8 Tips To Pick the Best Fruits & Vegetables

Sliced oranges and strawberries on a table

We've all been there: Looking forward to some healthy snacking, you empty a container of blueberries to wash them — only to discover mold on the fruit you purchased just hours ago.

It's frustrating, a bit infuriating, and oh-so disappointing.

Fortunately, our partners at Experience Life have compiled a few tips and tricks to employ the next time you're shopping for produce — and the team at Good Good Good has adapted it and added to it to make it even more comprehensive and helpful.

Because produce is a living thing, knowing what to buy often comes down to recognizing where the veggie or fruit is in its life cycle — as well as where it's from and how it was harvested.

With practice, you'll be able to select the freshest (in season!) picks, confident your produce will be at its most nutritious, flavor-rich best.

You might also like: Which fruits & veggies are in season? | How to reduce food waste | List of fruits from A-Z | List of vegetables from A-ZGood news about food

Explore These Tips To Pick the Best Produce

1. Use your senses

Use your senses when shopping for fresh produce. If it feels solid and doesn't have soft spots, it's likely fresh. A strong, pleasant aroma is a hint that it's ripe and tasty. Look for vibrant colors, which indicate that the produce is ripe and packed with nutrients. Remember to check for any signs of age, like brown stems or wrinkles,

Vegetables are picked ripe and don't ripen further after harvest, so many tend to have a longer shelf life compared with more fragile fruits, which can be sold at any stage of their life cycle. That's one reason it's essential to know the indicators of ripeness.

As a general rule, produce should feel heavier when ripe, thanks to its high water content. As they begin to degrade, vegetables and fruits lose weight, so avoid any that feel lightweight for their size, especially if they're bruised or mushy.

You can usually also tell by sight whether items are in good shape. Take an extra moment to glance at the cut stem, advises Cynthia Sandberg, owner of Love Apple Farms, a biodynamic farm in Santa Cruz, Calif. "If the cut stem is brown or wrinkled, the produce is older than you may want."

Aroma is another good indicator of ripeness.

Berries should smell fresh and sweet, with no moldy whiffs. Pineapples and stone fruits, such as peaches and nectarines, should have a rich, fruity aroma. Ripe tomatoes yield a pleasant earthy smell, familiar to anyone who's plucked a sun-drenched tomato right off the vine.

2. Think ahead

Before shopping for produce, it's worthwhile to consider when and how you want to use it, as both have a bearing on the preferred stage of ripeness.

Tomatoes are a good example, Sandberg says, because they have a fleeting window of perfect ripeness — though you can use them earlier. "Tomatoes should be picked when they yield to gentle pressure," she says, "unless you're making fried green tomatoes. Or if you want to take tomatoes to your friend's house for them to enjoy over the next week."

In both cases, slightly underripe tomatoes are the perfect pick.

If you're growing a garden, keep a close eye on your veggies and fruits so you can harvest and enjoy them when they're at their peak.

3. Store strategically

Fruits that continue ripening after harvest are called climacteric, a category that includes mangoes, bananas, avocados, pears, nectarines, peaches, and apricots.

If you buy them before they're ripe, you can leave them on your countertop until their aromas and texture let you know they're ready to be eaten or refrigerated, which will slow the ripening process.

Some fruits do well when stored at room temperature; most can be refrigerated for a short time to keep them from rotting — and whether you choose to do so is a matter of personal preference.

For example, we're often told to never refrigerate tomatoes because it can affect their texture. But putting those almost-too-ripe tomatoes in the fridge can buy you an extra day or two if you're not planning on using them right away.

Sliced oranges and strawberries on a table
(Jane Doan/Pexels)

4. Shop with the seasons

"It goes without saying that fresh, seasonal fruits and vegetables provide the foundation for delicious, nourishing dishes," writes chef Bryant Terry in his book Afro-Vegan.

Shopping for what's in season allows you to get your hands on the freshest, most nutritious produce, and it's a great excuse to try out new foods and recipes.

For example, if it's spring, look for spring favorites like asparagus, artichokes, radishes, and rhubarb.

