At cooking group a
couple days ago some of us were talking about how to choose the best fruits and
veggies. This is a guide I found at "Eat This Not That". Hope you find it useful.
~Julia Shah
Apples
Peak Season: September to May
Perfect Pick: Firm and heavy for its size with smooth, matte,
unbroken skin and no bruising. The odd blemish (read: worm hole) or brown
"scald" streaks do not negatively impact flavor. The smaller the
apple, the bigger the flavor wallop.
Handle with Care: Keep apples in a plastic bag in
a crisper away from vegetables. Here, they should remain edible for several
weeks.
Asparagus
Peak Season: March to June
Perfect Pick: Vibrant green spears with tight purple-tinged
buds. Avoid spears that are fading in color or wilting. Thinner spears are
sweeter and more tender.
Handle with Care: Trim the woody ends and stand
the stalks upright in a small amount of water in a tall container. Cover the
tops with a plastic bag and cook within a few days.
Avocados
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Firm to the touch without any sunken, mushy
spots. They should not rattle when shaken—a sign the pit has pulled away from
the flesh.
Handle with Care: To ripen, place avocados in a
paper bag and store at room temperature for 2 to 4 days. To speed up this
process, add an apple to the bag, which emits ripening ethylene gas.
Bananas
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Ripe bananas have uniform yellow skins or small
brown freckles indicating they are at their sweetest. Avoid any with evident
bruising or split skins.
Handle with Care: Store unripe bananas on the
counter, away from direct heat and sunlight (speed things up by placing green bananas
in an open paper bag). Once ripened, refrigerate.
Blueberries
Peak Season: June to August
Perfect Pick: Plump, uniform indigo berries with taut skin and
a dull white frost. Check the bottom of the container for juice stains
indicating berries have been crushed. Those with a red or green tinge will
never fully ripen.
Handle with Care: Transfer, unwashed, to an
airtight container and refrigerate for 5 to 7 days. Blueberries spoil quickly
if left at room temperature.
Broccoli
Peak Season: October to May
Perfect Pick: Rigid stems with tightly formed floret clusters
that are deep green or tinged purple. Pass on any with yellowing heads—they
will inevitably be more bitter.
Handle with Care: Place in a plastic bag and
store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Cantaloupe
Peak Season: May to September
Perfect Pick: The stem end should have a smooth indentation.
Look for a sweet aroma, slightly oval shape, and a good coverage of netting.
The blossom end should give slightly to pressure. Avoid those with soft
spots—an indication of an overripe melon.
Handle with Care: Ripe cantaloupes should be
stored in plastic in the fridge for up to 5 days, after which they begin to
lose flavor.
Carrots
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Smooth and firm with bright orange color. Avoid
those that are bendable or cracked at the base, or that have patches of frosty
white on their skin. Bunches with bright green tops still in place are your
freshest choice.
Handle with Care: Store carrots with the greens
removed in the crisper in a plastic bag for up to 3 weeks.
Cauliflower
Peak Season: September to November
Perfect Pick: Ivory white and compact florets with no dark
spotting on them or the leaves. The leaves should be verdant and perky.
Handle with Care: Refrigerate, unwashed, in a
plastic bag for up to 1 week. If light brown spots develop on the florets,
shave off with a paring knife before cooking.
Celery
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Solid, tight stalks with only a few, if any,
cracks and vivid green, not yellowing leaves. The darker the celery, the
stronger the flavor.
Handle with Care: Sturdy celery can be stored in
the fridge in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.
Eggplant
Peak Season: August to September
Perfect Pick: Good weight to them with tight, shiny,
wrinkle-free skin. When they're pressed, look for them to be springy, not
spongy. The stem and cap should be forest green, not browning.
Handle with Care: Store eggplants in a cool
location (not the fridge) for 3 to 5 days. Eggplants are quite sensitive to the
cold.
Fennel
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Bulbs should be uniform in color, with no
browning and a clean, fragrant aroma. Smaller bulbs have a sweet flavor similar
to licorice. Leave bulbs with wilted tops, called fronds, behind.
Handle with Care: Separate the greens and bulbs and keep each,
unwashed, in plastic bags in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days. Wilted fennel
can be revived in ice water.
