Fruits are generally harvested and sold under-ripe so that the firmness protects from damages. Even at a farm, the farmer knows that you probably won't be eating all the fruit right away and don't want you to have mush the next day.
Plant-ripening fruits, like citrus fruits, most berries, grapes, cherries, melons, pineapple, and plums don't develop more flavor after being harvested. Apricots, avocados, bananas, kiwis, mangoes, pears, peaches, nectarines, persimmons, and tomatoes ripen and soften and have their flavors peak after a couple of days. Apples will soften and sweeten also, but most people prefer them crisp.
The ripening enzyme in fruit is a gas called ethylene, so trapping the gas will expedite the ripening process. Place fruits in a brown paper bag. Adding an already ripe piece of fruit will double the amount of ethylene.
Many fruits found in the supermarket are picked under-ripe, stored in a distribution center and sprayed with ethylene gas when the supermarket demands them to be ripe and ready.
To get fruits with the best flavor and quality, figure out what's in season. Otherwise, the produce is being shipped hundreds and thousands of miles away - great for the environment - or even if it's locally grown, if it's out of season it's grown in a greenhouse emitting lots of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to keep the ideal temperatures - also great for the environment.
The best way to store fruit, like raspberries for example, is to take them out of the basket and lay them in a single layer on a flat plate lined with paper towel to absorb moisture. This way the fruit is not piled on top of each other, causing dents and trapping moisture - both which encourage spoiling.
Refrigerate fruit only after they have ripened. The cold will slow the loss of moisture, but if refrigerated too soon, the cold will cause the fruit to become mealy.
For refrigerated fruit, take them out a couple hours before using them to rejuvenate the flavor that was suspended in the cold.
Always keep tomatoes at room temperature. Wrap cut tomatoes in plastic wrap.
To blanch or not to blanch before freezing? Blanch if you are not going to use the fruit within a few weeks. The blanching stops the ripening enzymes that create off-flavors and consume the fruit's nutrients. If you use the fruit within a few weeks, wash and cut and rob with powdered vitamin C which will diminish browning. Put them on a baking sheet, stick in the freezer and when they are hard and frozen, transfer to a plastic freezer bag or container.
Fruits that brown when exposed to air include apples, bananas, peaches, and pears.
Plant-ripening fruits, like citrus fruits, most berries, grapes, cherries, melons, pineapple, and plums don't develop more flavor after being harvested. Apricots, avocados, bananas, kiwis, mangoes, pears, peaches, nectarines, persimmons, and tomatoes ripen and soften and have their flavors peak after a couple of days. Apples will soften and sweeten also, but most people prefer them crisp.
The ripening enzyme in fruit is a gas called ethylene, so trapping the gas will expedite the ripening process. Place fruits in a brown paper bag. Adding an already ripe piece of fruit will double the amount of ethylene.
Many fruits found in the supermarket are picked under-ripe, stored in a distribution center and sprayed with ethylene gas when the supermarket demands them to be ripe and ready.
To get fruits with the best flavor and quality, figure out what's in season. Otherwise, the produce is being shipped hundreds and thousands of miles away - great for the environment - or even if it's locally grown, if it's out of season it's grown in a greenhouse emitting lots of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to keep the ideal temperatures - also great for the environment.
The best way to store fruit, like raspberries for example, is to take them out of the basket and lay them in a single layer on a flat plate lined with paper towel to absorb moisture. This way the fruit is not piled on top of each other, causing dents and trapping moisture - both which encourage spoiling.
Refrigerate fruit only after they have ripened. The cold will slow the loss of moisture, but if refrigerated too soon, the cold will cause the fruit to become mealy.
For refrigerated fruit, take them out a couple hours before using them to rejuvenate the flavor that was suspended in the cold.
Always keep tomatoes at room temperature. Wrap cut tomatoes in plastic wrap.
To blanch or not to blanch before freezing? Blanch if you are not going to use the fruit within a few weeks. The blanching stops the ripening enzymes that create off-flavors and consume the fruit's nutrients. If you use the fruit within a few weeks, wash and cut and rob with powdered vitamin C which will diminish browning. Put them on a baking sheet, stick in the freezer and when they are hard and frozen, transfer to a plastic freezer bag or container.
Fruits that brown when exposed to air include apples, bananas, peaches, and pears.
