Tuesday, July 25, 2023

Part 6: citrus fruits, tropical fruits, melons

Part 6: citrus fruits, tropical fruits, melons

Based on the book "Eating on the Wild Side" by Jo Robinson

Last, but certainly not least, our final fruit recommendations and produce tips for citrons, tropicals, and melons. Before I dive into this here is the list of how fruits ripen for better picking at the store.


Fruit ripening:

These are best picked when fully ripe (they do not ripen after harvest)

  • Citrus fruits

  • Berries

  • Cherries

  • Grapes

  • Pineapple

  • Pomegranates


These can be picked when semi ripe and can ripen after harvest

  • Apples

  • Apricots

  • Avocados

  • Bananas

  • Guava

  • Kiwi

  • Mango

  • Nectarine

  • Pear

  • Peach

  • Plum

  • Tomato


Recommended Citrus Fruits:

  • Blood oranges

  • Cara cara oranges

  • Valencia oranges

  • Washington navel oranges

  • Any variety of tangelos

  • Clementine

  • Satsuma

  • Tangerine

  • White, pink, and red varieties of grapefruit


Tips:

  1. The naval orange is both popular and nutritious…choose the ones with deep orange skin and flesh…if all the oranges are uniform choose the largest one

  2. Choose citrons with the most color flesh (insides) they have more nutrients

  3. Red and pink grapefruits are higher in nutrients than white ones

  4. Choose the most nutritious OJ….deep colored with pulp or fresh squeezed

  5. Choose the most ripe lemons and limes, lemons should be yellow with no traces of green, more mature limes will turn yellow and should be heavy for their size (green limes are not ready yet)

  6. Store them properly, they can be kept on the counter for a week but put in the fridge for longer storage


Recommended Tropical Fruits:

  • Baby bananas

  • Red bananas

  • Burro bananas

  • Golden extra sweet pineapples

  • Caribbean red papayas

  • Solo papayas

  • Ataulfo, Haden, Uba, and Francis mangoes

  • Red or pink guava


Tips:

  1. Extra sweet varieties of pineapple are more nutritious than traditional….look for dark green leaves with no signs of fading or browning…these are picked when ripe

  2. Papayas can finish ripening on the counter, eat them when ripe or refrigerate for a few days

  3. Eat mangoes in greater quantity…the darker the flesh the more nutrients it has…which is more than oranges and pineapples

  4. Guava is the most nutritious tropical fruit…red fleshed are the way to go, you can eat them fresh or drink juice and nectar 


Recommended Melons:

  • Small seedless watermelons

  • Pre Cut watermelon (the kind cut in half or ¼ with the rind still on)

  • Pre Cut cantaloupes (same as above)

  • Orange fleshed honeydew

  • All varieties of casabas


Tips:

  1. Most melons are refreshing but hold limited nutritional value due to their high water content which is why you want to find intense color flesh

  2. Watermelons with a deep red flesh are a good source of lycopene…small seedless are more nutritious than large…the skin of a ripe watermelon has lost its gloss and the ground spot is yellow, listen for a deep sound when you thump it

  3. Honeydew and casaba melons are the least nutritious 

  4. Scrub melons thoroughly to remove surface bacteria because they are so low in the soil they are more prone to harmful bacteria