With produce prices on the rise, it's important to buy good fruits and vegetables to get your money's worth.
* Celery will keep longer if you remove the celery from the plastic bag it came in and wrap tightly in aluminum foil and store in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator. The celery should last about 3 weeks longer if you keep re-wrapping it tightly.
* When buying apples be sure they are not missing their stems. Apples without stems will go bad very quickly.
* When Bell peppers – green, red or orange are priced by pound, pick
the pepper based on the lightest weight. The lightest peppers
have less seeds. Not necessary to pay for seeds you won’t be
eating. You will see a big difference in price of two equally sized
peppers if you weigh them on the produce scale. The pepper with
more seeds can cost up to 50% more than the hollow pepper.
* Buy firm squash, zucchini and eggplant. Soft or wrinkled will not last very long.
* When buying a head of iceburg lettuce, which is usually priced by head and not weight. Pick the one that feels the heaviest and most densely packed. You will get more salads from it as oppose to the lighter one.
* When buying fresh mushrooms in a cellophane wrapped container, remove and keep them unwashed and place them in a brown paper bag in the refrigerator. The brown paper bag will not create any moisture for the mushrooms to spoil.
* Cauliflower will last longer when it is firm and has no space between the floret heads. The leaves should be green and fresh. Stay away from the cauliflower that has small dark brown spots which is a sign of spoilage.
* Broccoli should have stalks that are not to tough but firm. The leaves should be very green and crisp. The florets - "little trees" - should be dark green and should not have any spots of yellow.
* Onions should be heavy for their size with dry, papery skins with no signs of spotting or moistness. Stay away from from soft or sprouting onions. There should be no onion smell if so they are probably bruised.
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