Fall is in the air. Its time again for Washington’s fall harvest! Check out what fruits and veggies are ‘in season’ and locally grown in your hood’. Stock up on the goods and enjoy them while they’re fresh.
Apples: They are a good source of vitamin C, good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, and an excellent source of flavanoids and antioxidants. The pectin found in apples can help to lower LDL cholesterol. They are also good for diabetes and weight management.
- Buying Tips: Look for firm apples with rich coloring. Yellow and green apples with a slight blush are best. Your preference for a sweeter or more tart fruit and whether you plan to enjoy your apples raw or cooked will guide your choice of variety. Just remember that Red and Golden Delicious are among the sweetest apples. Braeburn and Fuji apples are slightly tart, and Gravenstein, Pippin and Granny Smith apples are the most tart, but retain their texture best during cooking.
- Storage: Store apples at a constant temperature--and the cooler the better. The storage drawer in your refrigerator is an excellent choice if you can spare the space.
- Buying Tips: Choose firm, deep colored pears. Let them sit for a few days, if necessary, until they dent a little when pressed lightly, like an avocado does. To hasten the ripening process, simply put them in a paper bag and leave at room temperature. Once ripe, store in the refrigerator where they can remain fresh for a few days. Over-ripe pears are mushy and are not suitable for juicing. Always maintain the general rule of eating as fresh as possible.
- Storage: Store away from strong-smelling foods as they tend to absorb odors.
- Buying Tips: Look for firm, round beets with a slender tap root (the root at the bottom). They should be rich, deep red in color (if red).
- Storage: Beets can be refrigerated in plastic bags for one to three weeks.
- Buying Tips: Look for a good, smooth form and a hearty orange color. Select carrots that still have greens attached, as these tend to keep better and taste fresher. The leaves themselves should be fresh and bright green
- Storage: Carrots will keep in the refrigerator washed, with the tops cut off for 2 to 4 weeks. They stay crisp longer if stored in a plastic bag. If the carrots get a bit limp, they can usually be restored to some crispness by soaking them in cold water for about 30 minutes.
- Buying Tips: Purchase garlic that is plump and has unbroken skin. Gently squeeze the garlic bulb between your fingers to check that it feels firm and is not damp.
- Storage: Store fresh garlic in either an uncovered or a loosely covered container in a cool, dark place away from exposure to heat and sunlight.
- Buying Tip: Choose unripe bitter gourds that are firm, avoid those that have turned orange or have soft spots. Ripe bitter gourds are very bitter.
- Storage: Store bitter melons in the vegetable bin in the refrigerator. Keeping bitter melons at room temperature or with other fruits and vegetables will hasten the melon to ripen and become bitterer. When stored properly it should keep for three to four days.
- Buying Tips: The best cooking pumpkins are smaller and sweeter, ranging from orange to brown in color, and they are well formed and mature. Pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns should be clean and free of spots with deep, rich color unless you are selecting one of the white varieties, which should have little or no variation in color. They should have a hard rind and feel heavy for their size and pressing your fingernail to the side of a good pumpkin should leave little or no mark.
- Storage: Pumpkins that have spent more time on the vine and have fully cured or ripened often have greater storage potential and are less prone to rot, so often those at the farmers’ market are the best picks.
- Buying Tips:Select fruit that are large, firm, and yellow with little or no green. Quinces should be picked when full-yellow and firm. Quinces must be handled carefully as they bruise easily.
- Storage: Wrap quinces in a plastic bag and refrigerate them for up to 2 months.
- Buying Tips: Squash that have spent more time on the vine and have fully cured or ripened often have greater storage potential and are less prone to rot, so often those at the farmers’ market are the best picks.
- Storage: Winter squash should be stored at room temperature. In most cases, refrigeration will take away and or damage the flavor. However, they will keep nicely on a cool porch, as long as there is not yet any frost.
Produce has more nutrients at it’s peak; stock up and enjoy!
by Local Green Circle, September, 2009