How to choose vegetables and fruits in a store or at a market?

Pesticides are substances used to get rid of weeds, as well as a preventive measure that stops the development of diseases and the attack of pests. For those who grow fruits and vegetables on an industrial scale, diseases, pests, and weeds are a danger, because they reduce the amount of the harvest, which means money is lost. In pursuit of a larger quantity of "quality" harvest, producers resort to various measures, among which is treating the produce with pesticides.

Pesticides are very harmful to the human body, but they make the production of vegetables and fruits cheaper and easier, which is exactly what many producers take advantage of. In the human body, pesticides can accumulate, which leads to gradual poisoning of the body and a decrease in immunity. In addition to pesticides, consumers are also endangered by nitrates – fertilizers containing nitric acid. It is believed that nitrates themselves do not harm the body, since they are excreted in urine; however, in the intestines they can convert into nitrites and other salts, which already have a harmful effect on the human body, causing cell mutation and the formation of cancerous tumours.

Buy certain vegetables and fruits only during the season of their natural ripening in nature. For example, tomatoes bought in winter and in late summer differ strikingly in taste. Watermelons especially should be bought only when they ripen under natural conditions, although the shelves are packed with this delicacy much earlier. You should not give in to temptation and buy a watermelon, because it may contain harmful substances that are added to speed up ripening.

In January and February, buy white cabbage and Brussels sprouts, shallots, parsnips, and citrus fruits. In March it is worth refraining from buying vegetables and fruits, since this month is not a seasonal one. In April you can include radishes and spinach leaves in your diet. In summer the choice is large: you can enjoy tomatoes, cucumbers, red peppers, courgettes, apricots, and various berries. In September you can eat carrots, pumpkin, courgettes, bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, aubergines, apples, plums, figs, pears, watermelons, and melons. In October the choice begins to narrow: among those still allowed are tomatoes, pumpkin, carrots, cabbage, and turnips. In winter you can include Brussels sprouts, pumpkin, turnips, leeks, persimmon, quince, pomegranate, and citrus in your diet.

Be sceptical about a drop in price. Usually a seller lowers the price when he needs to quickly get rid of goods that have begun to spoil. If you do decide to buy cheap vegetables or fruits, choose them more carefully.

People are made in such a way that they are attracted to everything beautiful. Sellers of vegetables and fruits know this very well, so they try by every means to give the products a marketable appearance. However, you must not fall for their tricks, because vegetables and fruits that ripen under natural conditions are often far from the standards of "beauty". Usually they reach an average size, have hollows and irregularities, and a not-too-saturated colour. If on the counter you see a large apple of ideal shape, without irregularities, with a shiny glossy skin – in short, a real "juicy apple" – walk past it. The large size and ideal shape are hardly the result of the work of Mother Nature; most likely the reason lies in the generous use of fertilisers.

A beautiful glossy surface is the result of treating the fruit with paraffin and other agents that prevent rot and make the produce more attractive to the buyer. Along with this, the product also receives a portion of "poison". In a store or at a market, always pay attention to vegetables and fruits of medium size, irregular shape, with ordinary, non-glossy skin. Smell the fruit. Normally it should have a natural smell, which is especially strong if you bring your nose to the stem. The absence of a smell indicates that the product has been treated, so it is not worth buying.

Give preference to locally produced vegetables and fruits. They reach the shelves of stores and markets in the shortest possible time, because long transportation is not required. This means that, to extend the storage life, the product is not treated with paraffin and other agents, because it does not have time to spoil. The fruit also ripens under the most natural conditions – on the stem or on the branch, and not on the road.

When choosing between several fruits, be guided by weight. Suppose you cannot settle on one of two apples. Take each one in a separate hand and estimate which of them is heavier. Take the heavier one, since its weight means that it has retained more moisture, which indicates its freshness.

If you have any doubts about the truthfulness of the seller's words or about the quality of the products, ask for the official documents containing all the information about the goods.

The vegetables and fruits considered the most "contaminated" with harmful substances are: peaches, apples and pears, strawberries, potatoes, peppers, grapes, sweet cherries, and sour cherries. For this reason, you need to approach the choice of these products very carefully, and it is better to refuse to buy some of them altogether. Among the "cleanest" vegetables and fruits are the following: pineapple, avocado, mango, watermelon, tangerines, oranges, kiwi, onion, corn, cabbage, and aubergine.

The most important thing to pay attention to when choosing potatoes is their colour. Potatoes should not be green. The root vegetable takes on a greenish tint when, during sprouting and storage in the light, it begins to produce solanine – an organic poison. Do not buy potatoes that are too large, because inside they may turn out to be rotten. Refuse to buy a root vegetable with a large number of little holes, which may mean that the wireworm has feasted on the product.

It is best to buy potatoes in bulk from people who have their own smallholding. Then you will have more confidence that the potatoes were not treated with "poisons" during cultivation. If you still have to buy the root vegetable in a store, carry out a little test – pierce the skin with your nail. If you hear a juicy crunch, you can be sure that there are no pesticides in the potatoes.

