Apples:- Look for firm, unbruised, free of wrinkles, good color. Because apples ripen quickly they should never be stored at room temperature for more than a day or two. Keep in a plastic bag in the crisper in the refrigerator they should remain fresh and crunchy for two to four weeks. Apples are used in apple pie, fruit salad and in any fruit recipes.
Apricots:- Never shipped fully ripe. Select orange yellow fruit relatively soft and plump. Avoid bruised fruit or that with a yellow green tinge. Firm fruit will ripen quickly at room temperature ace, away from direct sun light in a well ventilated place. Store ripe fruit in a plastic bag in a refrigerator where it will keep for several days. Remember to remove apricot from the refrigerator 15 minutes or so before eating. Like cheese apricots have a fuller richer flavor when served at room temperature.
Avocados:- Heavy for their size not wilted or bruised. Allow to ripen at room temperature, preferably in a paper bag. When ripe they may be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Bananas:- Yellow or green, plump not bruised or split. Avoid grayish yellow fruit, which indicates a chilling injury. Ripen fast at room temperature. When they are at the preferred stage ripeness, eat immediately.
Berries:- Choose berries that are dry free of bruising, molding or shriveling, no sign of leaking. If you can`t eat them immediately, store them unwashed in the refrigerator for no more than a day or two.
Cantaloupe:- Smoothly rounded depressed smooth scar at stem end, slight softness at blossom end. Golden color. Under gentle pressure ripe melon should give slightly distinctive melony aroma indicates ripeness. If not ripe, keep at room temperature out of direct sunlight for several days. It can then be stored in the refrigerator in plastic for several days.
Carrots:- Firm, smooth, well shaped, good orange color. Tops, if still attached, should be fresh and bright green. Remove tops after purchasing. As with beet greens, carrot tops rob nutrients. Avoid carrots that are wilted flabby soft shriveled, rough or cracked. Small to medium carrots are likely to be sweeter tasting than the larger ones. Wrapped in plastic, carrots keep well in the crisper of the refrigerator for two to three weeks. Flabby carrots sometimes regain firmness when soaked in ice water.
Grapes:-Green stems with smooth, plump fruit not sticky. Dry stems indicate old age. Grapes do not continue to ripen after they are picked. The best way to test for sweetness is to taste one. Grapes perishable and should be refrigerated as soon as possible after purchase. Store them in plastic bag in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to five days. Wash gently with baking soda to remove pesticides and serve chilled for best flavor.
Papayas:- Medium rather than large fruit, well colored at least half yellowish. Smooth skin un bruised, with no signs of shriveling. Ripen in perforated paper bag at room temperature or more slowly in refrigerator until yellow all over. Refrigerated ripened papayas will keep for a week.
Plums:- Plump, full colored. Choose fruit just beginning to soften. Plump keep for several days in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator.
Pomegranates:- Pink or bright red rind. Reject hard and dry fruits. Storing fruit for several days at room temperature will be good. Or you can refrigerate up to two weeks.
Pears:- Firm not wilted or shriveled. When ripe Barletta yellow, Anjou green or greenish yellow, Bose dark yellow with cinnamon russet overlay. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to five days.
Oranges:- For juice, firm, heavy, thin skinned and for eating slightly thicker skins are best. Color is no guide as Florida oranges may be dyed. Avoid oranges that are light puffy or spongy, they lack juice. Oranges will keep at a room temperature for a week to 10 days when stored away from heat and sun light. For longer storage, place oranges in the refrigerator in the covered vegetable crisper. They will keep the nutrition in fruit and store there for three to four weeks.
Watermelon:- Lastly, when you pick your own fruit, watermelon from produce stands, see for firm symmetrical, attractive, waxy bloom and lower side varying in color from somewhat yellowish to creamy yellow. Very hard melons with white or very pale green are probably immature. Avoid those that look dehydrated. Sweetness in whole melon is hard to determine without plugging and tasting in slices. Look for flesh that has deep red color firm texture, dark seeds and no streaks. Uncut melons will keep at room temperature or in a cool room for several days. Cut melon tightly wrapped in plastic will keep in the refrigerator for several days.
