossom end, it should have some give. Watermelons should be symmetrical and not have big scratches or blemishes. The good ones are mostly water, and will feel too heavy for their size. The end of the watermelon (where it was on the plant) should be a yellowish color. Grapes are pretty easy, I think. You want them to not be blemished, pretty firm, and not juicing anywhere in the bag, the skin should be tight and they should be attached well to the stem. Grapes need to be stored in the fridge, in a ventilated bag. Strawberries shouldn't be blemished, have soft spots, or dark spots. Tomatoes - tight skin, feel heavy, and smell like tomatoes. (Smell the blossom end.) Do NOT store tomatoes in the fridge. Put them stem side down on the counter somewhere. You don't want to store any vegetables close to fruit. The gasses they give off will make them go bad.

All of my fruit I wash when I get home and store them in produce bags with paper towels. (I use these bags http://www.dollartree.com/kitchen-tableware/food-storage/... ) I wash them with a vinegar wash. 10 parts water, to one part vinegar. Put it in a bowl and let your fruit sit there a few minutes then rinse. This is especially important for berries. They are very sensitive and mold spores travel quickly. Berries you want to eat quickly. The vinegar wash kills the spores. The only fruit I don't wash first thing, is grapes. I wash right before I eat, and also do the vinegar wash. Most fruits are best eaten within a few days. Apples and citrus (which you should not store together) can last longer then other fruits.

Ask the produce people at the stores you shop at.
You'd be surprised how many good tips they have.
I have a store that even gives samples.

The produce people who get the fruit know the best storage techniques and ways to tell what is ripe and what will last longest.

Just ask.

We buy most, if not all, of our produce at the organic farm nearby. Smelling the fruit will tell you everything. If it doesn't smell like anything, it probably tastes about the same.

We store them in the fridge, but we go to the farm 2-3 times per week, since food without wax, etc. goes bad like it should!

don't dis yourself for buying frozen! that's the next best thing to fresh. especially if you're buying organic.
i look for a good bright flavor and a good aroma. if it smells TOO fruity, it's probably past its prime, but zero aroma and it won't taste like anything either (naturally that doesn't apply to produce that will continue to ripen naturally like bananas and pineapples.)
you're not supposed to wash berries until you're ready to eat 'em, it makes them go mushy. i separate my bananas (they don't ripen as quickly that way) but i don't wash most things in advance. the exception is leafy greens, because for some reason i HATE washing and drying it so must get it over with in large batches. i put it in a colander, cut it small (also hate wrestling with big leaf salads, i want mine chopped and easy to shovel in), wash it well, then put it in a kitchen towel and go outside and ninja-fling it over my head until there's no sign of water droplets flying out.
my husband finds this vastly amusing.
then i can put it in baggies and just grab when i'm ready.
if my grapes and berries start to go before i'm ready for 'em, i just freeze them for smoothies. i like to have plenty of frozen fruit on hand, we use it every day.
:) khairete
S.

I get my apples from local farms. You can go apple picking many, many times from August to almost December. After that, I buy organic apples that are firm. Oranges, well, they look orange. Clementines in December are the best. Grapes should cling to the vines and as with all fruit, be free of brown spots. Bananas should have a bit of green, melons should feel hollow and smell fruity but not musky. Grape tomatoes are the only ones that should be bought out of season. It is so easy to grow your own tomatoes but if you buy them, buy them at the farmers markets. Peaches should not be soft when you buy them. They bruise very easily. Never buy peaches at the supermarket. These you MUST buy a the farmer's stand or pick them yourself. I feel the same way with strawberries. Only buy in season.

Grapes,,,, I try one and make sure there aren't too many off their stems., melon... Canteloupe should be hard but not too hard, watermelon should sound hollow when you thump it., strawberries should be red and pink, no dark red, they shouldn't smell too sweet or they will go bad quicker. Tomatoes should be firm, they will soften fast!

I store mine in Debbie Meyer green bags, inside tupperware or ziploc

I keep fruit on my table that do well at room temps, apples, oranges,pears, mangoes, pineapples etc. they will be the tastiest ones by far!