Grapefruit
(also oranges)
Peak Season: October to June
Perfect Pick: Opt for a heavy fruit (a sign of juiciness) with
thin skin that is a tad responsive to a squeeze. Small imperfections in color
and skin surface are not detrimental to the sweet-tart flavor. Yet, avoid any
that are very rough or have soft spots. The same criteria apply for oranges.
Handle with Care: Store refrigerated for 2 to 3
weeks.
Grapes
Peak Season: June to December
Perfect Pick: Plump, wrinkle free, and firmly attached to the stems.
There should be no browning at the stem connection, but a silvery white powder
("bloom") keeps grapes, especially darker ones, fresher longer. Green
grapes with a yellowish hue are the ripest and sweetest.
Handle with Care: Loosely store, unwashed, in a
shallow bowl in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Green
Beans
Peak Season: April to October
Perfect Pick: Vibrant, smooth surface without any visible
withering. They should "snap" when gently bent and appear moist on
the inside.
Handle with Care: Refrigerate, unwashed, in an
unsealed bag for up to 1 week.
Kale
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Dark blue-green color with moist, jaunty leaves.
The smaller the leaves, the more tender the kale. Avoid wilted foliage with
discolored spots.
Handle with Care: Peppery kale is best kept in
the fridge tightly wrapped in a plastic bag pierced for aeration, where it will
last for 3 to 4 days.
Kiwi
Peak Season: June to
August
Perfect Pick: A ready-to-devour kiwi will be
slightly yielding to the touch. Steer clear of those that are mushy, wrinkled,
or bruised with an "off" smell.
Handle with Care: Store
at room temperature to ripen. To quicken the process, place in a paper bag with
an apple. Once ripened, place in the fridge in a plastic bag for up to 1 week.
Lemons/Limes
Peak Season: Lemons,
year-round; limes, May to October
Perfect Pick: Brightly colored, well-shaped
with smooth, thin skin. They should feel sturdy but give every so slightly when
squeezed. Small brown splotches on limes do no affect flavor (although they are
a sign of deterioration and those with splotches should be consumed first).
Handle with Care: Store
at room temperature, in a dark location, for about 1 week or refrigerate for up
to 2 weeks.
Lettuce: Romaine
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: The ideal Caesar salad staple
has crisp leaves that are free of browning edges and rust spots. The interior
leaves are paler in color with more delicate flavor.
Handle with Care: Refrigerate
romaine for 5 to 7 days in a plastic bag.
Mangoes
Peak Season: April to
August
Perfect Pick: Mangoes to be eaten shortly
after purchase should have red skin with splotches of yellow, and the soft
flesh should give with gentle pressure. Mangoes for later use will be firmer with
a tight skin, a duller color, and green near the steam.
Handle with Care: Ripen
at room temperature until fragrant and giving. Ripe mangoes can be stored in
the fridge for up to 5 days.
Onions
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Nicely shaped with no swelling
at the neck and dry, crisp outer skin. Lackluster onions have soft spots, green
sprouts, or dark patches.
Handle with Care: Keep
onions in a cool, dark location away from potatoes for 3 to 4 weeks.
Papayas
Peak Season: Year-round
Perfect Pick: Beginning to turn yellow and
somewhat-yielding flesh when lightly squeezed. Avoid papayas that are awash in
green, have dark spots, or are shriveled. Blotchy papayas often have the most
flavor.
Handle with Care: Once
ripe, eat immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Unripe, greener papayas
should be ripened at room temperature in a dark setting until yellow blotches
appear.
Peaches
Peak Season: June to
September
Perfect Pick: Fruity aroma with a background
color that is a yellow or a warm cream color. Those destined for immediate
consumption yield to gentle pressure along their seams without being too soft.
For future intake, opt for those that are firm but not rock hard.
Handle with Care: Store
unripe peaches at room temperature open to air. Once ripe, transfer to the
refrigerator and consume within 2 to 3 days.
Pears
Peak Season: August to
February
Perfect Pick: Pleasant fragrance with some
softness at the stem. The skin should be free of bruises, but some brown
discoloration (russeting) is fine. Firmer pears are preferable for cooking use.
