How to tell when fruit is ripe - AmericaNowNews.com

How to tell when fruit is ripe

Buying a piece of fresh fruit can be a gamble. You never really know what you're getting until you bite or cut into it.

Nathan Lyon certainly knows his way around a farmer's market. He should. The Los Angeles-based chef, author and food show host spent 10 years working at outdoor markets selling fresh vegetables and fruits.

"Like stone fruit. Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots," says Nathan. "They can all be found at the farmer's market. But even at the farmer's market, there are very specific things to look for to bring you the best of the best."

The sub-acid or yellow nectarine is Nathan's favorite fruit. But how do you best pick out the yellow nectarine?

"What you're looking for is what you don't see in the grocery store," says Nathan. "Grocery stores offer very shiny, beautiful nectarines, right? These don't have as much flavor or sugar in them. What you're looking for is a very dull or matte skin with all these freckles all over that. These are sugar spots. This is called 'russeting' and you want a lot of russeting." 

As for peaches, Nathan says they mostly ripen from the top down.

"I love the kind of full flavor of a plum, but also a little tang at the end. So what do you look for? One of the things I'm looking for is color. If you like it a little more zingy, a slight lighter-color plum, but a little on the red side is okay. But what I like is a darker color," Nathan explains. 

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