As an at-home chef, and food/lifestyle blogger, my number one goal is to provide you with ways to make your life and food have more flavor.
There is nothing worse than picking out fruits and vegetables for a dish, and the dish is lacking because the fruit wasn't ripe or the vegetables were too soggy or overcooked. So in this blog post, I wanted to go ahead and give some tips that can help you have a quality dish. A lot of us think that being a great chef means that we just make food look good on a plate and charge crazy amounts of money for it. But, in truth, the markings of a good Chef are someone who understands that food should taste good no matter what.
Another indication of a great chef is that they take our time when we're grocery shopping, as well as cooking. I know food scarcity is an issue. If there's food scarcity in your area, use these tips because you will still be able to find quality food.
I hope this helps, and please let me know in the comments any food quality tips that you have, for making sure that your fruits and vegetables are the freshest before and after you purchase them.
Buying Fresh Vegetables
Artichokes: when you purchase an artichoke, you need to look for compact, highly closed heads with green, clean-looking leaves and avoid those leaves that are brown or separated.
Asparagus: When you're buying fresh asparagus, the stock should be Tinder and firm. The tip should be close and compact. You need to choose stocks with very little white. They're the more Tinder use asparagus soon because it toughens fast.
Beans, Snap: when you're buying fresh beans or snap beans, those with the small seeds inside the pods are the best avoid the beans with dry-looking pots,
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower: when buying these items, flower clusters on the broccoli and the cauliflower should be tight and very close together. Brussels sprouts should be firm and compact, smudgy dirty spots on any of these indicate bugs and disease.
Cabbages and heads of lettuce: you need to choose the heads that are heavy for their size. Avoid cabbage with wormholes and lead us with discoloration or we like to call it soft rot. When purchasing.
Cucumbers: you need to choose long, slender cucumbers for the best quality. They may be dark or medium grain but the yellow ones are very undesirable and sometimes bitter or flavorless.
Mushrooms: the caps should be closed around the stems, so avoid black or brown gills.
Peas and Lima beans: When purchasing peas in Lima beans you need to select the pods that are well-filled, but they are not bulging. You need to avoid dried spotted yellow or flabby pods.
Buying Fresh Fruit
Bananas: The skin on the bananas should be free of bruises and black and brown spots you need to purchase green and allow them to ripen at home at room temperature.
Fresh Berries: When you are choosing fresh berries you need to select plump solid berries with a good color. Avoid stained containers that will indicate wet or leaky berries. Berries with clinging caps, like blackberries and raspberries, or unripe strawberries without caps are overripe.
Melons: When choosing a melon in cantaloupes you want thick, close netting on the rind it indicates that it has the absolute best quality. Cantaloupes are ripe when the stem scar is smooth and the space between the netting is yellow or yellow-green. They are best when fully ripe with a fruity odor.
Honeydew melons are ripe when the rind is creamy. To yellowish color and a velvety texture. Immature honey do's are whitish green.
Ripe watermelons have some yellow color on one side. If melons are white or pale green on one side, they are not ready.
Oranges, Grapefruit, and Lemons: when buying fresh oranges grapefruit, and lemons you need to choose those heavy for their size smoother, thinner skin indicates more juice more skin.
Do not. Most skin markings do not affect the quality of oranges with a slight greenish tinge. May be just as ripe as fully colored ones light or greenish yellow lemons are more tart than deep yellow ones. Avoid citrus fruit that shows weathered sunken or soft areas.
Thank you for enjoying GTG Chef's Tips For Quality Food !
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