Shopping for Fruit
Apples: firm with smooth, clean skin and good color. Avoid fruit with bruises or decay spots.
Apricots: plump with as much golden-orange color as possible. Blemishes, unless they break the skin, will not affect flavor. Avoid fruit that is pale yellow, greenish-yellow, very firm, shriveled or bruised.
Bananas: plump with uniform shape at desired ripeness level. Avoid produce with blemished or bruised skins.
Blueberries: plump, firm berries with a light grayish-purple surface.
Cantaloupes: slightly oval fruit, 5 inches or more in diameter, with yellow or golden (not green) background color. Signs of sweetness include pronounced netting on the rind and a few tiny cracks near the stem end. Smell the melon; it should be noticeably strong and sweet. At home, check for ripeness before you eat it; the stem area will be slightly soft when ripe.
Cherries: plump, bright-colored sweet or sour cherries. Sweet cherries with reddish-brown skin promise flavor. Avoid overly soft or shriveled cherries or those with dark stems.
Grapefruits: firm, thin-skinned fruit, full-colored, and heavy for their size. The best grapefruits are smooth, thin-skinned, and flat at both ends.
Grapes: plump grapes firmly attached to pliable green stems. Color is the best indication of ripeness and flavor. Avoid soft or wrinkled fruits and those with bleached-looking areas at the stem end.
Honeydew melons: melons weighing at least 5 pounds., with waxy white rind barely tinged with green. Fully ripe fruit has a cream-colored rind. When ripe, the blossom end should give to gentle pressure.
Kiwifruit: choose evenly firm fruit. Will feel slightly soft when ripe.
Lemons: firm, heavy fruit. Generally, rough-textured lemons have thicker skins and less juice than fine-skinned varieties.
Mangoes: usually quite firm when sold and need to be ripened further at home before eating. Avoid those with shriveled or bruised skin. Once ripened, they will give to gentle pressure.
Nectarines: orange-yellow background color between areas of red. Ripe nectarines feel slightly soft with gentle handling, but not as soft as ripe peaches.
Oranges: thin-skinned, firm, bright-colored fruit. Avoid oranges with any hint of softness or whitish mold at the ends.
Papayas: fruit with the softness of peaches and more yellow than green in the skin. Most papayas need to be ripened further after purchase in a loosely closed paper bag at room temperature. Avoid bruised or shriveled fruit at room temperature.
Peaches: creamy or yellow background color. Ripe peaches feel slightly soft with gentle handling. Avoid green, extra-hard, or bruised fruit.
Pears: fruit with firm skin. Pears gradually ripen after picking.
Pineapples: large, plump, fresh-looking fruit with green leaves and a sweet smell. Avoid fruit with soft spots, areas of decay, or fermented odor.
Plums: fruit that is full-colored. Ripe plums are slightly soft at the tip end and feel somewhat soft when handled gently. Avoid fruit with broken or shriveled skin.
Raspberries: firm, plump, well-shaped berries. If soft or discolored, they are overripe Avoid baskets that look stained from overripe berries.
Strawberries: firm, plump berries that are full-colored.
Watermelons: fruit heavy for its size, well shaped, with rind and flesh colors characteristic of the variety. Ripe melons are fragrant and slightly soft at the blossom end. A melon that sloshes when shaken is probably overripe. The stem should be dry and brown, not green. When thumped, you should hear a low-pitched sound, indicating a full, juicy interior.
Shopping for Vegetables
Artichokes: tight, compact heads that feel heavy for their size. Surface brown spots don't affect quality.
Asparagus: firm, brittle spears that are bright green almost their entire length, with tight closed tips.
Beans: slender, crisp beans that are bright and blemish-free. Avoid mature beans with large seeds and swollen pods.
Beets: firm, smooth-skinned, small to medium beets. Leaves should be deep green and fresh-looking.
Bok choy: heads with bright white stalks and glossy dark leaves. Avoid heads with slippery brown spots on the leaves.
Broccoli: compact clusters of tightly closed, dark green florets. Avoid heads with yellow florets or thick, woody stems.
Brussels sprouts: firm, compact, fresh-looking sprouts that are bright green. They should be heavy for their size.
Cabbage: firm heads that feel heavy for their size. Outer leaves should have good color and be free of blemishes.
Carrots: firm, clean, well-shaped carrots with bright, orange-gold color. Carrots with their tops still attached are likely to be freshest.
Cauliflower: firm, compact, creamy-white heads (without brown spots), with florets pressed tightly together. A yellow tinge and spreading florets indicate overmaturity. Leaves should be crisp and bright green.
Celery: crisp, rigid, green stalks with fresh-looking leaves. Avoid celery with limp stalks.
Corn: fresh-looking ears with green husks, most stem, and silk ends free or decay or worm injury. when pierced with a thumbnail, kernels should give a squirt of juice. Tough skins indicate overmaturity.
Cucumbers: firm, dark green cucumbers that are slender but well-shaped. Soft or yellow cucumbers are overmature.
Eggplants: firm, heavy for their size, with taut, glassy, deeply colored skin. Stems should be bright green.
Greens: fresh, tender leaves that are free of blemishes. Avoid bunches with thick, coarse-veined leaves.
Leeks: clean, white bottoms and crisp, fresh-looking green tops.
Mushrooms: blemish-free mushrooms without slimy sports or signs of decay.
Okra: small to medium pods that are deep green and free of blemishes. Pods should snap or puncture easily with slight pressure.
Onions: green onions with with crisp, bright tops and clean white bottoms. Choose firm, dry onions with brittle outer skin, avoiding those with sprouting green shoots or dark spots.
Parsnips: small to medium, smooth, firm, and well shaped. avoid large roots because they may have a woody core.
Peas: small, plump, bright green pods that are firm, crisp, and well filled.
Peppers: bright, glossy, firm, and well shaped. Avoid those with soft spots or gashes.
Potatoes: firm, smooth, with no wrinkles, sprouts, cracks, bruises, decay, or bitter green areas.
Salad greens: crisp, deeply colored leaves free of brown sports, yellowed leaves, and decay.
Sprouts: crisp buds still attached.
Summer squash: yellow squash and zucchini of medium size with firm, smooth, glossy, tender skin. Squash should be heavy for their size.
Sweet potatoes and yams: firm, well shaped, with bright, uniformly colored skin.
Tomatoes: smooth, well formed, firm, not hard.
Winter squash: hard, thick-shelled.
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