Fresh vegetables and fruits:
ASPARAGUS - Stalks should be tender and firm. Tips should be close and compact. Choose the stalks with very little white -they are more tender, Use asparagus soon -it toughens rapidly.
BEANS, SNAP - Those with small seeds inside the pods are best. Avoid beans with dry-looking pods.
BERRIES - Select plump solid berries with good color. Avoid stained containers indicating wet or leaky berries. Berries such as blackberries and raspberries with clinging caps may be under-ripe. Strawberries without caps may be too ripe.
BROCCOLI, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, AND CAULIFLOWER - Flower clusters on broccoli and cauliflower should be tight and close together. Brussels sprouts should be firm and compact. Smudgy dirty spots may indicate insects.
CABBAGE AND HEAD LETTUCE - Choose heads heavy for size. Avoid cabbage with worm holes, lettuce with discoloration or soft rot.
CUCUMBERS - Choose long slender cucumbers for best quality. May be dark or medium green but yellowed ones are undesirable.
MELONS - In cantaloupes thick close netting on the rind indicates best quality. Cantaloupes are ripe when the stem scar is smooth and space between the netting is yellow or yellow-green. They are best to eat when fully ripe with fruity odor. Honeydews are ripe when rind has creamy to yellowish color and velvety texture. Immature honeydews are whitish-green. Ripe watermelons have some yellow color on one side. If melons are white or pale green on one side they are not ripe.
ORANGES, GRAPEFRUIT AND LEMONS - Choose those heavy for their size. Smoother thinner skins usually indicate more juice. Most skin markings do not affect quality. Oranges with a slight greenish tinge may be just as ripe as fully colored ones. Light or greenish-yellow lemons are more tart than deep yellow ones. Avoid citrus fruits showing withered, sunken or soft areas on it.
PEAS AND LIMA BEANS - Select pods that are well-filled but not bulging. Avoid dried. spotted. yellowed or flabby pods
ROOT VEGETABLES - Should be smooth and firm. Very large carrots may have woody cores. Over-sized radishes may be pithy. Over-sized turnips, beets, and parsnips may be woody. Fresh carrot tops usually mean fresh carrots. but condition of leaves on most other root vegetables does not indicate degree of freshness.
SWEET POTATOES - Porto Rico and Nancy Hall varieties -with bronze to rosy skins- are soft and sweet when cooked. Yellow to light-brown ones of the Jersey, types are firmer and less moist.