How to Easily Identify and Pick Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

What are the features you look out for when buying fresh fruits and vegetables?

You always want your money’s worth when you buy products like
fruits and vegetables. These fresh fruits and vegetables do not come with expiry dates written on them.

Ans so you should always check fruits and vegetables for any sign that may show the freshness or otherwise of the fruit and vegetable.

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Now, let us look at some key point and tips you need to look out for when you are buying or acquiring fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Onions should be heavy and hard, with dark skins and no sprouting.
• Root vegetables like turnips, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, etc., should feel heavy. The skin should be smooth, not wrinkled. They should smell fresh and have an attractive colour.
• Leafy vegetables like celery, parsley, kale, leafy lettuce, broccoli, “kontomire”, “ayoyo”, etc. should always be green and crisp looking. If it is starting to look wilted, pale, or brown, it has passed its prime. For cabbage choose a crisp and heavy head.

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• Potatoes’ skin should not be wrinkled. Green skin is a sign of poisonous solanine. Dirt on potatoes can be a sign of freshness because they are usually washed before storage. The eyes of old potatoes start to sprout.
• Old garlic will also start to sprout.
• Citrus fruits like lemons, oranges, grapefruits, tangerines have a fresh smell and no soft spots. Brown surface scratches do not affect the fruit. Green spots are also fine.

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• Grapes fall off the bunch as they ripen. Lift up the package and look from underneath, so many loose grapes mean they are very ripe.
• Strawberries are firm and without too strong a smell.
• Mushrooms are white if that is their original colour. Smooth with no blemishes.

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• Apples are firm, smooth skin with no blemishes.
• Cucumbers, eggplants, and peppers are heavy, unwrinkled, dark.
• Tomatoes must be firm with a nice smell with no spots. The redder the tomato, the riper it is.

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• Choose avocados hard, or, if you can use them right away, soft with few blemishes.
• Watermelons are hard and uniformly coloured on the outside.

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Reference:

Tips for Choosing Fresh Fruits and Vegetables – (cookingmanager.com)