Zero Waste Grocery Shopping| How to Select Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

That’s me, picking up apples at the farmers market, selecting them by their color palate. What you can’t see is my best friend off-camera reminding me I’m allergic to apples and urging me to put them back before I have an allergic reaction. Simply put, I’m trash at picking fruit, my batting average is 100 if 100 means that I always buy a spoiled bruised fruit. This means there are many times on my travels that I miss out on experiencing the local market culture because I don’t know how to select fresh fruits and vegetables. I’m often left totally at the mercy of predatory stall owners that can spot a tourist from a mile away. I’m sick of being given the least flavorful cut of fruit I want to eat all the things during my upcoming adventures.

Closer to home my journey to a Zero Waste 2020 would be a total bust if I don’t learn how to select fresh fruits and vegetables. The issue is I pick fruits and vegetables like I pick shoe clothes, I’m actually way more intentional with what I put on so I have to be more intentional what I put inside my body as well. Wasting food hurts my soul its one of the main reasons I adopted a vegetarian diet at 13, America produces so much food waste.

How to Select Fresh Produce

1. Spend some time getting to know what you’re gonna put in your mouth

This may be a given to most people, but avoid fruits and vegetables with cuts, bruises, insect holes, mold or decay. Check the stems and the bottoms of your fruit as this is a place where insects enter more easily, and they can be obstructed from view at first glance. Be mindful that fruit does not need to be “perfect” to taste wonderful. All shapes and sizes make great fruit and vegetables.

What it seems is true of how to select all fresh fruits and vegetables is that you must pick it up and turn it over in your hands, the flesh should be firm but give a little. Their surface should be largely smooth and even, with a firm but not rock hard-surface. If you feel pits and dents under the surface, the flesh of the fruit has probably been damaged by shipping or is slowly rotting.

2. Find an Around the way Girl

As a rule of thumb, your fruits and vegetables shouldn’t have more passport stamps than you do. In the middle of the winter, you can get clementines at your local grocery store imported all the way from Morrocco. We currently live in a global economy, which makes it possible for you to get any fruit and vegetable here in NYC at any time of the year. However, out of season fruit is often more expensive and has traveled for weeks by the time they reach your produce section. Sometimes choosing fresh fruits and vegetables comes down to how local is an item; the key is to buy in season and locally if possible, in order to select maximum flavor and nutrition.

3. Ripeness is the key

The ripening process depends on the fruit. When a fruit is ripe it softens and generally the color changes. One thing I was surprised to learn about how to select fresh fruits and vegetables is that some products will not get any sweeter once picked, fruits such as melons and citrus fruit, like oranges and grapefruit. While fresh fruits like peaches and bananas change color and get sweeter. These fruits are normally picked before they ripen because they bruise easily in shipment, think pears and bananas.

4. Use it, or lose it

Shop for fruits and vegetables more often and use then shortly after purchase. You want to select vegetables that are crisp and colorful, not limp and starting to turn brown. Clean and cut them yourself. Prepare them ahead of time and keep them in the refrigerator to make dinner quick and convenient. Try prepping chopped onions and peppers, grated carrots or cabbage for ready to cook stir fry vegetables.

5. Don’t Go Topless

Produce should have their tops on at all times. Don’t let your local grocery store swindle you out of knowing how to select fresh fruits and vegetables. Leaves get “wilty” and discolored faster than the rest of the fruits and vegetables so topless produce is a clear sign that its closer to going bad.

6. Avoid Weekend Loving

There are no shipments on Saturday or Sunday so a store has no new produce until Monday afternoon. So avoid buying produce on Sundays or Monday mornings.

