Share your secret for picking produce

[Anonymous]

I'll start.

To pick a sweet pineapple, look at the square-like shapes on the surface. Choose one with large squares of uniform size. Doesn't matter if the pineapple is yellow or green. After the bottom half turns yellow, store it upside down to distribute the acidity.

[Anonymous]

Actually, this is old fashioned advice from our mothers' day. In the 90s, pineapples were bred scientifically to be sweet. You can just grab one and go. Try it, OP. It will change your life.

For melons, I sniff the rind and if it smells like candy, it's ripe.

[Anonymous]

I've had plenty of pineapples that are not sweet in my day.

[Anonymous]

Always look at the bottom of containers of berries and tomatoes - if there is juice or mold, they're bad.

For avocados, you want a black fruit that is firm with just a slight give.

[Anonymous]

For watermelons, pick one that is relatively heavy for its size. Hold it up to your ear and tap on the far side of the melon. If it sounds like hitting a block of wood (solid) then avoid it. If it sound hollow like hitting the the side of a gallon of milk, it's good. This will help you find watermelons that have more water and tend to be sweeter.

[Anonymous]

peapod

[Anonymous]

In Hawaii they tell you to smell the pineapple - if it smells like pineapple it is ready.

[Anonymous]

Limes that are smooth are the juiciest.

[Anonymous]

I feel smug because I thought all of these things were obvious.

Don't store apples next to other fruits in the fruit bowl - the off gas stuff that makes the other fruit overripe too fast.

If you separate bananas when you bring the home they'll ripen slower.

[Anonymous]

Along the lines of PP's comment about apples, don't store onions and potatoes in the same cabinet or pantry. They will make the other ripen and go bad faster. Store them separately and as far apart as you can.

[Anonymous]

I ask a nice grandma-looking lady, or the produce guy to pick me out a honeydew. They are always happy to help.

[Anonymous]

My mom used Peapod when she was recovering from surgery and got terrible produce. I don't advise it.

[Anonymous]

I've only had great produce from Peapod. I highly recommend it.

Also, the produce at Costco has been really great this year. Especially cantaloupes!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For watermelons, pick one that is relatively heavy for its size. Hold it up to your ear and tap on the far side of the melon. If it sounds like hitting a block of wood (solid) then avoid it. If it sound hollow like hitting the the side of a gallon of milk, it's good. This will help you find watermelons that have more water and tend to be sweeter.

Thank you! I'm so sick of the flavorless watermelons I've been binging home.

[Anonymous]

Pineapples--pull on a spike. If it comes out easily, it's ripe. If it resists, it isn't.