Apples
One of the world’s best-known and loved fruits is also one of the oldest domesticated fruits. People in the Stone Age rubbed fat on apples to help preserve them. Remains of dried apple slices have also been found in their cave dwellings. To keep apples fresh today, simply store in refrigerator. They’ll keep up to 10 times longer than at room temperature.
A few tips about apples:
- Apples are easier to peel when they’re cold. (But keep in mind, there’s lots of food value in the skin of an apple!)
- Russeting sometimes occurs on apples that have been nipped by frost. It does not affect the flavour.
- Hint for dieters: eating a fresh apple before a meal makes a nutritious way to help curb hunger.
- Apples emit a natural ethylene gas that helps ripen some other fruits. If you don’t want this to happen, be sure to separate apples from other fruits and store them in loosely closed plastic bags in the refrigerator.
- Place a piece of apple with brown sugar to help keep the sugar moist.
- A plate of apple slices on the kitchen counter will help absorb cooking odours. (But don’t eat the apples afterwards!)
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Apricots
Apricots have an enticing golden colour. And in 2nd-century China, they were considered “good as gold” when a doctor supposedly asked for apricot trees in exchange for his medical services. Some apricot trees have been known to live longer than 100 years. But you don’t have to wait that long to enjoy fresh B.C. Brand apricots!
- For immediate use of fresh apricots, choose those that are firm in texture with a beautiful blush.
- To ripen immature apricots, place them in a brown paper bag and fold closed. Keep them at room temperature until they are slightly soft. Once the fruit is ripe to your liking, refrigerate for up to a week in a covered container.
- To prepare apricots, rinse the fruit and cut lengthwise around the pit. Gently twist to separate the halves.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Blueberries
Blueberries are a true-blue native of North America. Workers hand-pick the bushes several times during the season to make sure only the ripest berries are harvested for fresh eating.
- Choose plump berries with a fresh appearance.
- Colour of ripe blueberries is blue to dark blue with a silver-white “bloom” that protects against moisture loss.
- Store separately from apples.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Cherries
Depending on variety, sweet cherries can range in colour from pale yellow to dark mahogany or reddish black, with pale cream to dark ruby-red or garnet-coloured flesh. British Columbia produces 60% of Canada’s sweet cherry crop.
- Choose plump, bright coloured fruits; avoid soft cherries.
- To maintain optimum flavour and texture, it’s important to keep cherries chilled. This chilling started right after the cherries were hand-picked until the time they reached your store.
- Take that chilling one step further and freeze some cherries to use instead of ice cubes in the beverage of your choice.
- To remove cherry stains from your hands, simply rub with a wedge of fresh lemon.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Grapes
Table grapes of all varieties make handy, portable snacks. Coronation grapes are a sweet, indigo-blue grape with pale green seedless flesh. They were developed at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, BC, using natural traditional methods.
- Choose plump, firm grapes that show a bit of lustre.
- Use table grapes to create aesthetically pleasing and nutritious edible decorations for plate or platter.
- Freeze grapes to use instead of ice cubes in sodas, lemonade, or other cold beverages.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Nectarines
Nectarines are sometimes called the “fuzzless peach” and, like peaches, come in cling, semi-cling, and freestone varieties. The flesh of nectarines can range in colour from pale creamy white to a reddish yellow.
- Choose nectarines that have a rich yellow background colour. Red "blush" may be present which indicates variety, not maturity.
- If you need to ripen them, place them in a brown paper bag and fold closed. Keep at room temperature—away from direct sunlight—and check them daily.
- To prepare for immediate use, cut the nectarine lengthwise and gently twist the two halves apart to expose the pit.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Peaches
The Okanagan is one of the few regions in the world this far north that successfully grows peaches. You can choose from cling, semi-cling, or freestone varieties—each one carries the taste of summer!
- Select yellow peaches with a healthy blush.
- There’s no need to squeeze; let your nose be your guide. Peaches are a member of the rose family and their fragrant aroma tells you which ones to choose.
- Peaches are picked when mature, and continue to ripen when brought to warmer temperatures. If you want to ripen them more fully, place them in a brown paper bag and fold closed. Keep at room temperature, checking them daily, as they ripen quickly.
- A ripe peach will “give” a little with gentle pressure, but they are a delicate fruit so handle carefully to avoid bruising them.
- To prepare for immediate use, cut the peach lengthwise and gently twist the two halves apart to expose the pit.
- If desired, the soft, fuzzy skin of the peach can be removed by blanching.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Pears
The variety of a pear determines the skin colour: from pale yellow to green, red to brown, and shades in between. The shape of pears also depends on variety and ranges from spherical to pyriform to elongated.
Pears are picked green and allowed to ripen off the tree for better texture. You can refrigerate unripe pears and bring them out later to ripen. Note: this method doesn’t work with all fruits, but works great with pears!
- Do not store near apples. Apples emit a natural gas that speeds up ripening of some other fruits, including pears.
- To ripen at home, simply place in a paper bag at room temperature for a few days. (Adding an apple to the bag will speed the ripening.)
- A Bosc pear is juicy, even when still greenish in colour. When fully ripe, Bosc has a rich yellow skin with cinnamon-coloured speckles.
- The Anjou is considered a “winter” pear and stores well at temperatures just above freezing. It’s a golden-tinged light green colour when ripe.
- The Bartlett originated from a wilding found in France in the 1770s. When ripe, this aromatic pear has a tender, clear yellow skin.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
Prune Plums
Prune plums were brought to Canada by the French. Francis Richter, one of British Columbia’s pioneers, planted prune plums on his Okanagan ranch in the 1880s. BC now grows 50% of Canada’s plums.
- Choose evenly coloured, smooth plums that yield to light pressure.
- To ripen firm fruit, place in a brown paper bag and fold closed. Keep them at room temperature until they are ripe to your liking.
- Refrigerate unwashed fruit for up to a week.
- Plums can be separated from the pit like a peach—cut lengthwise and gently separate. To prepare for immediate eating, simply wash and enjoy.
For serving hints click here or check our Recipes.
