Best Before Date on Rock Hard Fruit!!

Buy your fruit from a market, EasyT, as there are far fewer greengrocers than there used to be.  We find that fruit and veg from the market aren't chilled like the supermarkets, and we've found that things taste better, and are nearly always ripe enough when bought.  

Not only that, but vegetables don't go off as quickly - carrots stay fresh, broccoli doesn't yellow, and potatoes don't produce shoots as soon as you've turned your back on them. And, they're cheaper too - our local market stall in our local town in England today will have five peaches for a pound - all ready to eat, strawberries for a pound, and blueberries too and most other things are half the price of the supermarkets.  Even better are the market stalls in France where everything on the stall is one euro a kilo and you just fill a washing up bowl with whatever mix of fruit and/or veg you want, they weigh the bowl and charge you an overall price instead of weighing everything seperately.

Supermarkets buy in quantity, before fruit and veg are fully ripe, and keep things chilled until they.re ready to go on the shelves.  This delays ripening, but once they're out of the chiller it also speeds up decay.

Two weeks ago we purchased some "ripen at home" plums from the reduced price shelf, short use by date, from upmarket Waitrose. Guess what, they are still as hard as rock and have no flavour. About to make a batch of chutney, I suppose they can go in the pot there.

Two weeks ago we purchased some "ripen at home" plums from the reduced price shelf, short use by date, from upmarket Waitrose. Guess what, they are still as hard as rock and have no flavour. About to make a batch of chutney, I suppose they can go in the pot there.

I bought some of those too, at the reduced price - and they are currently stewing, with plenty of sugar, for a pudding this evening.  They started to wrinkle before they started to ripen!

Am I making this up, or did someone tell me that if you keep fruit near to bananas it helps them to ripen quicker??

David

I think it's the other way round, the bananas go black much more quickly

I agree about buying from markets etc. OK in some parts of the country and some towns therein. When I want to make a fruit salad for example it is in the summer (May, June, July) or late Summer Autumn (September). of these 17 weeks we are away on tour for 11 of them and not always able to find a good outlet when I want it. 

For example when we were last at Henley on Thames. The weather was very hot. We had been out in the morning for 4 hours and come 1pm decided to head back and sit in the shade with a large fruit salad and relax. We were able to source some lovely fruit. Sat down at 2pm and had a snack meal later around 6.30. Lovely.

Yes I think it is the bannanas that ripen

.. .I've just asked Carol, and she reckons that when you mix bananas and other fruit, it's the other fruit that ripens quicker.  Any other votes for either way!   

David

I suspect the supermarkets are not all that clever at what they do with fruit and vegetables.  The local Morrisons has tomatoes etc in unrefridgerated displays, yet coconuts are in the chiller!

.. .I've just asked Carol, and she reckons that when you mix bananas and other fruit, it's the other fruit that ripens quicker.  Any other votes for either way!   

David

I'm with Carol bananas ripen other fruit that's why you store them separately

Have to agree on supermarket fruit. Rock solid or wrinkled before ripening!

I'd also agree supermarkets not good at keeping fruit and vegetables.

Tomatoes shouldn't be chilled unless to slow ripening and garlic should never be in the fridge.

My rule of thumb is if it grew in the dark keep it out of the light, if it comes from warmer climes don't put in the fridge. If it needs ripen light and warmth.