Umer Zahid
We’ve all had that bitter experience of picking up a fruit that is seemingly nice and ripe, and discovering a rotten core after cutting – or worse still – biting into it. Yep! It’s a pretty bad day for our mouth and stomach when that happens. Which is why in this article we will give you some tips on how to check if the fruit you are buying is fresh. Read!
Also Read: How to make sure that your groceries are not wasted
Picking fresh and ripe fruit is easy if you know what to look for. To that end, you have to keep few things in mind to buy perfect fruit from the supermarket.
Buy Fruit in Season | How to Check If the Fruit You Are Buying Is Fresh
You should always buy the fruit when it is in season. You should try to avoid out of season fruit because A; it is tasteless, and B; it is usually rotten. For instance, if a store is selling mangoes in winter, then it’s probably not fresh because mango is a summer fruit and you will get all the freshness of it in the summer season.
Check the Colour
Colour is an important factor in identifying the ripeness of a fruit. If you’re buying a strawberry, then it should be deep red. If it’s green or slightly red, that means it’s not fully ripe.
Ripe bananas are yellow with brown speckles. If it has too much brown that means it is overripe.
Squeeze the Fruit
Some fruits like Apple, Peaches and Pears should feel firm when you squeeze them. Peaches and Plums should be slightly soft when you squeeze them. Don’t squeeze the fruit too hard because otherwise it would turn to mush and would become inedible.
Check the Stems
Fruits like pears and cantaloupes should be a bit softer around the stem area. A brown stem indicates when the fruit was picked. Ripe fruit with brown stem is a winner. For example, grapes with beige or brown stem will not be sour and tasteless. If the grapes have green stem, then it means that they are not ripe and will have a sour taste.
Look for Holes on the Fruit
Whenever you’re buying any fruit, you must always look for holes on it. If it has any, then you shouldn’t buy it because these fruits might have pests or maggots in them.
Smell the Fruit
It is probably the best way to check the quality of your fruit. All fruits have some odour and a ripe fruit often gives off a subtle aroma of its flavour. Hold the fruit and bring the stem part close to your nose and take a sniff. If the fruit has a nice a pleasant odour, then the fruit will be ripe and ready to eat immediately. However, if you want the fruit to last for a few days, then buy the fruit which is slightly less fragrant.
Avoid Bruised Fruits
Look for the bruises and spots on the fruit, as they tell if the fruits are damaged or had been handled roughly. Any fruit with bruises or spots is a great place for bacteria to hide and spread within. Furthermore, the fruit with bruises will be less tasty and nutritious.
Pick the Fruit Up
If the fruit you have picked is heavy for its size, then congratulations you have successfully picked the good fruit. However, there are some fruits like watermelon, which you cannot check by just picking up. If you want to check fruits like watermelon, then you have to slap it and see if it sound hollow. Also, make sure that it has a yellow or light coloured patch on one side. If it has no yellow patch, then it may have been harvested too early.
Every fruit has its own clues of freshness, but you don’t need to remember specifics of every fruit in order to buy a ripe and tasty food. Just follow the basics that have been mentioned in the article and you’re good to go.
There you have it! This is how you can check if the fruit you are buying is fresh. If you have any questions pertaining to the topic, then feel free to ask in the comments section below.