How to Select Fresh Fruits

As you browse the produce department for fresh fruit, there are a few key things to look for that remain consistent from fruit to fruit: firmness to the touch, vibrant colors, and a slightly sweet (though not overpowering) scent. While these are all standard indicators of ripeness, there are a few other factors to consider:

• Apples,  and Stone Fruit |Inspect the surface and avoid those that show bruising or dents, as these types of damage lead to quicker rotting.
• Avocados | Should be heavy for their size, not wilted or bruised. Allow them to soften at room temperature.
• Bananas |Ripe bananas are yellow with brown speckles—too much brown indicates the fruit being overripe. Green bananas are fine to purchase, as long as you don’t plan on eating them right away.
• Berries | You’re looking for dry berries, free of bruising, molding or shriveling. Be sure to open the carton and make sure there are no signs of leaking. Strawberries should still have the leafy cap attached and be free of any seedless spots.
• Cherries—Cherries should be plump with rich vibrant color, void of bruising or dents. Avoid buying any that are missing items, unless you’ll be eating them right away.
• Citrus Fruits |Like melons, citrus fruits such as grapefruit, lemons, and oranges should feel heavier than they appear. The skin should be even in color and void of any excess streaking of yellow or white. Citrus fruits that are too firm are likely dry on the inside.
• Grapefruits: Choose fruits that have smooth, thin skins and are heaviest for their size. They should feel firm but slightly springy to the touch. Don’t worry about color.
• Grapes: Once again, should be heavy for their size. Check to see that they are firmly attached to the stems without wrinkled or brown spots on the flesh of the fruit.
• Lemons | Should not have wrinkly skin
• Mangoes: Choose fruits that are slightly soft to the touch and fragrant near the stem end.
• Melons |Whole watermelons, cantaloupes, and honeydew should feel slightly heavier than they appear, indicating juiciness. It’s ok if a small area of the skin has scarring, this is indicative of the resting place of the fruit when on the vine.
• Pears | Are picked ahead of season so they should be firm to the touch and lightly fragrant
• Pineapple |Pineapples have one of the strongest aromas of all fruit—turn them over and give the bottom a whiff. It should smell fragrantly sweet. Whole pineapples should feel heavy for their size and have crisp leaves.

how to select fresh vegetables

When shopping for vegetables, the key factors are firmness and color. When you select fresh fruits and vegetables check how firm your vegetable is. Vegetables should be as crisp as possible and consistent in coloring. Unlike fruit, smell doesn’t play a big factor in a vegetable’s freshness, although anything that smells overly sweet or sour is likely passed its prime. As you browse your produce aisle, consider the following:

• Beans (green) | Should feel velvety and look blemish-free with clear green skin, free of scars and discoloration and have small seeds. Be mindful, snapping does not indicate freshness;
• Beets | Firm with good color. Sprightly tops. Remove tops after purchasing; because they rob beets of nutrients.
• Bell Peppers |Bell peppers should be firm and void of any soft spots. No matter which color pepper you are purchasing, look for consistency along the entire surface and avoid any with split or broken stems.
• Cauliflower and Broccoli |Color is a key indicator of the freshness of these vegetables. Broccoli should be a pale green and cauliflower should be an off-white, void of any yellowing or browning. The heads should be heavy and compact.
• Corn |The husk of corn should be pale green and moist looking, free of any browning or drying.  Whether purchased with or without the husk, the kernels should be plump and firm to the touch.
• Root Vegetables |Carrots, beets, potatoes, and onions should be hard to the touch and free of any cracking or soft spots. If roots are still attached, they should be sturdy and crisp, void of any wilting.
• Leafy Greens | At first glance make sure none of the outer leaves are wilting and that the stalk is not brown or discolored. Use your fingers to assess as many layers of the greens as possible. Both the leaves and stalk of kale, lettuce and cabbage should be crisp. Check for any tears on the leaves. While a few are expected to occur during delivery, avoid any with tears that are beginning to brown.
• Herbs | Shoublb be fragrant and bright green and able to stand up on their own when you prop them up

Frozen vegetables | Research has shown that frozen fruits and vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh vegetables and have less waste. Keep frozen until ready to use. Use within 6 months of purchase. Frozen fruits and vegetables are handy for quick and easy meal additions.

How to Ripen | To ripen, place on the kitchen counter for a few days or place in a brown paper bag. To speed up ripening, add a ripe banana or apple to the bag. When fruit is ripe, eat it right away or refrigerate.

Don’t wash produce until you are ready to use it; washing often accelerates the molding process. * Unless otherwise noted, produce should be stored in cold, humid conditions; fruit should be ripened at room temperature and then refrigerated. *

• Share
• Tweet
• Pin