Only if you want the farmers to shoot you with their piercing laser eyes, other than dropping it on the ground and putting it back for someone else to buy while you go ahead and pick another piece of fruit, there is nothing worse that you can do. Sure, you can squeeze it to test if it is ripe, but you better buy every piece you touch.
There are other ways to pick fruit. How about smell? If a peach smells like a peach, a sweet peach, then it is ready to eat. Even apples smell like apples at the farmers’ market. It’s the ones you find at the super market that have wax on them that are difficult to smell. Citrus fruit as well, they will usually taste like they smell. The more fragrant they are, the better they will taste hence the sweeter the aroma, the sweeter the taste.
How about the color? Let’s refer back to the peach. The more red you have, the more ripe and sweet it will tend to be. If you have green near the stem, then put it back. This also goes for apples and pears that you will find at the farmers’ market now. If you are picking Pink Ladies, then pick those that have a darker hue of pink and no green near the stem. Pears follow the same principle unless of course they are naturally supposed to be green.
Persimmons are at the peak of the season right now. With the Hachiya, apply these principles but the Fuyu are to be eaten firm, however, if you can get them a darker orange and a little soft, then you will be blown away by the flavor.
And a last tip, don’t put bruises on an avocado either. If you want them just ripe with still a bit of texture, wiggle the little piece of stem and it should wiggle just a little bit. If you wiggle the stem gently and it just about falls off, then it will be soft and ready for guacamole.
Maru Restaurant is located at 24250 Town Center Drive in Valencia. For more information, please call 661-290-2595 and visit www.MaruValencia.com .