These are some fast and easy tricks to preparing fruits.
- Apricots: Cut in half and remove the pit. Apricots may be eaten skin and all. To peel, blanch for 10-20 seconds in boiling water and plunge immediately into cold water. The peel will slip right off.
- Cantaloupe: To check for ripeness, gently press against the vine end of the melon (larger indentation). The melon should give gently, and should smell sweet. Make sure to wash the cantaloupe before you cut it, to prevent food poisoning from spreading with the knife. Gently scoop out seeds with a spoon and cut the fruit into wedges or use a melon baller.
- Cherries: I feel that a cherry pitter is a wonderful tool. Be sure to pit the cherries over a bowl so you can make sure that each cherry is successfully pitted. Look for heavy, firm cherries with a tight skin.
- Grapes: Be sure to wash grapes very thoroughly before using. Look for bunches with the grapes held tightly to the stems. Make sure to buy seedless varieties and store covered in the refrigerator.
Honeydew Melon: The melons should be heavy for their size and give slightly when pressed with your fingers. They should also smell sweet and, well, like honey. Wash them well before slicing and gently scoop out the seeds. - Kiwi: Kiwis taste like a combination of strawberries and melon and are a delicious source of Vitamin C. The black seeds are edible. Peel the skin and slice to serve.
- Lemons: Lemons should feel heavy for their size. To get the most juice, gently roll them on the countertop to break down the cell structure. Or you can prick them with a knife and microwave them for 30 seconds on high, then juice.
- Mangoes: This luscious fruit tastes like a wild peach. They should smell sweet and be soft when pressed with the fingers, but not wrinkled. Color isn't a reliable indicator of ripeness. To prepare mangoes, hold them upright and cut down along one of the fat sides, curving your knife to avoid the large oval pit. Repeat on the other side. Then score the flesh with a knife in a crisscross pattern. Gently press the scored halves to turn inside out and cut off the chunks of fruit from the peel. Trim the rest of the fruit off the pit, peel, and use in the recipes.
- Papaya: The large black papaya seeds are edible, although I've never really enjoyed the peppery taste. Simply test the fruit to make sure it gives slightly with pressure from your palm, then wash, peel, scoop out the seeds, and slice.
- Peaches: Ripe peaches are a wonderful treat. They should be firm, yellow with a red or pink blush, smell sweet, and give slightly to palm pressure. Be sure to select freestone peaches, not cling. I bought a case of cling peaches once and was driven to tears trying to remove the pit, or stone. Peaches can be blanched for 30 seconds in boiling water, then plunged into cold water. The skins will slip right off.
- Pineapple: Fresh pineapple is a wonderful treat. The ripe fruit should smell ripe and give very slightly when pressed at the bottom. To prepare, wash, then firmly grasp the leaves and twist off. Cut the pineapple into four sections, and using a curved knife, cut the flesh away from the prickly peel. Remove the hard core and slice the fruit or cut it into chunks.
- Raspberries: Raspberries need no preparation - just wash gently and quickly and serve. Be sure to carefully check packages before you buy so there are no squished or moldy fruits in the bottom of the container.
- Starfruit: Starfruit are ripe when yellow and give slightly to pressure. The entire lemony fruit is edible. Just wash and slice - and the slices will look like stars!
- Strawberry: Fresh strawberries should be red, firm and plump. The best are harvested yourself from pick-your-own farms, or from farmer's markets. To prepare, wash thoroughly, then cut out the leaves (hull) and any white part at the top, or shoulder, of the strawberry. Then slice or chop.
- Watermelon: Seedless varieties of watermelon aren't really seedless, but have very small, tender, edible seeds. Watermelon is best cut into large wedges, then sliced. When ripe, the watermelon will give a hollow thud when thumped and will smell sweet. Watermelon rind is a popular ingredient for people who love to pickle fruits.
