Fruit quality

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GinaShw Thursday, June 23, 2005 6:03 AM Re:

[Rawschool] Fruit/veg quality

 

Elchanan: I agree that fruit is picked off far too early but this, in turn,

makes it very difficult to know when things are too ripe (or just rotting in

fact) and obviously affects the quality generally. You probably get fresher

foods where you are (the U.S., I think), so it's easier to eat fruits which

are very ripe (when you can get them, point noted), but I can't get away

with it over here!

 

Warm wishes to all,

Gina

 

Dr Gina Shaw

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

_____

Actually, Gina, overripeness is as close to a phantom problem as just about

anything I have encountered. In my experience here in the US and overseas,

farmers pick fruit in an underripe state. Although I agree that eating

overripe fruit causes digestive upset and potentially more if done

chronically, from a pragmatic perspective, this is simply a nonissue. The

only places I know where one can get consistently overripe fruit are either

(1) at the source, or (2) in one's own kitchen.

 

You are correct, here in California, at least at the farmers markets, we

probably get one of the finest selections or organic fruits available

anywhere other than in the tropics. Yet here, as elsewhere, the vast

majority of the fruits are picked underripe. This is an artifact of the

present-day state of the business of agriculture.

 

The important point I wish to reiterate is that we have all been trained to

believe that underripe fruit is ripe fruit. What farmers and stores

generally call " overripe " is, in fact, in the vicinity of ripe -- that is

EXACTLY the fruit we should buy them out of. Fruits that are somewhat

scratched, blemished, blotchy, etc. ARE the ripe fruits, unless they are so

far gone that they are clearly turning gelatinous.

 

Furthermore, bruises are almost never a reason to avoid a particular piece

of fruit. If the rest of the piece is fine, then eat the fruit.

 

Finally, I honestly cannot imagine how one could have difficulty

distinguishing between significantly underripe, overripe, and rotting

fruits. These are all dramatically different in feel (harness/softness),

weight (water content), smell, and sometimes also in color, texture, etc.

The only challenges I can really imagine would arise either (1) when a

person really does not know how to distinguish these things - but this can

be learned, or (2) when a fruit is " close " or " borderline " between two of

the three states mentioned above. But in the latter case, again, knowledge

is the solution.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

 

 

 

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