If you learned to cook from your mother, do you wonder why she never told you the only universal way to know when the fruit is ripe and ready to eat? That’s because there isn’t one. There are more than 50 different species of fruits and they all ripen in different ways.
- Bananas and avocados are picked green and ripen from the tree.
- Most varieties of pears can be picked when they are full size, but they are still green and very firm. Put them in a warm place and they will ripen in a few days.
- Nectarines and plums can be picked when they are colorful but still very firm. They will ripen to the desired amount of firmness or softness after a few days at room temperature.
- Oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits will not ripen after being picked from the tree.
- Most of the pineapples in the United States and Canada are from Hawaii. These pineapples have a golden-toasted yellow or reddish-orange color when ripe. The golden color starts at the bottom. The top of the pineapple may be green, but the more the pineapple’s golden color rises, the sweeter it will be. The true test of ripeness in all pineapples is looking at the bottom of the fruit. A yellow color running through the bottom indicates that the sugar has developed in the pineapple and is ready to eat. If there is no yellow color, the sugar has not developed and the pineapple will not be sweet.
- Most peaches taste best from late June through August. In agricultural stalls, the aroma is an indicator. The fruit should smell as good as it tastes. The ripe melon should give off a sweet aroma when sniffed where the stem was attached. But scent doesn’t always work in supermarkets, as refrigeration stunts the bouquet.
- Apples are crisp and flavorful when they are full size and when they show the identifying color of their variety. Most apples ripen during the fall months of September and October. There are also some summer varieties.
- Color is also an indication of certain fruits. Ripe peaches have a rich, yellowish hue, just like melons, while watermelons should have a whitish-yellow color on the lower belly. They should also resonate when struck, like a musical instrument.
- Strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries are ripe and should be picked when the berry shows a rich, uniform color without white spots.
- The grapes are harvested when they are fully ripe but firm. Use the color as a guide for the sweetness of the fruit. Green grapes should be yellowish or straw-colored with a hint of amber when fully ripe. Red grapes should be deep crimson, not milky or pale red. Blue grapes should be dark tones, almost black, not pale or tinged with green. The grapes should be thick. You can always judge the freshness of the grapes by the stem. The greener the stem, the fresher the grapes will be.
Fresh fruit provides vitamin A (afhacarotene, beta-carotene, and retinol), vitamin C, most of the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, and folic acid), and fiber.
Frozen grapes You’re a great, nutritious snack for kids. Put Red Flame or other seedless grapes on a tray in the freezer. When frozen, put them in a resealable plastic bag and put them back in the freezer. Then children can have sweet and frozen snacks at any time.
Prepare in fresh fruit salad mixing your choice of fruit cut into cubes or balls. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator while the juices mix. No need to dress. My favorite fruit salad combination is grapes, cantaloupe, watermelon, pineapple, and strawberries.
To simple but delicious sauce For fruit, mix equal amounts of whipped topping, marshmallow fluff, and fruity yogurt. Lime, lemon, orange, and strawberry yogurt taste great with fresh fruit.
Stuffed pineapple boats
This is a fun tropical recipe for special guests or a backyard luau.
2 small to medium pineapples
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger or 1/3 teaspoon Watkins ground ginger
12 to 16 ounces roasted chicken breast meat, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Watkins orange extract
1 tablespoon of almond or walnut oil
1 cup diced celery
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons toasted almonds, sliced
2 tablespoons of grated coconut
1 teaspoon minced jalapeño pepper
- Cup each pineapple first. Cut the pineapples in half lengthwise along the crown and leaves. Remove the inner core by making a V-cut under it and then lifting it up. With a short, sharp knife, cut the entire inside of the fruit leaving a 1/2-inch-thick edge all around. Lift the fruit into the cavity and cut it into 1/2-inch cubes or into a ball shape. Attached sheets add to the decor. To prevent the boat from rocking, it may be necessary to cut a thin slice from the bottom of each half.
- You should have about 6 cups of sliced pineapple. Save the juice for the dressing while you work. Squeeze the juice out of any extra pineapple chunks to extract more juice. It should have about 1/4 cup of juice.
- If serving immediately, combine pineapple with chicken, celery, almonds, and jalapeño in a mixing bowl. Combine the ginger, vinegar, orange extract, oil, salt, and reserved pineapple juice in a separate bowl. To mix the salad and mix well.
- Put the jars on large plates. Fill each with 1/4 of the salad mix and sprinkle with coconut. Serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.
If you are entertaining a group of guests, choose a large pineapple as a serving plate, add the salad mix to the pineapple halves, and let the guests serve themselves.
Cooking advice
To make this dish ahead of time, mix together all the ingredients except the chicken. Add the chicken just before serving. The acids and enzymes in pineapple turn the meat into mush after a few hours. In this recipe, pork or turkey tenderloin can be used in place of chicken.