Is there a site or book with information regarding how to pick out the best piece
of fruit or vegetable from the market (grocery or farmers)? I am not good at
knowing what a good cantalope, red pepper, or even orange, and so on.... looks
like, or feels like. This info would help spped up my shopping procsess! so
thanks in advance!

Also, What fruit and veggies are most recommended to be bought organic, and
which can I slide on for now until I have a bigger budget... For instance, I have
heard that broccili is ok to buy non-organic

Cheers!

here's a list of the dirty dozen, i have this printed out and carry it in my wallet.

[www.organic.org]

stylestacey,

The basic guidelines are that the fruit or veg should have vibrant color, should smell fresh(not off), should be relatively free of blemishes, cracks, scarring(which indicates bad treatment or insect contamination--sign of an unhealthy plant). If it's supposed to be soft when eaten, like a tomato, it should give a bit to pressure from your finger. If it's supposed to be crisp, like celery or stalky greens, it should not be limp. There are always exceptions; some kinds of persimmon are ready to eat when squishy, which typically indicates rot, for example. You basically have to just smell and touch everything you wish to buy to determine whether it's in good condition and ripe, and to pay attention to seasons for things. Here's a chart to get you started:

[www.scribd.com]

Good luck!

Great info Tam. I agree. Much of the fun of eating this way comes from learning what actually constitutes a fresh/ripe piece of produce. For some....like pineapple....its as much about fruity smell as appearance.....for others....like avocado....its a big texture thing. Vegetables are easier....as you are looking for robust items.....that are large, plump colorful and leafy....without limpness or
rot.

Good canteloupe: Firm without green-ness. Creamy patch. Some fragrance. No pits or soft spots (too ripe).

Good red pepper: Large and blemish free (check the bottom ends for soft spots!)

Good orange: most oranges in season (November to June) are going to be pretty good. Color is no good judge. Just check the entire thing for ANY softness (if so, toss out). Also throw out any orange that has powdery white or green mildew on any part of it. Once you cut it open, take a quick taste for sweetness. One bad orange in your juicing can really gum up the whole works! Ha! ha! I KNOW!

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I have learned a few things hanging out at farmer's markets, farm stands and the produce section of grocery stores. So, here are a few tips to add to what's been written above:

With many fruits, it just takes experience to find the right place between the extremes of too firm (not ripe) and too soft (overripe or bruised). What's frustrating is that every now and then a fruit like a peach or nectarine will look , smell and feel right, but be mealy and tasteless. Arrrggghhh. Soft, brown spots indicate decomposition on vegetables too (e.g., carrots, eggplant).

When oranges and grapefruits have flat places or indentations, even if those places aren't soft, those citrus fruits are usually kind of dry inside. Again, look for roundness and robustness (as David mentioned).

You can look at the stem and leaves that are left on some fruits and vegetables and judge how fresh they are. For example, if the leaves on strawberries are dry and crinkly, they are not as fresh.

You can look at the place where vegetables were cut to judge freshness. For example, when the ends of asparagus and artichoke dry out, they wrinkle lengthwise up the stem. If the base where the head of lettuce was cut or the base of individual mixed lettuce leaves are reddish, this is evidence of oxidation, showing it has been a while since it was cut. Sometimes, I just cut it off, but if it's a lot, I don't buy it.

I peel the shuck back on corn ears to get a peek at the kernels to see if they look plump or dried out.

when mushrooms are old they can go off in two different ways. Sometimes they dry out, which may not be bad (considering that people dehydrate them); however, I don't buy them. The other way they are bad is when they look moist or even dark and slimy in places.

Happy shopping!


My favorite raw vegan

I continually fine tune my my produce selection skills by looking the produce over carefully just before I eat it. I look at firmness, color, smell etc. and then cut it open and eat it. The connection between what I taste and my look/see at the produce is a great teacher.

Rebecca Wood wrote The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, "an A to Z of selection, preparation and storage for more than 1,000 common and uncommon fruits, vegetables, grains and herbs". It's helpful when trying to figure out what this or that fruit is, how to pick one out and ways to use it. It is written with affection for just about every natural food under the sun.

[www.amazon.com]

I was wondering about acorns, incidentally Rebecca's first entry --

"...Oak fruits, acorns, figured prominently in the diets of hunter-gatherer peoples and are still eaten today in times of famine. Chestnutlike in texture, the thin shelled, starchy seed is nestled in a tiny basal cup. It is considered "one of the the most palatable wild foods" by H. D. Harrinton who ate his way through uncounted edibles while researchiong for his classic reference work, Edible Native Plasnts of the Rocky Mountains."