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How to Choose the Best Fruits and Veggies at Your Farmers’ Market
SAVANNAH, Ga. (July 21, 2008) – Farmers’ Almanac, the original sustainable living guide, offers pointers on buying fresh fruits and vegetables from your local farmers’ market or grocery store this season.
ASPARAGUS: Stalks should be tender and firm. Tips should be closed and compact. Stalks with very little white are more tender.
BERRIES: Select plump, solid berries with good color. Avoid stained containers, indicating wet or leaky berries. Blackberries and raspberries with clinging caps may be under-ripe. Strawberries without caps may be too ripe.
BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CAULIFLOWER: Flower clusters on broccoli and cauliflower should be tight and close together. Brussels sprouts should be firm and compact. Smudgy, dirty spots may indicate insects.
CABBAGE AND HEAD LETTUCE: Choose heads that are heavy for their size. Avoid cabbage with worm holes and lettuce with discoloration or soft rot.
CUCUMBERS: Choose long, slender cucumbers for best quality. May be dark or medium green, but yellowed ones are undesirable.
MELONS: In cantaloupes, thick close netting on the rind indicates best quality. Cantaloupes are ripe when the stem scar is smooth and space between the netting is yellow or yellow-green. They are best when fully ripe with fruity odor. Honeydews are ripe when rind has creamy to yellowish color and velvety texture. Immature honeydews are whitish-green. Ripe watermelons have some yellow color on one side. If melons are white or pale green on one side, they are not ripe.
ORANGES, GRAPEFRUITS AND LEMONS: Choose those that are heavy for their size. Smoother, thinner 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 tarter than deep yellow ones. Avoid citrus fruits showing withered, sunken or soft areas.
PEAS AND LIMA BEANS: Select pods that are well-filled, but not bulging. Avoid dried, spotted, yellowed or flabby pods.
For more great information from the home and garden experts at Farmers’ Almanac, including how-to videos and recipes to make using fresh fruits and vegetables, visit www.FarmersAlmanac.com.
About the Farmers' Almanac:The Farmers' Almanac, which features an orange and green cover, has been published every year since 1818. Available at grocery and bookstores nationwide, it contains useful and interesting articles, as well as long-range weather predictions, gardening advice, recipes and more. Editors Peter Geiger and Sandi Duncan are available for lively and informative interviews, either by phone or in person. Both love to talk about the weather, share useful Almanac trivia and advice, and offer tips on how to "get back to the simple life." Visit on the Web at www.FarmersAlmanac.com.
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