Fresh fruits and vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are usually best in quality and lowest in cost when in season.
Whatever fruit or vegetable you are buying, look first for freshness. Pointers on selecting some fruits and vegetables follow on page [12].
Fruits
Apples.—Good color usually indicates full flavor.
Bananas.—Bananas should be firm, fresh in appearance, and unscarred. Yellow or brown-flecked ones are ready for immediate use. Select slightly green-colored bananas for use within a few days.
Berries.—Select plump, solid berries with good color. Avoid wet or leaky berries. Blackberries and raspberries with clinging caps may be underripe. Strawberries without caps may be too ripe.
Grapes.—Grapes should be plump, fresh in appearance, and firmly attached to the stems. Red or black varieties should be well colored for the variety. Most white or green varieties should have a slightly amber tone.
Melons (except watermelons).—Ripe cantaloups have a yellowish surface color; honeydews, a creamy color; crenshaws, a golden-yellow color mottled with green; casabas, a yellow color; and persian melons, a dull gray-green color. Ripe melons of these types usually have a fruity aroma and a slight softening at the blossom end. A ripe cantaloup has no stem; other melons may have stems attached.
Oranges, grapefruit, and lemons.—Choose those heavy for their size. Smooth, thin skins usually indicate more juice. Most skin markings do not affect quality. Oranges with a slight greenish tinge may be just as ripe as fully colored ones. Light or greenish-yellow lemons are more tart than deep-yellow ones.
Peaches.—Best quality peaches are fairly firm, not bruised, with yellow or red color over the entire surface.
Pears.—Some pears, especially winter varieties, are marketed when slightly underripe and need to be ripened at home—at room temperature. Pears are ripe and ready to eat when they yield slightly to moderate pressure.
Pineapples.—Pineapple varieties vary greatly in color. Ripe pineapples have a fragrant, fruity aroma. Usually, the heavier the fruit for its size, the better the quality. Avoid pineapples that have decayed or moldy spots.
Watermelons.—Ripe watermelons have a somewhat dull surface and a creamy color underneath. The interior should be fully red and firm, and should have few immature seeds.
Vegetables
Asparagus.—Stalks should be tender and firm; tips should be close and compact. Choose the stalks with little white—they are more tender. Use asparagus promptly—it toughens rapidly.
Beans, snap.—Choose slender beans with no large bumps (bumps indicate large seeds). Avoid beans with dry-looking pods.
Broccoli.—Look for small flower buds on compactly arranged heads with good green color. Avoid yellowing, soft, or spreading heads.
Brussels sprouts.—The heads should be firm with good green color. Yellowing outer leaves and softness indicate aging. Smudgy, dirty spots may indicate insect damage or decay.
Cabbage.—Choose heads that are firm and heavy. Outer leaves should be fresh, green, and free from worm-holes.
Cauliflower.—Choose heads that are compact, firm, and white or creamy white. Avoid discolored heads and those with soft spots.
Celery.—Best-quality celery is fresh and crisp. It is clean and has leaves that appear fresh; stems do not have black or brown discoloration. Avoid pithy, woody, or very stringy celery.
Corn.—Good-quality fresh corn has husks that are fresh and green. The ears are well filled with plump, firm, milky kernels. Immature ears of corn have small, undeveloped, watery kernels. Overmature ears have very firm, large, starchy kernels, often indented.
Cucumbers.—Choose firm, slender cucumbers for best quality. Avoid yellowed cucumbers and those with withered or shrivelled ends.
Lettuce (head).—Select heads that are green, fresh, crisp, and fairly firm to firm. Head lettuce should be free from rusty appearance and excessive outer leaves.
Onions (dry).—Size and color do not affect flavor or quality of dry onions. Clean, hard, well-shaped onions with dry skins are usually of good quality. Moisture at the neck may be a sign of decay. Mild-flavored onions, which are often large, may be elongated or flat. Stronger-flavored onions are usually medium size and globe shaped.
Peas and lima beans.—Select pods that are well filled but not bulging. Avoid dried, spotted, yellowed, or flabby pods.
Potatoes.—Best-quality potatoes are firm, smooth, and well shaped. They are free from cuts, blemishes, and decay. To judge quality more easily, look for potatoes that are reasonably clean. Avoid potatoes with wasteful deep eyes. Potatoes with green skins may be bitter. If you plan to buy a large quantity of potatoes, buy a few first to see if they are the kind you want. Early-crop potatoes, harvested in spring and summer, tend to be less mealy when cooked than those harvested later.
Root vegetables.—Choose smooth, firm vegetables. Very large carrots may have woody cores; oversized radishes may be pithy; oversized turnips, beets, and parsnips may be woody. The size and condition of the tops on root vegetables do not necessarily indicate the eating quality.
Sweetpotatoes.—Choose sweetpotatoes that are clean, smooth, well shaped, and firm. Damp or soft spots may indicate decay. There are two types of sweetpotatoes. The moist type has soft, moist, orange-colored flesh and bronze or rosy skin. The dry type has firm, dry, somewhat mealy, yellow-colored flesh and yellow or light-brown skin.
Tomatoes.—Choose tomatoes that are plump, firm, and uniformly pink, red, or yellow in color. They should be free from growth cracks, scars, and bruises. The best flavored tomatoes are ripened on the vine.
For more information, see Home and Garden Bulletins 141, “How to Buy Fresh Fruits,” and 143, “How to Buy Fresh Vegetables.”