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Fruits are great sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals. One serving equals about 60 calories and is virtually fat-free, so fruits can help you control your weight and reduce your risk of weight-related diseases. Here are suggestions to help you select the highest quality fruits when shopping, and store them once you get home.
Selecting
1.
Choose in-season fruits. Generally, the closer you are to the source and the season, the fresher the produce and the better it tastes.
2. Select fruits that feel heavy for their size. Heaviness is a sign of juiciness.
3. Smell fruits for characteristic aromas. Fruits should generally have their characteristic ripe scent but not smell overly ripe.
4. Test the texture. An apple that feels mushy to the touch probably is too ripe.
5. However, an avocado with a somewhat spongy texture is ideal.
6. Read the labels on packaged fruits. Look for frozen fruits processed without added sugar. Choose fruit canned in water or fruit juice.
Storing
1. Keep fruits at room temperature to ripen them. Fruits such as bananas, pears, nectarines and kiwi may be picked early and sold at grocery stores before they're ripe. To ripen, leave the fruit out of the refrigerator for several days.
2. Store ripe fruits in the refrigerator. The cool temperature slows the ripening process, giving you longer storage times. The length of time you can store fruit depends on the type of fruit and how ripe it is at the time of purchase.
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3. Throw away produce you've kept too long. Discard fruit that's moldy or slimy, smells bad, or is past the "best if used by" date on package.
4. Freeze fruits for long-term storage. You can freeze many types of fruit for up to one year. Grapes, cherries, berries and melon freeze particularly well. For best results, cut larger fruit into smaller chunks and remove the skin of peaches, apples and nectarines before freezing. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Once frozen, take the fruit off the cookie sheet and put into freezer bags for long-term storage.
Fresh fruit is best, but frozen fruits with no added sugar and fruits canned in their own juice or water are also excellent. If you're losing weight, use fruit juice and dried fruits, such as raisins and prunes, sparingly because they're a concentrated source of calories. That is, they have a higher energy density than fresh produce.
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