Recipe Station

Instead of wasting extra cash when you are at the Farmers Market or grocery store remember these few tips that can really help you out. Some of the methods mentioned are really good tricks and can save you the headache of not having that perfect item to make your special recipe.

How to tell if a canteloupe is ripe?

Cantaloupe should feel heavier than it looks and smell musky and sweet. Also you should be able to press your thumb in slightly on the bottom and there shouldn't be a lip around the stem.

If it smells over-sweet it's most likely over ripe. You can let a cantaloupe ripen on your counter top if you get one under-ripe

How to tell if pineapple is ripe??

It should be firm, not mushy, but not rock hard either.

The most important thing, however, is smell. An unripe pineapple won't smell like anything. An overripe pineapple will smell vinegary. A ripe pineapple will smell sweet.

You can test if a pineapple is ripe by trying to pluck out one of the leaves near the centre. If it comes out fairly easily then the pineapple is good to go. If it's hard to pluck, it's not yet ripe.

How to tell if a Mango is ripe?

Smell: A ripe mango will smell sweet. Check near the stem end, the smell should be stronger there. You should smell it and think “mango.” Smell is a large part of your taste, so it should be very familiar.

Firmness: Mangos, like peaches will soften as they ripen. Just as it starts to go from firm to soft, it is just about ripe.

Weight: With most fruit you can tell their ripeness by their weight. A riper fruit will be slightly heavier than an unripe one.

Finally, DO NOT refrigerate if you want them to ripen.

How to tell if a watermelon is ripe?

I don't believe there is a fool-proof way to determine ‘ripeness' without taking a slice out of a watermelon. The best you can do is look for certain signs:

Ripe melons have a hollow sound when you tap or slap the outside
Look for the patch where the melon would have been on the ground (called the field spot). If it's a yellow colour its probably ripe. If it's white, it's probably not.
It should feel relatively heavy when lifted
Unfortunately, melons don't continue to ripen once picked, unlike fruits such as apples and bananas, which contain ethylene. As a tip, don't store melons with these kinds of fruit, they may well go ‘soggy.'

How to tell if corn is ripe?

A very fresh, ripe ear of corn will have a moist, green, unblemished husk; when peeled back, its silk will also moist and clinging to the kernels. In the store, you may find that an ear of corn will have a slightly dried out husk, but if it's still green and the kernels look plump when the husk is pulled back, that ear's fine. Ignore any husks that are very dry with rotten-looking, off-smelling silk tops.

How to tell if an avocado is ripe?

If you can squish an avocado in your hand, it's much too ripe. Everyone else has had a squish of this avocado, and it's been manhandled.

Depending on the variety in your supermarket you want one that's still firm when you buy it, and after a few days in the fruitbowl with the apples, it will become a nice constancy.

With these tips, you should have an easier time choosing your fruits. These ones are some of the toughest, so once you get these down, it will be like second nature when choosing all your produce. The more you integrate produce into your diet, the more effortless it will be. Your health will also benefit!

For more tips, visit Lifehacker.

Do you have any tried and true tips for checking your produce?