We're accustomed to buying these items at any time, but eating them in springtime aligns our diets with corresponding seasonal shifts in our bodies, according to health traditions like Indian Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

5. Keep it local

Local farmers' markets are some of the best places to find the freshest produce. Often, the merchandise has just been picked that morning and is more nutrient-dense than anything you can buy at the supermarket.

That's because produce starts losing nutrients once it's harvested: A University of California, Davis, study found that vegetables lost between 15 and 77 percent of their vitamin C during seven days of storage.

Farmers' markets are also a great source of unusual cultivars and heirloom varieties that can transform your cooking.

Wine connoisseurs may be familiar with the concept of terroir, or sense of place. A marriage of elements — climate, soil, elevation, farming methods — gives the wine a distinctive identity that speaks to its origins: the land where the grapes were grown.

Terroir also applies to vegetables and fruits. Greens, spring onions, and strawberries purchased from a farm in your area will have a similarly unique character, particular to your locale.

6. Know your etiquette

It's perfectly acceptable to pick up one or two pieces of produce as you shop to check if they're in good condition, but it's considered bad form to paw through crates, squeezing each avocado in search of the ideal one.

This is especially true at farmers' markets, Sandberg notes. "Ask the farmer before handling the produce. They may want to select and bag for you," she says, adding that protocol can differ by location.

"In European farmers' markets, it is absolutely forbidden to touch the produce if you're a customer."

7. Swap away

If, while perusing the produce aisle, you find shallots that don't look their best, scoop up a bunch of leeks to take their place. Mealy looking apples? Choose pears instead. No kale in sight? Try Swiss chard, collard greens, or spinach.

Such flexibility ensures you get the freshest veggies and fruits while diversifying your diet — and you may discover your original recipes become even tastier with the alternative.

8. Don't forget common sense

Your own judgment will typically lead you in the right direction.

Sprouting potatoes and wrinkled apples have seen better days. Soft, mushy tomatoes shouldn't make their way into your shopping basket, either.

Produce is often waxed before it hits the supermarket shelves, so the shiniest, most tempting-looking veggies and fruits won't necessarily be the tastiest. This is true even of some organic produce.

Though the Food and Drug Administration says the wax is safe to eat, you might prefer to remove it—and the bacteria and microorganisms that could be clinging to it—before using the produce.

Most coatings can be scrubbed off with a brush under hot water, but you can also add a tablespoon of a household acid, like lemon juice, to a basin of hot water to help do the job.

This story was originally published by Stacker and republished pursuant to a CC BY-NC 4.0 License.

Article Details

August 20, 2023 12:25 PM
Two images side by side. On the left, a Canadian street sign reads "Taylor Swift Way" in front of a backdrop of downtown Toronto. On the right, Taylor Swift sings on stage in a flowing blue dress

Toronto Eras Tour venue calls on Swifites to do good, matching donations up to $113,000 for local food bank

The Canadian city is Swift’s final stop on The Eras Tour, and the Rogers Centre is pulling out all the stops.
Two photos side-by-side. On the left, a stack of tomatoes sits in a grocery store produce aisle. On the right, a 14-year-old boy holds up a scanning device.

When he learned 75% of produce was crawling with pesticides, a teen invented a handheld AI chemical scanner

14-year-old Sirish Subash was horrified when he learned that most grocery store produce is crawling with pesticides. So he invented a handy solution.
Two workers eat fruits from a tree in front of them

Cities Are Planting Trees. Why Not Make Them Fruit Trees?

From backyards to sidewalks, communities in Philadelphia and beyond see food-bearing trees as a path to food justice and climate adaptation.
Glitter with microplastics

Microplastics no more: Scientists invented sustainable glitter made from fruit

Scientists have come up with a sustainable glitter alternative derived from fruit. Conventional glitter contains harmful microplastics that pollute the environment. The new biodegradable glitter is vegan, so everyone can sparkle again guilt-free.

Want to stay up-to-date on positive news?

The best email in your inbox.
Filled with the day’s best good news.