Fair: Get the best foods and prices at the right time

It sounds super simple, but shopping at the fair isn't always an easy task! Is it common for women? even those who cook frequently and therefore stir daily with vegetables, fruits etc? have questions regarding the quality and condition of the products for sale there.

After all, who never stopped to wonder if they should even take those bananas, or if they were too ripe ?! Or if those arugula leaves were the right color to take home ?!

Doubts such as these are common and knowing the answer to these and other questions really makes all the difference when it comes to making the fair.

Below, Anita de Souza Dias Gutierrez and Fabiane Camara, professionals from Ceagesp's Center for Quality in Horticulture, give important tips and guidance on the purchase and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

ranking

It is important to know the classification and characteristics of vegetables and fruits. Check out the data in the booklet? Fruits and vegetables: a source of pleasure and health? from Ceagesp:

Vegetables

• leaf: Swiss chard, watercress, lettuce, hive, chives, kale, endive, cabbage, milkweed, arugula, parsley.
• Flower: Artichoke, Cauliflower, Broccoli.
• Stalk: Celery, leeks, asparagus, fennel, celery.
• Fruit: Ripe (pumpkin, pumpkin, tomato, colored pepper) and immature (zucchini, eggplant, chayote, pea, jilo, gherkin, cucumber, green pepper, okra, green beans).
• Underground: Bulb (garlic and onion), root (sweet potato, beet, character, carrot, manioc, parsley manioc, turnip, radish), rhizome (ginger, Chinese yam) and tuber (potato).

Fruits

• Climate with high starch reserve: Banana, kiwi and apple.
• Climate with low starch reserve: Plum, persimmon, apricot, guava, papaya, pinecone, mango, passion fruit, nectarine, peach and pear.
• Non-weather: Pineapple, cocoa, cashew, star fruit, cherry, fig, orange, melon, strawberry, watermelon, loquat, pomegranate, tangerine and grape.

In all three cases, the more ripe the fruit is harvested, the tastier it will be. This is because fruits only accumulate sugars and starch (which turns into sugar as they mature) while they are attached to the mother plant.

After harvesting, non-climatic fruit no longer sweetens. The climatic fruit, with low starch reserve, becomes more colorful and soft. In climacteric fruit, with a high starch reserve, starch is transformed into sugar.

5 tips to make the most of the fair

Check out the tips from professionals of the Center for Quality Horticulture Ceagesp, to make good choices at the fair:

1. Choose the products of the season

• Fruits and vegetables are very perishable products and most of them are consumed right after harvesting. Are there more suitable regions and times of production for each product, depending on the characteristics of the plant and the climatic and soil conditions of each region and which allow higher production at a lower cost ?, explain the professionals.

Therefore, the first tip is crucial: choose the period products. For every fruit and vegetable, there is the best time to consume when the production is abundant, tasty, cheap and easier to conserve.

2. Seek Safe Food

One point that worries consumers a lot is the use of pesticides. Anita and Fabiane explain that pesticides are chemicals used to control plant pests and diseases. Brazilian law is very strict in licensing the use of pesticides and sets limits for its use and safety limits for residue tolerance. The complaints made from analyzes of small samples end up criminalizing all producers and terrorizing the population ?, they highlight.

The best way to ensure safe food, within legal requirements, is to require the identification of the person responsible for its production. The second step is the consumption of fruit and vegetables at their best time of production, when there is less need to use inputs and, consequently, pesticides ?, add the professionals.

Anita and Fabiane also add that the labeling of fruits and vegetables is mandatory by law. The label on the package must state the product, variety, origin, (producer, city and state), date of harvest and net weight of the product.

So, don't forget: Only buy fruits and vegetables with the identification of the person responsible for them, their origin and their variety.

3. Observe the food

When choosing the product it is essential to notice its appearance. • Products should be fresh, firm, bright in color and without signs of deterioration.Their quality is related to visual appearance, texture, taste, aroma, nutritional value, packaging and other factors ?, explain Anita and Fabiane.