Handle with Care: Ripen
at room temperature in a loosely closed brown paper bag. Refrigerate once
they're ripe and consume within a couple days.
Pineapple
Peak Season: March to
July
Perfect Pick: Look for vibrant green leaves
with a bit of softness and a sweet, fragrant aroma from the stem end. Avoid
spongy fruit with brown leaves and/or a fermented odor.
Handle with Care: Keep
a pineapple with a weak aroma at room temperature for 2 to 3 days until it
softens slightly. Then refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Pomegranates
Peak Season: August to
December
Perfect Pick: Pick pomegranates that are
weight for their size with glossy, taut, uncracked skin that is deep red.
Gently press the crown end—if a powdery cloud emanates, the fruit is past its
prime.
Handle with Care: Stored
in a cool, dry location, pomegranates keep fresh for several weeks (up to 2
months in the fridge).
Potatoes: Sweet or White
Peak Season: Sweet,
September to December; white, year-round
Perfect Pick: Unyielding, with smooth
undamaged skin. Avoid if bruised, cracked, or green tinged. Loose spuds tend to
be better quality than bagged.
Handle with Care: Outside
of the fridge, in a cool, dark place separated from onions, white potatoes will
last for months. Sweet potatoes, however, should be used within a week.
Raspberries
Peak Season: May to
November
Perfect Pick: Plump and dry, with good shape
and intense, uniform color. Examine the container carefully for mold or juice
stains at the bottom. Raspberries with hulls attached are a sign of underripe,
overly tart berries.
Handle with Care: Place
highly perishable raspberries, unwashed, on a paper towel in a single layer.
Cover with a damp paper towel and refrigerate for no more than 2 to 3 days.
Spinach
Peak Season: March to
May
Perfect Pick: Opt for bunches with leaves
that are crisp and verdant green, with no spots, yellowing, or limpness. Thin
stems are best, as thick ones are a sign of more bitter, overgrown leaves.
Handle with Care: Pack
unwashed spinach bunches loosely in plastic bags and store in the fridge for 3
to 4 days.
Squash: Butternut
Peak Season: September
to November
Perfect Pick: Should feel dense for its size
with a rind that is smooth, hard, uniformly tan, and free of splits. Being able
to easily push a fingernail into the rind or scrape bits off indicates an
immature, less flavorful squash.
Handle with Care: Butternut
should be stored outside the fridge in a cool, well-ventilated, dark place,
where it will stay edible for up to 3 months.
Strawberries
Peak Season: June to
August
Perfect Pick: Seek out unblemished berries
with a bright red color that extends all the way to the stem. Good berries
should have a strong fruity smell and be neither soft and mushy nor hard and
firm. Smaller strawberries often have more flavor than the oversized megamart
versions.
Handle with Care: Place
unwashed strawberries in a single layer on a paper towel in a covered
container. They will last for 2 to 3 days in the fridge.
Tomatoes
Peak Season: May to
August
Perfect Pick: Look for heavy tomatoes that
are rich in color and free of wrinkles, cracks, or bruises. They should have
some give, unlike the rock-solid ones bred for transport. Too soft, though, and
the tomato is likely overripe. Off-season, select smaller types like Roma and
cherry tomatoes.
Handle with Care: Never
store tomatoes in the fridge; the cool temps destroy flavor and texture. Keep
them at room temperature out of direct sunlight for up to 1 week.
Watermelon
Peak Season: May to
August
Perfect Pick: Dense, symmetrical melons that are free of cuts
and sunken areas. The rind should appear dull, not shiny, with a rounded,
creamy-yellow underside that shows where ground ripening took place. A slap
should produce a hollow thump. (seeded has more flavor than seedless)
Handle with Care: Store
whole in the fridge for up to 1 week. The cold prevents the flesh from drying
out and turning fibrous.
Zucchini
Peak Season: June to
August
Perfect Pick: Purchase heavy, tender zucchini with unblemished
deep-green skins that are adorned with faint gold specks or strips. Smaller zucchini
are sweeter and more flavorful.
Handle with Care: Refrigerate
in the crisper in a plastic bag for up to 5 days.
