11 Tips That Teach Us How to Always Pick the Best Summer Fruit and Berries—Even When They All Look Perfect on the Outside

It’s generally believed that ripe raspberries should be a rich red color. But when you’re choosing a box of these berries at the store, it’s good to remember that color isn’t the most reliable sign. An unripe or spoiled berries can have the same shade. It’s better to look for white or green spots on the fruit.

Unlike some other berries, raspberries don’t continue to ripen after they’re picked. White and green spots show that the raspberries weren’t fully ripe. The stem and a damaged top of the berry can point to the same thing, since a ripe raspberry separates easily from its stem.

• I bought a couple of containers of raspberries at a little shop. They smelled so amazing, my mouth was watering! I decided to share some berries with my mother-in-law.
  I happily ran over to her, and she said, “All right, I’ll make jam!” I was puzzled: the raspberries looked good! Then my mother-in-law pointed to the container and said, “They’ve already started to go bad — look at the bottom. There’s juice sitting there.”
  So we picked out the good berries together and made jam with the rest.

In midsummer, bright, mouthwatering nectarines start showing up on store shelves and at markets. But don’t judge the fruit by its color — that’s not the best indicator. It’s better to smell it. When nectarines give off a rich, sweet aroma, they’re ripe.

Also, gently feel the fruit near the stem. A ripe nectarine will feel like a slightly deflated tennis ball.

Even kitties love gooseberries.

Ripe gooseberries will have an almost translucent skin, with seeds and veins visible underneath, as well as dry stems. If the stems have darkened and become damp, the berries have most likely already spoiled, so it’s best not to buy them.

Fresh, ripe sweet cherries will have a slight spring to them when gently pressed between your fingers. If the fruit is too soft, it means it has been sitting on the store shelf for a while or is overripe.

Brown, dry stems are another sign of the same thing. Those cherries were picked long ago and may have already started to ferment a little. If the stems are gone and juice has appeared in their place on the fruit, it’s best to be cautious — the cherries have most likely gone bad.

Sweet, ripe apricots will have a rich orange and golden color with no hints of green, while a dull yellow shade is a sign to be cautious. Fresh apricots also have firm skin without wrinkles or dents. If their appearance doesn’t give a clear clue, you can simply smell them — fresh, ripe apricots will have a rich floral aroma.

• My daughter kept turning up her nose at apricots. I’d buy them, and she wouldn’t eat them. I tried them myself — they were good!
  One day my mother-in-law stopped by and brought 2 pounds from the store. And my child was gobbling them up like there’s no tomorrow! How is that possible?
  I asked my mother-in-law, and she smiled and said, “You buy them a little underripe, and Kate isn’t really into sour things. Pick the brighter ones!” Now I buy the unripe ones for myself and different ones for my daughter.

Not everyone enjoys picking blueberries in the forest, and in some areas they don’t grow at all. If you’re looking for good berries on store shelves, it’s worth paying attention to their appearance. Fresh, ripe blueberries will have a rich dark blue color with no hints of pink or red.

It’s best to choose berries covered with a silvery bloom. This natural barrier protects the blueberries. If it hasn’t rubbed off, it means the fruit was picked fairly recently, wasn’t stored in multiple containers, and wasn’t mixed with other berries.

• I spotted blueberries at the store. Big, bright ones — absolutely gorgeous! I immediately grabbed a box of berries, thinking about how I was going to eat them. And the price was good, too.
  Suddenly someone behind me said, “You’d better put those back!” I turned around in amazement, and a stranger whispered, “See how they don’t have that natural bloom on them? They’ve probably been sitting in storage for a long time. Better get the raspberries — they’re fresh!”

My favorite dessert

If the grapes are covered with a thin white film that easily wipes off with your finger and has no unpleasant smell, you’ve got good grapes in front of you. This waxy coating is a natural protective barrier that helps shield the berries from pests, which means the grapes haven’t been stored for too long and the bunch hasn’t traveled a long way to reach the store shelf.

Another way to check freshness is to look at how many grapes are sitting at the bottom of the container. If there are too many, that’s not a great sign. The stem should be green and firm, with no brown spots. You can try gently bending it.

A peach’s firmness and appearance are the first clues to its ripeness and freshness. But you don’t need to firmly squeeze the fruit in your hand — that can only damage it.

It’s better to gently press the peach with your thumb and index finger near the stem and check whether it has enough give. If the fruit has spots where juice is seeping through, or if the stem has even a touch of mold, that peach belongs in the compost pile. If the stem is light yellow, the fruit isn’t ripe yet.

Some lucky folks don’t have to buy currants at the store at all — they grow right in their summer gardens. For everyone else, choosing good berries at the market comes down to 2 simple things: the stems and the surface of the berries.

The stems should be green and fresh, and the berries should be dry and glossy. If the currants in the container have released juice and are sticking together, the berries have most likely already gone bad.

I rarely get watermelon, so when I do, I go a bit overboard!

What could be tastier than a juicy, slightly sweet slice of watermelon enjoyed on a bench by the sea? But picking a really ripe one is a next-level challenge. For example, even experts sometimes can’t tell how good a watermelon is just by tapping it, so it’s better to look for other signs.

We grew a giant watermelon.

A ripe watermelon will have a deep yellow spot on one side, covered with a web-like pattern. That’s the side the watermelon was resting on while it grew. Ripe fruit also separates from the plant on its own when the stem dries out and shrivels. If the stem shows signs of being torn and still looks fresh, the fruit won’t be tasty.

You can also feel the watermelon. Fully ripened watermelon develops raised ridges on the rind. You can see something similar, though more pronounced, on pomegranates.

While on vacation, you just want to treat yourself to delicious, juicy plums. To find truly good fruit, pay attention to a few details. A ripe plum will have sides covered with a light bloom, and its stem will be brown and dry. If the stem is green, the plum has been picked too early and will taste sour.