How-To Select the Freshest Produce

Have you ever returned from the grocery store ready to bite into a sweet, crisp apple only to find that it's mealy and brown? Or perhaps you've purchased what you thought was a ripe tomato but instead is really bland, tasteless and the texture of cardboard. Using your nose and other senses will help you to sniff out the freshest and ripest produce so that you can actually eat what you buy.

First of all don't be afraid to rifle through the bins and racks of produce. A grocery store needs to move their produce quickly because of its short shelf life. In order to keep things looking full they will place the newest produce behind or below the older fruits and vegetables. You should gently move the produce around as you search so that you don't t bruise or drop anything.

Vegetables such as zucchini, cucumbers, and eggplant should have unblemished skin without brown or white spots. When you pick them up they should feel firm without any give beneath the skin. They should have a fresh scent free from mold.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes and other root vegetables should be extremely hard to the touch without any give. They should also be spot and sprout free. It's important to smell bags of potatoes carefully as it is easy for mold to take over in the moist plastic environment. Onions and garlic should have tight papery skins and no spots or bitter scents.

Be careful with bags of salad, spinach and other leafy mixes. They are extremely convenient yet they are also very moist inside and can spoil quickly. Look carefully through the plastic and make sure there is not excess water clinging to the leaves. They should look green and vibrant and not limp with dark green patches. Mushrooms should look dry and unblemished. If they look damp and spotted they will spoil very quickly. The same rules apply to packaged herbs.