FRUIT & FRUIT DRINK TIPS

Apple and Pear tips

Whenever possible, buy local apples and pears in season. Ask your supermarket to stock traditional local varieties, sourced locally and not sent via distant distribution centres.
Buy fruit direct from the producer. The Soil Association (tel 0044 117 929 0661) has a directory of local food schemes such as organic food boxes and farm shops. Find out if your area has a farmers' market - contact the Environment Co-ordinator at your local authority.

Celebrate Apple Day on October 21st

Plant your own apple or pear tree(s). Look for a traditional variety from your area.

Choosing and preparing fruit tips

To see if a pineapple is ripe, see if you can pull out one of the leaves at the top. The pineapple will also have a golden tone to it.
For a great tasting watermelon, hold the melon to your ear and knock on it. The more hallow it sounds, the better it will taste. You may get some strange looks.
Strawberries seem to spoil very quickly. Here is an old tip my mother taught me... Remove the leaves and stem of the berries. Wash and place them in a colander. Pour BOILING water over the strawberries. This will kill the bacteria that molds the berries. Place the strawberries in a plastic container in the refrigerator. They will last twice as long.
Keep scissors from sticking to dried fruit when you cut it by spraying the scissors with cooking spray.
To ripen fruit quickly (such as pears which take a long time to ripen) place the unripe fruit in a paper lunch sack along with a banana. Fold sack closed and check next day or two & fruit will be ripe & ready to eat! Works great.
To see if cherries have worms in them... place them in water. If they float they have worms in them.
Buy fruit in season and jar or can for use in the winter. Buy it before it is ripe and ripen at home in a bowl or bag.
Slightly bumped or bruised fruit shouldn't be wasted. Put the fruit in a blender with some vanilla yogurt or low fat ice cream, skim milk, crushed ice and a pinch of sugar.
To pick a sweet cantaloupe, look for the one with small, tight netting on the skin and it should smell sweet. If the seeds rattle, it may be overripe.
To get more juice from lemons first soak them in hot water for a few seconds. Then roll them before squeezing.