If we want to get the most from our fruit we need to select
the best we can.
I have survived for 12 years on a fruit diet but I know that
this has only been possible because I have been fortunate enough to have
developed the skills to choose good fruit.
Anyone can become a good fruit picker. We need to rely on
our senses plus that certain instinctive awareness that directs us to the
tastiest melon or ripest pear.
All fruit lets us know of its ripeness and quality by
certain signs, when we can read these signs then we are assured of quality
fruit.
Sight, smell, touch and taste are all important factors and
this web page will look at each and give tips for tip top fruit picking!
SIGHT.
Humans are very visual creatures. Maybe this is to do with
our frugivorous nature. We need to be able to spy those colourful fruits high
up in the trees.
We rely so much for our existance on the information that
reaches us through our eyes. Blindness is often feared far more than deafness
by the sighted because we depend so much on it for survival.
Sight is therefore very important in fruit selection.
We can learn cues and signals from the way fruit looks that
will help us to judge the way it will taste and also the fruit's quality.
The more we eat and enjoy fruit and the more selection we
carry out, the more these signals will be stored in our brains.
If we enjoy deeply coloured mangoes and they tase ripe and
good then the next mango picked from the tree or supermarket will be the one
with the deepest hue.
We need to appreciate what colours work for what type and
variety of fruit.
For example a Persimmon may be at its peak when it is a deep
almost translucient orangey red.
One variety of mango may be best when it is a dark green
whilst another may be better when its skin shows yellow.
MARKS ON THE
SKIN.
Marks on the skin can also be a show of ripeness and
excellence.
We need to be able to distinguish the difference between
marks that are an indication of maturity and blemishes which are a sign of
over-ripeness or damage.
Examples of good
marks are those little rough brown marks on properly vine-ripened grapes.
They show that the fruit has been allowed to ripen properly
and has got a lot of sunshine.
Similar marks can be found on apple skins. Often the more
interesting marks on the skin the better the fruit is.
Bad marks are bruises and soft-spots, a sign the fruit has
been mishandled at some stage in its lifetime.
Also look out for holes in the skin, they are a sign that
something has already had its bite of your dinner.
I love Fruit-Gazing ; looking at the colours and form of a
piece of fruit before I actually eat it. Sometimes it is hard to eat such a
beautiful object. Then the sense of smell may kick in and fire up the salivary
glands as the fruit says ' Come on you idiot eat me and spread my seeds for
goodness sake!'
SMELL.
Not all fruit relies on its visual brilliance to attract
potential seed spreaders. Some fruits give off a wonderful aroma once they are
ready to be eaten.
Probably the most notorious of the odourous fruits is the
Durian. Personally I love the smell of the durian and my tastebuds worship its
multifaceted flavours.
When the durian is ripe it falls from the tree. Hopefully
not on your head as durians are a tad spiney. (Durian translates as thornfruit
in Indonesian).
Once it has fallen it may lie unobtrusively on the forest
floor; there is nothing unobtrusive about its smell however and this smell will
alert the durian lover to the spoils.
The quality and ripeness of the durian therefore can be
determined by its smell.
Other wonderfully smelling fruits include the mango
which also advertises it presence visually in a wealth of yellows, oranges and
reds and also the guava ; my son has smelt out his dinner from guava trees as
the scent wafts ahead of the visual recognition.
Smell is so important in identifying great fruit, it helps
us determine ripeness, quality and flavour and also shows if the fruit is
overripe or rotten. Fermentation can be smelt and indicates that a fruit is past its best before it is
purchased or eaten.
Pineapples, melons and mangoes will all smell vinegary and
sour if they are overripe.
Smell is a prelude to taste and gets the salivary glands
going ready for digestion. If you start to salivate when you smell a fruit then
it is a strong sign that your body thinks the fruit will be good for you to
eat.
Two Fruit Lovers Share Some Tasty Avocado!
