Tips On Getting The Best Out Of Missouri Fresh Produce Market

By William Baker


For the freshest produce, try to find locally grown, in-season fruits and vegetables. The closer you are to where the produce is grown, the less time it sits in a truck and warehouse. If you're shopping for harvest at a farmer's market, shop early in the day. Scan the farmer's entire produce offering to get a general idea of the quality before you purchase. Choosing the best Missouri Fresh Produce Market and crop means knowing what to look for and what to avoid when buying fruits and vegetables.

Buying Produce in Season; Depending on where you live, you may find better yield at certain times of the year. Your grocery store may be stocked with virtually every fruit and vegetable all year, but at certain times of the year, certain foods will taste fresher and better. If you want to be assured that you're buying the freshest yield, use these guidelines:

Watermelon should be firm and heavy with a smooth skin. Watermelon should have a yellow area on one side, from where it rested while ripening. If it doesn't have a well-defined yellow side, it may have been harvested too soon.

For large commercial vegetable farmers, nutritional value isn't even at the top of the agenda. In the long-gone days when all produce was local, horticulturists who were developing new strains of fruits and vegetables only had to consider taste and nutritional value.

Fish and shellfish - if you don't like the looks of it in first two seconds; don't buy it! Very simple but is works every time. Fish should never smell fishy; when it's fresh, it should smell like the sea. Eyes should be clear, bright and shiny, not cloudy or glazed over. Gills should only be a deep red color. Also fish should look moist and shiny like it just came from the sea. Same goes for shellfish.

Asparagus should be firm and bright green with purple-tinted buds. The thinner asparagus stalks are more tender and flavorful than thicker asparagus. Avocados should be slightly soft and squeezable but not mushy. If you buy avocados hard, let them sit on a kitchen windowsill for a few days to ripen.

Bananas can be greener and less ripe than you like them because they ripen fairly quickly. You can extend the life of your bananas by refrigerating them when they reach the perfect ripeness stage. The peel will darken, but the flesh will be unaffected, and their freshness will be extended. Tomatoes should be bright red, firm and free of bruises.

The best carrots are firm and with a moderately smooth skin. Shy away from thick carrots, as they usually have tough centers. Should you buy carrots with green tops, get rid of the tops before storing, as they can draw nutrients and moisture from the roots. Beets should be dark red and no more than 2 inches in diameter. Broccoli should smell sweet and have a dark-green color. The stalks should be tightly formed and be firm, not limp. When broccoli begins to over-ripe, it turns yellow and smells like cabbage.




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