I have a friend who worked in the produce department of a grocery store, so he let me in on a few tips for choosing produce. I’ve used them over the years and have had good success. Also, I’ve learned a lot from shopping at Farmer’s Markets over the years and having some hits and misses. Here are some tips that might help you the next time you are pondering the pineapples at the grocery store.
1. The best way to choose a pineapple is to use your nose. Smell the pineapple at the stem end. It should smell like sweet pineapple. If you can’t smell it, it’s probably not ripe. Also, be wary of overripe pineapple. It should have some give when you squeeze it a little, but there should be no soft spots. Last, the leaves should look fresh and green and the pineapple shouldn’t have any bruises on it.
2. When choosing mushrooms, you want them to be firm and closed. By closed, I mean that the caps are attached firmly to the stems. When the caps start to separate, or open up, from the stems, it means the mushrooms are getting old.
3. Kiwis all pretty much look the same, so it’s hard to tell a good one from a bad one. The best advice I got is that when you press gently on a good, ripe kiwi, it should feel like a ripe pear. That means it has a little give, but still fairly firm. Hard kiwis will be sour. Overripe kiwis have soft, moist spots and feel spongy.
4. There really is no substitute for peeling back the husk to check and see if you are getting a good ear of corn. Most grocers allow this. The ear should have even, tight kernels, with no signs of bugs or bug-eaten sections. If you can’t get a look at the ears, choose ears that have tight, fresh, green husks.
5. Don’t buy bananas that are totally green. It’s perfectly fine to buy partially green bananas and let them ripen at home at room temperature. Choose bananas without obvious blemishes and still attached to the stem.
6. Buy grapes that have green stems. Grapes with shriveled brown stems are old.
7. Citrus Fruits should feel heavy for their size. Smoother, thinner skins, although not as pretty, usually mean the fruit is juicier. The skin of an orange does not need to be uniformly orange–some green in the skin is fine. Greenish lemons, though, will be tarter than all-yellow lemons.
8. Skinny asparagus tends to be more tender than thicker asparagus. The tips should be closed and compact. Avoid asparagus with white on the stems because they will be tougher.
9. Artichokes with compact, tightly closed, green heads will be tastier than those with loose, open leaves, or too much brown on the outside.
10. If a watermelon is white or pale green on one side, it is not ripe. Ripe watermelons can have some yellow on one side. If you knock on a watermelon, it should sound hollow. A dull thud is not good.