Fruits are remarkably deceptive things. You might bite into a perfectly yellow banana only to realize it’s hard and sour. If you’ve had a tart strawberry disaster in the past, then you know how difficult it can be to tell a good fruit apart from an underripe one. Thankfully, waiting till you get home to cut it open and cry about the money you wasted isn’t the only way to tell if a fruit is not ripe enough. There are a few simply grocery shopping hacks that can help you tell how ripe a fruit is right away. With these seven shopping tips, you’ll never have to suffer through a rock-hard avocado again.
Is This Pineapple Ripe?
When you’re choosing a pineapple, the first thing you need to pay attention to is it’s color. The entire pineapple needs to be golden brown, with not even a hint of green at the base. Another way to tell if it’s ripe is to tug one of the leaves off. If you can pluck it easily, then the pineapple is delicious and ripe. However, if there’s any resistance, then it’s probably not ready to be eaten yet. You can also use your trusty sense of smell to judge a pineapple. If you sniff a pineapple up close and there’s no smell, then the pineapple is very underripe. On the other hand, if it smells like vinegar, then it’s probably way too ripe. A perfectly ripe pineapple will smell sweet and inviting.
Are These Bananas Ready To Eat?
Flawless yellow bananas with not a single brown spot on them look great in pictures, but aren’t much fun to eat. The more brown patches a banana has, the sweeter it will taste. But bananas are great because they’re salvageable no matter what state you buy them in. If they’re underripe, hang them in a cool place until they start to ripen. If they’re almost completely black and too overripe to eat, they’d make for an excellent batch of banana bread.
Do Apples Taste As Good As They Look?
While beautiful bananas are in reality too underripe to be eaten, apples are a different story. The better an apple looks visually, the more tasty it will be to eat. When you’re picking apples, look for ones that are a single uniform color. The skin should be pulled tight over the entire fruit with no wrinkles anywhere. If there are brown spots on it or patches of loose skin, then it’s probably rotting. Apples keep for a long time so you can put them into a plastic bag and store them in the refrigerator for up to 6 weeks.
What Does The Color Of A Peach Say?
Peaches (not to be confused with their hairless cousins the nectarines), are soft and fuzzy to the touch. The best way to tell if these stone fruits are ripe is to give them a good long sniff. If they smell beautiful, sweet and peachy, then they probably taste even better. You can also judge how ripe a peach is by noticing its color. When peaches ripen on a tree, the side facing the sun turns red, while the other side remains orange or yellow. Sun-kissed peaches are the sweetest to bite into, so look for ones that have more red on them. However, if there are any bits of green near the stem of the peach, then you know you have an underripe one on your hands.
How Do You Tell If A Cherry Is Ripe?
Ripe cherries are mouth-wateringly sweet, but a tart, underripe cherry can make your face contort into shapes you never thought possible. Never buy cherries which don’t have their stems attached, because this might mean they’re rotting. The flesh of the cherries should be firm to your touch and not mushy. Deep crimson colored skin means that the cherry is perfectly ripe. If they’re purple or a lighter shade of red, then they’re either over or under. Cherries don’t ripen after they’ve been plucked, so make sure they were plucked in their prime.
What Do Avocado Stems Reveal?
Is there anything worse than looking forward to some zesty guacamole only to realize that the avocado you bought is basically a rock? Ripe avocados have amassed a cult following, but raw ones aren’t good for very much. When picking an avocado, give it a slight squeeze. If it’s ripe, then your fingers should be able to leave an indentation on it. However, if it feels very hard, then it’s not going to make for great avocado toast any time soon. You can also use the avocado stem to tell how ripe the fruit is. Pluck the stem off the avocado and notice the color underneath it. If it’s brown, then the avocado is too ripe to be eaten. The perfect avocado will have a slight tinge of yellow at the base of its stem.
How Will This Cantaloupe Taste?
A ripe cantaloupe should look heavier than it actually is. When you hold it in your palms and press it, its flesh should yield a little. However, if it’s too mushy, then you know the cantaloupe is well past its prime. If you do accidentally buy an underripe cantaloupe, don’t freak out because this disaster can be averted. Give it a few days on your countertop to ripen and it should be perfectly fine. Sweet cantaloupes are also easily recognizable because they have a distinct cantaloupe-ey smell to them.
