In cooking, it starts with the produce that you buy from the market or grocery store. There are some produce that I buy in the market and there are some that I buy at the grocery store. I’m currently lucky to have a mini-market two blocks away from where we live. Some days, I don’t have any planned meal in mind and I just figure it out when I’m in the market. I let my senses lead me to the freshest and most beautiful produce I could find on a certain visit.
I’m grateful for my mom for bringing me to markets when I was a kid. I learned about traveling inside a big market, being friends with sellers and butchers and knowing when a certain produce is fresh or not.
On Buying Fresh Produce
(1) Do the squeeze test and look for bumps and bruises before buying.
(2) Take your time. Fresh produce is vital to our diet and it is worth shopping around for.
(3) Be friendly with local grocer owner/s or market sellers or butchers. They will be of great assistance should you need help in finding the right produce for you.
On Choosing Fresh Produce
(1) The freshest produce are the ones in season–take advantage! In spring, buy apricots, artichokes, asparagus, avocados, beets, carrots. In summer, buy berries, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, figs and garlic. In fall, buy apples, broccoli, fennel, pears, sweet potatoes.
(2) Buying out-of season produce does not mean it’s not fresh. It may only mean that the produce may be smaller or weaker in taste compared to in-season produce.
On Buying Vegetables
(1) Be selective. Examine each vegetable individually. Be on the lookout for rotten pieces mixed in with the good group.
(2) Look for bright color.
(3) Check for firmness and crispiness. If you see wrinkles or wilted looking greens, that is not fresh at all.
On Buying Ripe Produce
(1) Remember that overly ripe produce is squishy and overly juicy.
(2) Check the color. If a produce has pale color, choose another one that has more color.
On Buying Fresh Fish
(1) Look for bright and clear eyes, plus shiny, metallic and clean skin.
(2) Fresh fish smells like clean water or has a scent of the ocean.
(3) The place where you buy seafood should not stink! If you find yourself in a fish market that reeks, leave.
On Buying Fresh Meat
(1) Look at the color. Beef should have reddish color, pork should be pink, poultry should be white or pale yellow.
(2) Smell the produce. Avoid buying if the meat has a rancid or strange smell.
**This post is also in response to Fave Diets Blog‘s monthly Healthy Bite. The question for April is
“What is your favorite healthy cooking tip or trick?”
9 Comments
kay
This is definitely on my list of things to do when I get my own place.
J. Alvaran
well to add :]
-Avoid those “too good to be true” fruits and vegetables. They often come big, clear without any spot, pigment and would simply look fresh even after 1 week. Some of them are either high on pesticides/chemicals and GM [genetically altered/modified to defy deterioration] which in long term could only lead to certain cancer. Always seek the gov’t food department label.
-always go for the organic one. It would costs cents more than the fertilized and antibiotic raised produce but you’re doing 2 favors..for yourself and the mother earth.
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20 years ago it was safe to pick up anything from the market. 20 years later a small genetically modified soybean could cause cancer.Lots of things now are raised by genetics.
CandyQ
Great tips, Ibyang! 🙂
Kayni
Thank you for the great tips. I only learned how to shop for vegetables (including cooking) when I moved for college. At first, everything was a disaster, but slowly and through experience, I learned.
Chyng
Ipapabasa ko to sa Mama ko. til now di nya alam yan. haha
RicAdeMus
This good advice. When I was growing up we always had a huge vegetable garden. My parents grew up on farms and wanted: 1) to share that experience with their kids; and 2) the fresh, inexpensive produce! We also had 6 apple trees, 2 peach trees, a pear tree, a big strawberry patch, and a grape vine. The good old days! =)
Leah
Thanks for the tips Ibyang. I’m the worst then it comes to buying fish. I normally just go to the grocery to buy everything since you know how it is with the market vendors here in Manila. Di sila honest.
♥peachkins♥
Hi Ibyang. So nice to meet you too…
blowing peachkisses
The Peach Kitchen
peach and things
kg
i remembr when we went to sagada and bought veggies on the road…fresh na fresh talaga. yung broccoli nila, haay, heaven! too bad, mindan dito sa manila, hindi na fresh ang veggies.