• Choose the most ripe, yet firm and densest fruits, heavy for their size. They are the most tasty, nutritious and best preserved. Remember who they love more easily and should be treated with care ?, add the professionals.

Demand freshness: firm, brightly colored fruits and vegetables. Do not buy damaged fruits and vegetables. Even if you remove the bad part, will the damage spread quickly throughout the product ?, they warn.

Another important guideline is to opt for products from the region. They arrive fresher at points of sale and can be harvested at the best point of consumption: tender vegetables and ripe fruits.

4. Pay attention to prices and avoid waste

Cheap can be expensive. Do not buy just because the price is low unless it is caused by high supply? peak production. Generally, lower prices mean lower quality products, lower yields in preparation and consumption and higher losses.

However, local and seasonal foods tend to be cheaper than foods from other regions or imported, or even grown out of season. Therefore, it is worth always seeking to buy local foods grown in the ideal months for planting.

Also, never buy more than you consume, even if the price is inviting. Take home only what you need and can conserve properly.

5. Be careful after taking products home

The first guideline is to let the ripe fruits and ripe fruit vegetables (squash, pumpkin, tomato, colored pepper) ripen well before chilling them.

Leaf vegetables (chard, watercress, lettuce, olive, chives, cabbage, endive, cabbage, milkweed, arugula, parsley), flower (artichoke, cauliflower, broccoli) and stalk (celery, leek, asparagus, fennel, celery) are very tender and sensitive to water loss and the effect of ethylene? natural gas produced by the fruits during their ripening. They must be stored, refrigerated and protected against moisture loss in (perforated) plastic bags. And should they be separated from ripening fruits ?, add the professionals from Ceagesp's Horticulture Quality Center.

Only wash or cut fruits and vegetables just before consumption or preparation. When we wash them, we remove their natural protection. Free water facilitates the development of opportunistic microorganisms and the development of rot ?, they highlight.

Still according to professionals, tropical fruits (climatic and non-climatic) and immature fruit vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, chayote, pea, jiló, maxixe, cucumber, green pepper, okra, pod) are sensitive to cold. The best temperature for conservation is 15 ° C.

"Most vegetables can be stored for two to five days, with the exception of underground vegetables (sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, cassava, parsley, turnips, radishes, etc.), which can be stored longer." , explain.

Finally, the professionals emphasize that it is essential to respect the characteristics of each product and avoid handling.

Product hygiene

When using the products at home, it is essential to wash them thoroughly and carefully. Below, Anita and Fabiane indicate the step-by-step:

• Clean and organize the environment where the product will be sanitized.
• Select by removing decaying units, and in the case of leafy vegetables, remove decaying leaves and parts.
• Rinse each product (leaf by leaf, fruit by fruit, etc.) under running water, rubbing lightly with fingers on all sides to remove dirt and eggs from sticky parasites.
• Place in chlorinated solution using a suitable product and follow the manufacturer's directions on the package label.
• Rinse under running water.
• Keep refrigerated until serving time by placing them protected in clean, capped utensils.

What to avoid

Among so many healthy and good quality products, it is also important to pay attention to what we should avoid taking home!

Currently, we find in the open markets minimally processed products (ready-made salads, vegetables and cut and packaged fruits). Can these products pose food safety risks to consumers if, during this process and processing, the water used is not of good quality and / or the utensils and equipment are not hygienic and are not made in a refrigerated environment ?, explain Fabiane and Anita .

Therefore, if you come across these products, require origin and manufacturer identification before bringing them home.

Seasonality

Below you will find the best and worst time to buy certain products. It's worth paying attention and making the right choices!

Want to know the best time to buy other products ?! Visit the website of HortiBrasil® (Brazilian Institute of Quality in Horticulture), choose your favorite and get informed.

With all of these guidelines, your upcoming purchases tend to be far more productive and you will return home with the certainty that you made good choices at the fair!

How much does one day at the Minnesota State Fair cost? (May 2024)