We can use all our senses to pick the best fresh foods in stores and markets to make better meals, like knowing good peppers from bad by their look and other ways. Here are some fresh foods you can learn how to pick correctly.
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Bread
Look for the label and ingredients and find bread made from whole wheat flour because it’s rich in vitamins and fiber and better than enriched white flour. Press the bread, if it springs back, it’s fresh and well made. If not, it wasn’t baked properly or was frozen before.
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Chicken
You can tell if chicken pieces are good by skin color. If it’s yellow or light brown, it’s not healthy. Good chicken has skin from white to light brown. The meat is moist, no blood, firm, and edges should look dry. Check the packing date. Don’t buy if it’s over two days old.
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Watermelon
Check the stem end if it's brown and dry it means the watermelon is ripe and ready to eat. The yellow spots on the watermelon should be dark. Tap the watermelon, if the sound is dull and echo-like it means it's unripe. But if the sound is sharp, the watermelon is ripe and you can buy and enjoy it.
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Tomatoes
If you want to buy tomatoes it's better to get unpackaged ones because you can't check if they're fresh otherwise. Also, packed tomatoes have different ripeness in each fruit.
If you're buying tomatoes from the market, they should have smooth skin and smell like tomatoes when you sniff them. If there's no smell, they're not ripe yet.
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Cantaloupe
The cantaloupe skin shouldn't just be green, it can be yellow too which means it's riper.
To check ripeness hold the cantaloupe and press the side. If it wobbles it's ripe. If you press both sides and hear water inside, it's overripe. But if it's just soft, it's good to eat.
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Bell pepper
Check the pepper's skin. If the color is deep and there are no spots, it's good.
Look at the bottom of the pepper. If it has two or three bumps, it'll be more bitter than one with four.
A pepper with four bumps has fewer seeds and that's better for cooking.
If the pepper's stem is green and crunchy, it's ripe.
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Fish
Look at the fish's eyes. They should be clear and shiny black. If the skin feels dull or slimy, the fish isn't fresh. The skin should feel smooth, and the flesh should be firm but smooth and elastic. If you pick fillet fish, pressing it with your finger shouldn't leave a mark.
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Cucumber
Big cucumbers taste bitter and have lots of seeds.
Pick cucumbers that are 15 to 20 cm long. They have more flesh, fewer seeds, and better taste.
If the cucumber stem is green, it's unripe.
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Banana
Choose banana bunches with stem color from green to light yellow.
If the banana has many brown spots, it means it's very ripe.
Always pick bananas in bunches, not single fruits. Bananas in bunches last longer.
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White honey (bee honey)
Bee honey comes in many colors, but the best is the opaque one. It's more natural and less processed.
Honey should be kept at low temperatures.
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Lettuce
Look for lettuce with edges that aren't brown and leaves that are bright light or dark.
Check the lettuce for holes or damaged leaves and don’t buy it if you find any.
The outer leaves should be firm.
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Canned goods
Check the can’s seal well and don’t buy if the can is big or rusty.
Look at the label and read the info, watch the added sugar and salt amounts , they shouldn't be high.
It's better to buy canned food in water or its own juice and contains low amounts of preservatives.
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Cheese
Cheese with a wide rind is not fresh.
Cheese always needs moisture.
Having liquid on cheese means it had an oily layer on the rind that turned liquid with temperature changes.
