Next time you set foot into your local grocery store, you may want to use more than your common sense to pick produce.
“When picking fruits and vegetables, you need to use all your senses,” said Gus Kundanis, a Trader Joe’s store manager in suburban Chicago. “If it looks good or has a hint of smell that makes you want to taste it, you’ll know it’s a good pick.”
Here are some helpful tips to help you pick the freshest produce the next time you fill your cart.
You say tomato,
I say tomat-oh-no
“You want to look for a deep, red color with firm flesh. You want one that doesn’t sink when you touch it,” Kundanis said.
Often used as a vegetable when cooking, tomatoes are healthy for the heart because of the lycopene they carry, he said.
“If it doesn’t have a strong scent, then it won’t have a strong flavor. Color, density and smell are very important,” Kundanis said.
A favorite fatty fruit
Avocado is well-known because it’s used to make guacamole, but its downfall is that it’s high in fat. Fortunately for avocado lovers, Kundanis said, it is a good kind of fat because it lowers cholesterol levels.
“To pick good avocados, they need to have a soft feel, but (they should) not be mushy,” Kundanis said. “A good rule of thumb is if you touch the stem area and it’s soft, most likely it’s ready and ripe.”
Once avocados ripen, they can bruise easily. The blacker they are, the more ripe they are, Kundanis said.
Go bananas
A fruit well-known for its potassium might be easier than others to spot when it’s no good, Kundanis said.
“You want to look for a nice, even yellow color and make sure it doesn’t have dense, dark marks on the body,” he said. “You don’t want any defects or dents on it.”
When picking a ripe banana, it’s important to focus on the color and weight, he said. If you want them around for a while, then pick a batch with more hues of green on it.
An apple a day ...
“Apples are great for vitamin C and come in a variety of kinds,” Kundanis said. “If you want a sweet, lighter meat and a clean, almost watery finish, you want the red apples. If you want a more sour tart flavor, crispier and with a denser meat to it, you want the green granny smith apples. … Also, organic apples will have a better flavor and are healthier."
Shiny is better than dull, says Sanchez.
