In my world a good life-long friend inspires and challenges you whether they intend to or not. I had been thinking for the last several weeks that I really need to get back into blogging again. It has been way to long since I let any of my randomness flow. I needed that release of sharing something totally random but most of all I needed the release of writing something, anything.
And then Chris over at Photography139 gave me the little bit of inspiration I needed. For the past few weeks he has been challenging himself to eat healthier (a very admirable goal). Each week that he accomplishes his goal he adds a new challenge. At Supper Club last week we were discussing his progress so far and his prospects for this week's addition. I suggested he add a piece of fruit daily. He admitted that he had been toying with that very idea.
I thought that was the end of the conversation and I would receive word of his progress the next time we spoke. On Tuesday though he posted on Twitter that he was not good at picking fruit out. I naturally assumed that he had purchased under-ripe fruit. After offering a tip on what to do to remedy the situation I found that I was wrong and he had consumed an overly ripe pear. Eating a piece of nearly rotten fruit would not encourage me to continue such an endeavor. I offered to give Chris tips on how to buy fresh tasty fruit from the grocery store and he issued me a deadline to write this post. Thus you can thank Chris for giving me the swift kick that I need to write something, anything again. (The photo below is recycled from an earlier post in an effort to get this posted by deadline).
And then Chris over at Photography139 gave me the little bit of inspiration I needed. For the past few weeks he has been challenging himself to eat healthier (a very admirable goal). Each week that he accomplishes his goal he adds a new challenge. At Supper Club last week we were discussing his progress so far and his prospects for this week's addition. I suggested he add a piece of fruit daily. He admitted that he had been toying with that very idea.
I thought that was the end of the conversation and I would receive word of his progress the next time we spoke. On Tuesday though he posted on Twitter that he was not good at picking fruit out. I naturally assumed that he had purchased under-ripe fruit. After offering a tip on what to do to remedy the situation I found that I was wrong and he had consumed an overly ripe pear. Eating a piece of nearly rotten fruit would not encourage me to continue such an endeavor. I offered to give Chris tips on how to buy fresh tasty fruit from the grocery store and he issued me a deadline to write this post. Thus you can thank Chris for giving me the swift kick that I need to write something, anything again. (The photo below is recycled from an earlier post in an effort to get this posted by deadline).
Without further adieu here are my tips and ideas (and training for Chris) on purchasing fruit at your local grocer.
I have a family that loves fresh fruit so I try to buy enough in bulk and varying degrees of ripeness to get us through each week. Most of these tips are based on purchasing fruit that is intended to be eaten the next day or a day or two later.
- Unless you are planning to eat this fruit within the next few hours Never buy from the bottom of the bin. Fruit at the bottom of the bin ripens faster due to ethylene gas which is produced when fruit ripens. The compact conditions at the bottom of the bin holds in the ethylene gas causing all the fruit around a ripening or already ripened piece to ripen even faster. ( I am guessing that this may have been part of Chris's error?) Thins is a good tip for buying strawberries and blueberries in the plastic containers as well... always look at the bottom to check the degree of ripeness.
- Coloring is usually a given. Watch for deepening shades of color. Any green means you will have to wait for it to ripen. Too deep of a shade could mean it's edging on being overly ripe.
- Size matters but not in the way you think. Go for a piece of fruit that is medium sized and has some weight to it. That weight is water weight. I think that we can all agree that a good piece of fruit should be juicy. Normally what I do is pick out several pieces of the same size and weigh each of them in my hand. You will be surprised at the weight difference of seemingly like pieces of fruit.
- Quit laughing at the little old ladies that are sniffing the fruit. They are really on to something here! Smelling the stem of the fruit gives you an indication of how good it will be. If you don't smell anything chances are you aren't going to taste much of anything. If it smells bitter it will probably taste bitter. You are aiming for fruit that smells like you want it to taste here.
- Look over the fruit for bruises, soft spots and gashes. These areas are going to ripen and rot faster than the rest of the fruit. Nothing annoys me more than watching people squeeze and pinch at fruit. The rougher you handle it the faster it will rot. Seriously, nobody wants to buy a peach that you just pierced with your fingernail.
- If you have a banana that is perfect but you aren't going to eat it yet, throw it in the fridge. This slows down the ripening process for a day or two.
- Have a peach, pear, or apple that's not ripe enough yet? Throw it in a brown paper bag with another piece of fruit for a day. Or throw a banana in the bag & everything will ripen in about half the time.
So there it is, how I select fruit from the grocery store. Anyone else have any tips? Maybe we together we can help Chris achieve a perfect piece of fruit yet.
