How to Tell if Vegetables are Ripe

No one wants to buy bad produce. Here is what to look for in a few vegetables.

(From Eating Well Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook)

• General rule of thumb: If it doesn’t smell like anything, it won’t taste like anything
• Baby Artichokes: Tight, small heads without browning or bruising
• Asparagus: Sturdy spears with tight heads; the cut ends should not look desiccated or woody; fresh asparagus should snap when bent
• Beets: Small beets with firm, dark ruby or bright orange skins
• Broccoli: Sturdy, dark-green spears with tight buds, no yellowing and a high floret-to-stem ratio
• Brussels sprouts: Tight, firm, small deep-green heads without yellowed leaves or insect holes; sprouts should preferably still be on the stalk
• Carrots: orange, firm spears without any gray, while or desiccated residue on the skin, greens preferably attached
• Cauliflower: Tight white or purple heads without brown or yellow spots; the green leaves at the stem should still be attached firmly to the head, not limp or withered
• Corn: Pale or dark green husks with moist silks; each ear should feel heavy to the hand, the cob filling the husk well
• Eggplant: Smooth, glossy skins without wrinkles or spongy spots; should feel heavy for its size
• Fennel: Small, white, unbruised bulbs with brilliant green stalks and feathery fronds
• Green beans: Small, thin, firm beans
• Leeks: Long, thin stalks that do not bend and are not bruised; the outer layer should not be wrinkly or dried out
• Peas: Firm, vibrant green pods without blotches and with the stem end still attached
• Red-skinned or yellow-fleshed Potatoes: Small potatoes with firm skins that are not loose, papery or bruised
• Spinach and Swiss Chard: Supple, deeply colored leaves without mushy spots
• Acorn Squash: Green, orange or white ones with firm, smooth skins and no spongy spots
• Delicata Squash: Small, firm squash with bright yellow or orange skins that have green veins branching like lightning through them
• Summer Squash and Zucchini: No breaks, gashes or soft spots; smaller squash (less than 8 inches) are sweeter and have fewer seeds
• Sweet Potatoes: Taut if papery skins with tapered ends
• Turnips: Smaller turnips with firm, white skins that feel heavy to the hand; green should preferably be attached