Fruit Quality

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GinaShw Wednesday, June 22, 2005 11:09 AM Re:

[Rawschool] Fruit/veg Quality

Hi Nathan,

 

I do like your sense of humour, but there is also a more serious side to

this issue nonetheless. When we eat poor quality/over-ripe fruit, over-eat

on fruit or eat fruit in poor food combinations (i.e. fruit should be eaten

on it's own on an empty stomach), we end up with poisons in our body which

our body then has to eliminate or may be forced to store (without causing

harm when possible when there is insufficient vital energy). These poisons

include alcohol, acetic acid, excess carbon dioxide, etc. in the case of

fermented sugars. Unfortunately, one of the biggest causes of disease in my

opinion is fermenting and putrefying foods which damage the intestines and

cause disease in many vital organs/tissue areas.

 

Warm wishes,

Gina

 

Dr Gina Shaw

http://www.vibrancy.homestead.com/pageone.html

_____

Hi everyone,

Been noticing this thread on food quality and would just like to offer a

coupe of comments.

 

First, as a matter of sheer volume, the problem of underripe fruit dwarfs

any issues about overripe fruit. Underripe fruit is everywhere, almost all

farmers now pick their fruit not only underripe, but significantly so. This

is true even at the farmers markets. Farmers fear damage to their products

in transit, and they also have learned, sometimes unpleasantly, that most

Americans have been totally trained to search for the " best looking " fruits

rather than the healthiest ones.

 

Second, the best fruits are those of interest to the insects. Finding these

fruits is generally quite simple, particularly for those fruits with heavy

rinds or skins. Look for lots of " scratching " in the surface, often called

" bee scratchings. " This is an almost sure sign that the fruit is at least

reasonably ripe. If you have a choice between fruit with such scratchings

and " unblemished " fruit, take the scratchings every time.

 

Third, feel the weight of the fruit. Ripe fruit is heavy, it is loaded with

water during the ripening process. This is true even for less watery fruits,

such as bananas. And it is true for the fruits we sometimes call

" veggie-fruits, " such as cucumbers and zucchini. If you can hold two items

in your hands, of substantially similar size, and one is heavier yet still

of the " right consistency " for that fruit, then take the heavier one every

time.

 

Fourth, ASK ASK ASK for " overripe " fruits. Ask the farmers, ask the produce

manager, ask anyone you can think of to ask. What they perceive as overripe,

we typically perceive as almost ripe. We save an ENORMOUS amount of money

this way, buying what the farmers and stores believe will no longer sell and

fear they will have to trash. Examples:

 

- We have become friends with the produce manager at a small local store.

Now, every time HIS banana distributor has " overripe " bananas, he tells us,

and we routinely buy 40-pound cases of bananas for less than $1-=$20/box,

i.e., 25-50 cents per pound. Not always, but frequently. And these bananas

are sometimes a bit spotted, sometimes not that far along. Works brilliantly

if you have a couple of people sharing, so that each can take a partial

case. (Of course for us, we eat so many bananas that the partial case issue

is moot.)

 

- There is a farmer who grows dry-farmed tomatoes, and every year at the

farmer's market he brings cases of " overripe " tomatoes. I often buy his $40

cases for $15-$20, half price. And these are FABULOUS tomatoes, perfectly

ripe, perfect in every way. People fall over when they taste them, they're

so good!

 

Fifth, look at the stems on the fruits. In general, these should never be

green. When the stems start turning reddish, then brownish and woody

colored, the fruits are becoming ripe. It's really easy to observe this

transformation by sorting through a bin of apples. And related to stems,

ripe fruits typically separate easily from their stems, without pulling,

cutting, etc. They are ready to fall off on their own.

 

Sixth, regarding bananas in particular, as I wrote in a previous post, most

bananas available in American stores nowadays MUST be somewhat spotted or

they are simply underripe. This is not because Nature designed them this

way, but rather because of premature picking, hybridization practices, etc.

If you are in Hawai'i or parts of Florida, things may be different.

 

Seventh, regarding citrus, to the best of my knowledge no green citrus is

ripe. All tangerines and oranges should be orange (except blood

oranges,which have partial pomegranate coloring), grapefruits yellow-orange

to reddish, lemons bright yellow, and limes fully yellow. Satsuma tangerines

are best when the skins have separated from the fruit.

 

Eighth, regarding certain stone and core fruits, some spotting is a good

thing. This is particularly so for pears and nectarines. Blemishes are

irrelevant, check for heaviness, which indicates fullness of water.

 

Ninth, regarding melons, these should be firm at both ends (stem and

opposite) and heavy with water. Many of the best melons exhibit extensive

bee scratching.

 

Hope these quick notes are helpful.

Elchanan

 

 

 

 

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