Bring home the best raw ingredients
The raw ingredients are the heart of the meal-if the raw ingredients aren’t good enough end result won’t be either. Use the following tips from the farmer’s market:
How to tell if a melon is ripe: Give it a whack
You can hear if a melon is ripe by tapping on the rind. If it sounds hollow, it’s ready to eat. You can also use your eyes instead. When the melon is ripe it has a smooth green rind. But what about the other melons? Here one should be able to detect a distinct smell of melon if you smell it from the stem end. If there isn’t any scent, it’s not ripe.
How to tell if pineapple is ripe: Tug and release
To check if a pineapple is ripe, tug on one of the bottom leaves. If it releases relatively easily, the fruit is ripe. If this is not a convenient test you could always just look and take a deep breath. The colour should be yellowish-brown and the scent fresh and fragrant.
How to know if a mushroom is fresh: Check the cap and root
You can easily tell if a mushroom is fresh. Look at the hat, it should be closed so one the gills can’t be seen. The roots should preferably still be attached because the root is the natural preservative; it extends its longevity and keeps it taut. You could of course also pluck them yourself. Find good garden mushrooms on compost plots in strong fertilized soil from May to November or field mushrooms on horse grazed meadows or the like, often in fairy rings from July to October. But just to be on the safe side, get yourself a good mushroom book, you don’t want to wipe out your guests with that mushroom stew that was just a tad too exotic.
How to tell if your potatoes are good: Avoid the toxin solanin
Can potatoes be poisonous? Yes, if they have received a shock (= brown spots) or light (= have turned green). If either of these has occurred, the potatoes produce the poison solanin that can cause headache, stomach ache and diarrhea. Solanis is in the entire potato and can’t be removed either from boiling, frying, baking or cutting the green pieces out. So avoid branded and green potatoes when filling your shopping trolley. If you buy potatoes in bags, chose transparent bags so you can see the quality from the back and not the front.
How to tell if an orange is good? Check the calendar
Oranges are best in the winter season. Packed with vitamin C and 13 other vitamins, the colour and scent alone are enough to pull us through those long cold days. If you can’t wait that long, go after the oranges with brown spots-the spots are the signs of quality. If you prefer sweet oranges with almost no sour taste, check the navel. Keep in mind, the bigger the navel the sweeter the orange.
Guardians of vitamins: Refrigerators IonGeneration
Although not used for cooking, Gorenje refrigerators are the hub of every kitchen. They are tasked with a simple mission – make sure your favourite food is always available. But Gorenje refrigerators can do much more. They feature smart technologies to mimic the conditions similar to those found in nature, which keeps the food fresh, tasty, and full of vital nutrients for longer.
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