Whether it’s once or twice a week, stopping by the supermarket to pick up groceries is a routine task. You may want to pick up some fresh produce, but with all the items on your grocery list, it can feel overwhelming to pick the best produce during your grocery runs. That’s why we help make produce shopping easy—getting your fruits and vegetables in doesn’t have to be hard when you know what you’re looking for!
Produce is Essential to Your Grocery List
We don’t have to convince you that fruits and vegetables are integral to a balanced and healthy diet. Shopping for produce is important, but even more important is knowing how to pick the best fruits and vegetables to have yummy food and avoid premature ripening.
8 Ways to Conquer Produce Shopping
When you stroll through the produce department, there are so many colors, sizes, and shapes to choose from. How do you know which one is perfectly ripe and ready to eat? We’ve outlined eight ways to shop for produce like a pro.
1. Stick to In-Season Picks
We preach it here at Ward’s, but it’s universally known that fresh is best when it comes to your produce picks. You don’t have to be a produce expert, but knowing when fruits and veggies are in season will help you greatly when you craft your grocery list. In-season produce is fresher, tastier, and is priced lower.
Not sure what’s in-season? You can find out what is through this seasonal food calendar!
2. Add Variety to Your List
When it comes to buying produce, it’s important to shop for all of the colors in the produce section. Different-colored vegetables and fruits have different nutrients that will help you achieve a more nutritionally balanced diet. So don’t only shop for greens or stick to picking up only red fruits. Show love to all sorts of fruits and veggies (the oranges, the yellows, and the purples)!
3. Pick Based on the Right Ripeness
There is a common misconception that you always want to purchase ripe fruit. The question becomes, ripe or not ripe yet? It truly depends on when you plan on using and eating these items in your meals. If you are preparing your produce the same day you purchased it, you want it as ripe as possible. Ripe fruit or vegetables will give a little when squeezed, and you’ll smell a sweet fragrance.
If you are purchasing produce days before you plan to prepare it, you’ll want your produce slightly underripe. It should give off a slight fragrance, but not as strong as ripe fruit.
Avoid overripe fruits and vegetables, as they can quickly spoil (unless you plan to make banana bread, of course).
Ripening Tips:
- Some fruits like nectarines, mangos, and peaches will ripen faster if you put them in a paper bag. But you can keep these same fruits fresh for 2 weeks if you put them in the fridge inside a plastic bag.
- Refrigerating fruit will slow the ripening process, so if you want the fruit to ripen, you should leave it on the counter.
4. The Choice Between Pre-Cut & Whole
You’ll have plenty of options when you are shopping for produce. You can opt for whole fruits and vegetables or choose pre-cut packaged produce. While pre-cut produce is easier to manage and makes preparing produce much quicker, fruits and vegetables retain the most nutrients when they are whole, rather than cut. The skin of our favorite produce items actually helps lock in flavor and nutrients, while cut-up produce loses portions of its nutrients once it is cut and then packaged.
5. Don’t Judge Produce By its Cover
Just because it’s not the prettiest peach in the pile doesn’t mean it’s worth any less. Ugly produce can taste just as good (if not better!) than the prettiest options. You can’t judge produce solely on appearance. Your produce should have a nice, firm outer skin and be heavy for its size. Don’t always reach for the biggest one—pick it up, and if you are surprised by its weight, then that’s the one to choose!
6. Ask for Help
When in doubt, ask one of our amazing team members for help. Our staff would be more than happy to help you find what you need while you are looking for produce. You can ask if it’s ripe or if it’s in season. Produce will be labeled with important information, such as whether it’s organic or local.
7. Buy Only What You Need
It’s extremely important that you only buy the produce you need. Stick to your list, and it will make it easier to shop. Plus, you won’t be throwing out old produce! Don’t waste produce because you couldn’t eat it in time. Make sure to only purchase a week’s worth of produce at a time. Any longer, and it may not stay fresh long enough to enjoy.
8. Wash Your Produce
Last, but certainly not least, always wash your produce. A rinse with running water is a must once you are ready to enjoy your freshly bought fruits and vegetables. Even if you plan to cut or discard the skin of your produce, there can still be contact from your knife with the skin when you cut into the center. It’s better to err on the side of caution and wash your produce.
Shop Fresh, Local, and Organic Produce at Ward’s Supermarket
Don’t stress about shopping for produce! It’s easy to enjoy yummy produce without dreading the supermarket. Stop by Ward’s Supermarket for fresh, local, and organic options in our amazing produce department. We also have weekly ads with regular sales on fresh produce—check them out to see if your favorite fruits and veggies are on sale!