On store counters you can often see carrots of gigantic size. Do not rush to take such a vegetable – it was not done without a generous addition of fertilisers. Choose carrots of a medium, "natural" size. Take the vegetable in your hands and squeeze it: it should be firm and hard. Dark spots on the surface indicate that the carrot has begun to rot from the inside.

Choose medium-sized apples; specimens that are too large often grow because of the use of an excessive amount of fertilisers. Pay attention to the skin: it should not have a glossy shine, which is a sign that the fruit has been treated with paraffin. You can make sure of paraffin treatment with a simple experiment: cover the fruit with water, and if an oily film appears on the surface of the water, then treatment has taken place. The shape of the fruit may be irregular, with bulges, which may indicate natural cultivation.

The shelf life of cucumbers is quite short – only a few weeks. For this reason, the vegetables are often treated with agents that slow down the processes of rotting and increase the storage life. Treated cucumbers can be distinguished by their lustrous, glossy surface. Such fruits cannot be eaten together with the skin; it must be cut off. You can determine the freshness of a cucumber by the condition of the stem and by the colour of the skin. Softness of the cucumber in the area of the stem indicates that it was picked quite a long time ago. A yellow colour also indicates this. A cucumber that has no seeds is not fit for eating, because it contains a lot of harmful substances. A good cucumber is coloured bright green, has thin, almost matte skin, and thin spines that are easily removed with a fingernail.

In tomatoes grown without the addition of chemicals, the skin is thin but firm. If the vegetable has a thick skin resembling plastic, then it was grown in a greenhouse using a large amount of fertilisers and chemical preparations. Strong softness of a tomato indicates overripeness – such a vegetable will not withstand long storage.

Examine the stem: in a recently picked tomato it will be green and firm. There is an opinion that the mere presence of a stem already indicates the freshness of the vegetable, but this is not entirely so: in some varieties of tomatoes the stem detaches with difficulty even from an old fruit. If possible, pay attention to the flesh: the presence of white streaks inside the tomato may indicate disease, so such a vegetable is not worth buying.

Carefully examine the head. If you see tracks made by caterpillars on the outside, then such marks are also present inside. However, this fact can also be regarded as positive: caterpillar marks indicate that the cabbage was not treated with chemical agents in the fight against pests.

Take the head in your hands and squeeze it: it should be quite dense. The exception is young cabbage, whose leaves are not arranged so tightly to one another, so there is some looseness. Sellers often cut off the upper leaves to give the cabbage a fresh appearance. Pay attention to whether there are signs of cutting. The colour of the head should be even; dark spots on its surface are the result of fungal damage, which often appears on heads saturated with pesticides.

Squeeze the watermelon with your hands: if you hear a crackling sound, then it is already ripe. Pat the watermelon: a ripe specimen will start to spring back. Pay attention to the appearance. In a quality product the colour of the stripes on the skin will contrast. In a ripe watermelon the skin becomes thick. To check the thickness, slightly pick at the skin with your nail – if it is pierced, then the fruit is not yet ripe. The ripeness of a watermelon is also indicated by a resonant sound when patted and a dry stem-end.

Ripe apricots and peaches are very juicy; when pressed, it seems that juice will flow out of them at any moment. Good fruits have velvety skin with fine fuzz. Ripeness is indicated by a reddened side.

Sometimes it is simply impossible to find untreated vegetables and fruits on the shelves, so you have to buy what is available. In that case, the products need to be made as safe as possible. How is this done?

Wash the vegetables and fruits thoroughly, trying to wash off the skin the harmful substances with which they were treated. Some advise using soap, while others say that soap can enter into a chemical reaction with the substances on the surface, so they do not recommend using it. Unfortunately, washing will not rid vegetables and fruits of pesticides completely, since in some products they penetrate into the flesh. In many vegetables and fruits, harmful substances accumulate under the skin, so it should be cut off in a thicker layer.

You can try to draw out the pesticides as follows: prepare a weak vinegar solution and lower the fruit into it for fifteen minutes, then wash it thoroughly. Instead of vinegar, you can use salt. Vegetables and fruits can also be soaked for a couple of hours in plain water, and in this way you can get rid of thirty percent of the harmful substances. Another option for "improving the health" of vegetables and fruits consists of heat treatment, but bear in mind that during the process not all pesticides are destroyed. From leafy vegetables, for example from cabbage, remove the top leaves.

Nitrates accumulate to a greater degree in the root of the plant, and to a lesser degree in the greens, so specialists advise cutting off the tips of carrots and removing the tails of beetroot. Beetroot in general is considered a "sponge" that perfectly absorbs pesticides. To get rid of the harmful substances that concentrate under the skin, the peel must be removed in a thick layer from both fresh and boiled produce. The largest amount of nitrates accumulates in the cabbage stalk, so it is not worth eating. When eating melon and watermelon, you must not eat the unripe flesh near the rind, because it is the place of the highest concentration of nitrates. Salads and greens should be eaten in the very first days, because during long storage in the refrigerator nitrates can convert into nitrites.

The very popular bananas deserve separate attention. All the harmful substances remain in the thick peel of the banana. For this reason, children should not take an unwashed fruit in their hands. After buying, the banana should be washed well under a strong stream of water, and only then can the peel be removed.