You certainly know spring is here because the produce section at many grocery stores are filling up with long awaited spring fruits.  Now the issue:  How to pick the best fruits.  We all have some tricks that have been passed on to us by family and friends but are these tricks accurate?   I did a little research (you know the “googling” thing and found foodfit.com) to get the facts on how to pick the best spring fruits.  Below is a list and what to look for when roaming the produce section.  Yes, I’ll blog again when it is summer fruit season.  

Apricots: Pick deep yellow fruit with a pink blush and no sign of green. They should be plump and firm with tender, velvety skin.

Blueberries: Berries should be firm, plump, and fully colored

Cantaloupe: Should yield to slight pressure at the stem end. Sweet scent. Avoid melons with a pronounced yellow color or moldy aroma that indicates over-ripeness.

Casaba Melons: These teardrop-shaped melons should have a deep yellow skin color and no dark or moist patches. Skin is coarse and has a thick, ridged rind; flesh is creamy white to yellow.

Cherries: Stems should be green and flexible. Avoid soft spots, bruises, and splits. Red cherries are ripe when deep red. White and yellow varieties are ripe when flushed with pink.

Currants: Store at room temperature or refrigerate in a single layer. Use within a day or two. Wash when ready to use.

Figs: Firm fruit that yields to slight pressure. Color varies according to variety from pale green/yellow to almost black. Sweet aroma

Nectarines: Fruit should be plump with a sweet aroma. Avoid hard or shriveled fruit; also avoid green fruit. The skin should be smooth.

Papayas: Ripe: yellow skin with deep orange flesh that yields to slight pressure. Sweet aroma.
Unripe: green skin, firm.

Pineapples: Skin should be golden orange-brown. A leaf pulled gently comes away easily. Sweet aroma.

Raspberries: Firm, plump, fully colored berries.

Strawberries: Select berries with a good red color and an intact green, leafy hull. Avoid berries with soft or brown spots. Huge berries often have hollow centers and little flavor or juice.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.