TIPS FOR BUYING FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Fruits and vegetables are very important for promoting good health in human beings. In actual fact, fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. Hence, it is essential for human beings to take a fairly good amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. Fruits and vegetables are packed with essential fiber, minerals, vitamins, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Because of this, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables every day can help you reduce the possibilities of various major diseases. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can lower blood pressure, and thereby reduce the threat of heart disease and stroke. Fruits and vegetables have the capability to prevent some types of cancer, keep eyes in good health, and avoid digestive problems. Moreover, the daily consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables generate a positive effect upon blood sugar, and help to maintain appetite satisfactorily. Likewise, fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables like pears, apples, and also green leafy vegetables help to control abnormal weight, and even weight loss.

To have these benefits from fruits and vegetables as a whole, the chosen varieties must be absolutely fresh in all respects. Here are some valuable tips that help you choose the freshest fruits and vegetables from the supermarket, and also make you know to keep them fresher for longer duration.

See how old are these vegetables in the Supermarket. The time required reaching the fruits, and vegetables from the farm to the shops depend up on the location of the shops. However, the greater part of fresh fruits and vegetables will be arriving at the shelves of supermarkets nearly within 72 hours after reap.

Key things to be remembered while buying vegetables

1. Evade vegetables with visible stain or broken skins because damaged spots on vegetables can speedily turn it decaying. Never buy such vegetables, if you don’t want to cook it that day itself.
2. Your chosen fresh vegetables should be crisp and green. Bruised or not well toned appearance indicates that the vegetables have finished their best hours.
3. Check the stems of cauliflower, broccoli, whole cabbages, and lettuce for symbols of disintegration. However, it will be best to avoid broccoli that has been kept on ice containers.
4. Leafy green veggies like kale and spinach may fade quite rapidly after reap. You can buy withered spinach if you are planning to cook it without any delay. But if you want to cook after one or two days, search for spinach with crisp leaves, and keep them in refrigerator after purchase.
5. When brown onions are harvested it will be green, and keep drying under cover ahead of taking it for sale. A solid onion with the outer skin will last for a few weeks if the same is kept in a dry, dark place. It is not desirable to cut or peel an onion, and keep in the open air. Once cut and left in the open space, onions will absorb micro-organisms, and in such a condition they will be poisonous to eat.
6. A total pumpkin should appear as rigid, and sound unfilled when tapped. An unspoiled pumpkin will last for days in a dark dry environment. But once cut, it has to be kept in the refrigerator, and needs to be cooked fairly quickly to avert mould.
7. Carrots should be rigid and crunchy and have luster in appearance. Carrots should not have curve, and feel spongy. However, if there is no mould on it, you can still cook and consume supple carrots.
8. Mushrooms should appear as flabby, but not shrunken, and do not feel greasy while touching. So, keep them in paper to avoid the slippery feel.
9. While picking potatoes, consider only firm ones without any green patches or budding. Potatoes with dirt will last a few more days than the pre-washed varieties because such washing removes some of the outer skin of the potatoes, permitting air to have contact with them. Store up potatoes in the dark environment, and try to keep them in low temperature if you want them to stay longer.
10. If you are buying pre-cut vegetables, such as pre-made salads, cauliflower rice or stir-fry mixes verify the date on the packets, and make sure there is no excess water in the packet.
11. Quality of peas is specified by the color, and nature of the shell, which should be bright green in appearance. Select shells that are well-sized, even though not bulging. Dried, spotted and yellow shells points out over developed peas.
12. Fresh vegetables wrapped in plastic will last longer because it makes them air free. Remember to keep the vegetables in refrigerator within air-tight containers, so that they will remain as fresher for extended hours.
    Factors to be considered while buying fresh fruits
13. Most fruits are at their best in summer. Always give preference to locally available fresh seasonal fruits.
14. Fruits such as mangoes, pineapples, apricots, and peaches should smell sweet. If they don't have their resembling smell, it indicates that they are not ripe enough, and guarantees that they will not ripen from your home if bought. So think well before buying such fruits.
15. Pineapple does not ripen further, once taken from the parent plant, so buy the ones which have the smell of pineapple. Their color may vary in accordance with the time of the year, so need not worry if their color is either orange or greenish. You just smell them, and make a proper decision before purchasing the same.
16. Avoid fruits with injured and broken skins. If you have not decided to eat or cook such fruits right away, there are high possibilities to develop mold quickly.
17. Search for solid, plumb berries which have vivacious coloring. Avoid leaky or wet containers as this may be an indication of mold or blemished fruit. Strong berry smell points out that they are ripe and set to eat.
18. Cavity or darker spots on melons are not generally a problem. These spots are just marks left from them while growing on the ground. However, there should not be any spongy feel anywhere on the melon. They should be heavy as per their size, and be able to produce a hollow cavity like sound when tapped.
19. Apples should be firm. You need not be bothered if they are shiny or powdery in appearance, and even spots on them are typically not a problem. But evade the ones with minute holes as they might have germs inside.
20. Oranges should be stiff and heavy. Their color differs with respect to their variety, but they must have the smell of citrus fruit.
21. Always see the bottom side of the basket of berries for symbols of mold. Soft berries like strawberries and raspberries may get moldy very speedily, so eat them as early as possible after buying.
22. Lightly press the stem area of an avocado to see whether it is ripen. If it is ready to eat, it can be a bit soft, but need not be wholly spongy while touching.
23. Fruits are more seasonal than vegetables. Hence, if you want to eat some fruits that are not available during season, they will surely be from cold storage, or imported from overseas.

Conclusion

Always choose fresh fruits and vegetables that are available abundantly in season. Hence, you can pick up highest quality farm fresh produce having ever best taste. Also, remember to wash these fruits and vegetables thoroughly with cool, clean, running water just before they are taking either for eating or cooking. This is a very good habit which helps us to wash off pesticides and harmful chemicals used over plants. Whenever you want to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, buy only what you can use within a few days. Thus, you can avoid wastage of fruits and vegetables to some extent.