Study the veggies hard & feel the fruits well before picking them up for your family. With pesticides being used criminally on everything you eat, SHAlINI SAKSENA tells you how to be vigilant & pick the best pick
Melons have different characteristics you should look for. The first one is a well-defined ground spot like the one below. If a melon doesn't have a ground spot, it probably wasn't allowed to ripen long enough on the vine. Knocking your knuckles on a melon can give you insight into how it will taste. If you knock on a melon and it sounds like you're knocking on your forehead, then it is under-ripe. If it sounds the same as thumping your stomach then it is overripe. The sweet spot of perfect ripeness should sound the same as thumping your chest cavity.
Study the base of a pineapple. Golden-yellow colour indicates how sweet it is. The higher the colour rises up from the base, the sweeter it is. A smell test is also useful when selecting these tasty tropical fruits; if the pineapple has no scent, it's not yet ripe.
DOCTOR SAYS: For the bananas, if it looks nice and yellow from the outside but tastes raw and starchy, it means that it has been ripened artificially
| Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, Senior dietician, Apollo Hospitals, Bengaluru
To source the sweetest, juiciest apples, make sure you choose ones with an unblemished surface and bright, even colour. lightly press the apple to make sure it’s firm and crunchy. One of the best ways to ensure that the fruit & vegetables one is eating are ‘somewhat free’ from pesticides and colour is — eat only seasonal vegetables.
DOCTOR SAYS: Just because an apple is shiny, it does not necessarily mean that it is healthy and free from pesticides. Apples should not have sheen and should look natural
| Dr Rohatgi
Scour the produce section for fully ripened grapes—the plumper the better — but avoid leaky, wrinkled clusters. Bunches that are firmly attached to the stem are best. For sweet grapes, it's important to pay attention to color. Green varieties should have a slight yellow tint, while red grapes should take on a rich, red shade. Coming to peaches, another thing to look out for is a stripe across the stem.
Berries of all varieties, including strawberries, blueberries and blackberries (shehtoot), are susceptible to moisture and therefore, mold. It's best to buy small quantities of berries just a few days before consuming them. Watch out for cartons that show telltale signs of fuzzy white mold and choose only firm, juicy berries with a healthy sheen.
Pick all-star citrus-based on smooth skin, firm texture, and weight (heavier fruits offer more vitamin C-loaded juice). Avoid oranges, tangerines, grapefruit and other citrus fruits that are soft or sunken in spots.
DOCTOR SAYS: Chances that it will not have any colour are high. If one eats oranges in summers, it means they have been produced in bulk and ripened synthetically | Dr Rohatgi
Fruits like mango are easy to identify if they have been artificially ripened. Each mango variety has its distinct smell which will not be there if it is chemically ripened. So take deep whiff before picking this king of fruits
Take a deep whiff when you're choosing tomatoes. Firm, smooth-skinned ones with a subtly sweet scent yield the best results. Its shape counts as well: Tomatoes should be round with no wrinkles or soft surface depressions.
Peppers that sport vivid, rich shades and green stems are your best bet. Don’t worry about irregularly-shaped bell peppers, as long as they’re healthy with a thick, glossy exterior.
DOCTOR SAYS: Take cauliflower, for example. If it looks very white rest assured it has been bleached. Any vegetable which looks, one should be vary of it. The adage all that glitters is not gold is apt when it comes to fruits and vegetables. If it looks pretty, one should be watchful. Most naturally grown vegetables don’t look shiny or pretty after three or four days. As for green vegetables like spinach and peas, if you soak them in water they should not leech colour. If there is colour, it means that the farmer is trying to ripen the vegetable or fruit artificially or are you looking at a synthetic variant of the vegetable which is very harmful | Dr Rohatgi