Food

Fruit and vegetables

Updated: 01 Jul 2010

Introduction

Fruit and vegetables aren't always as fresh as you'd hope. Learn how to pick the best.

We explain what to look for when selecting fresh produce, and provide tables showing the seasons, buying tips, and storage advice for a variety of common fruits and vegetables.

Selecting & storing fruit

The table below shows when you can expect different fruit to be at its best. The dates are only an approximate guide because they'll vary from year to year depending on weather conditions. And with fruits like apples, for example, there are differences between varieties.

Fruit	Season	Features to look for	Storage
Apples	Spring/Autumn	Firm with unblemished skin. Watch for bruising.	Room temperature. Refrigerate for long storage.
Apricots	Summer	Plump and juicy looking fruit with a uniform golden-orange colour. Ripe apricots yield to gentle pressure on the skin.	Room temperature.
Avocados	Spring/Autumn	Ripe when soft. They bruise easily, so test as for tamarillos. Stalk end should pull out easily when ripe.	Don't refrigerate or cut until ripe.
Bananas	All Year	Bananas with spots are not bad, but at their sweetest. Watch for bruising.	Don't refrigerate - take out of bags and allow air to circulate.
Cherries	Summer	Bright, glossy plump-looking surfaces. Stem should be green.	Room temperature. Refrigerate for longer storage.
Feijoas	Autumn	Ready when soft. Cradle in palm and squeeze gently to test.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Grapes	All Year	Well coloured, plump and firmly attached and unwrinkled at stem.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Grapefruit	Winter	Firm and heavy for their size.	Don't need to refrigerate.
Kiwifruit	Autumn/Winter	Avoid very soft fruit.	Can be refrigerated. Hard unripe fruit will ripen if stored with apples and bananas.
Lemons	Winter/Spring	Heavy, firm fruit with a rich yellow colour and reasonably smooth skin with a slight gloss. Pale or greenish-yellow lemons are very fresh, with slightly higher acidity. Coarse skin means not much juice.	Refrigerate to slow ripening.
Mandarins	Autumn/Winter	Deep yellow or orange colour and bright lustre.	Don't refrigerate.
Mangoes	All year round (imported)	Plump with smooth skin that has at least begun to turn from green to orange/yellow or red, and a slight softness. Look for round "shoulders" at the stem end.	Room temperature or refrigerate for longer storage.
Melons	Summer	Should not sound hollow when tapped. Should be heavy for its size with good colour and have a strong aroma.	Store only cut fruit in fridge and wrap to prevent ethylene gas affecting other produce.
Nectarines	Spring/Summer	Rich colour and plumpness, and a slight softening along the "seam". Some varieties are orange-yellow between the red areas, others are greenish. Hard, tan stains on the skin don't affect taste.	Ripen at room temperature, refrigerate when ripe.
Oranges	Winter/Spring	Fruit should be heavy with a fine texture. Coarse, thick-skinned light fruit is unlikely to be juicy.	Don't refrigerate.
Pears	Autumn	Soft and discoloured if overripe.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Peaches	Summer	A green peach is not mature and will never ripen.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Pineapples	All Year	Should be firm, no bruises or spots. Leaves should be green and easily plucked out.	Use immediately, don't refrigerate as they get chilling injuries.
Plums	Summer/Autumn	Don't accept soft plums or those leaking juice.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Strawberries	Spring	Should be bright red with no white spots.	Very perishable, so refrigerate. Wash only just before use.
Tamarillos	Autumn	Ready when soft. Cradle in palm and squeeze gently to test.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Tangelos	Winter/Spring	Should have yellow tinges and a puffy appearance and feel.	Don't need to refrigerate.
Watermelon	Summer	Should not sound hollow when tapped. Should be heavy for its size with good colour and have a strong aroma.	Store only cut fruit in fridge and wrap to prevent ethylene gas affecting other produce.

How to ripen fruit

The ripening process in produce is pushed along by a gas called ethylene, which is produced by many fruits and vegetables both before and after harvest.

Ripe apples, kiwifruit, melons and bananas are among the fruit that produce a lot of ethylene. Produce like avocados, which do not ripen on the tree, will be hastened to ripeness if you store them in a bag with any of these ethylene-producing fruits.

Green bananas and unripe kiwifruit will ripen quickly if stored with apples. But this can also be a nuisance. If you store all your fruit together, the ethylene will make the already-ripe produce deteriorate more quickly.

Selecting & storing veges

Some produce, though available all year round, is better when in season. This table lists when produce is in peak season.

Vegetable	Season	Features to look for	Storage
Asparagus	Spring/Summer	Straight, firm, evenly coloured stems with closed tips. Avoid seedy tips and woody base to stalks.	Highly perishable. Wrap stems in damp absorbent paper and refrigerate in plastic.
Beans	Spring/Summer	Fresh young pods should snap easily.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Beetroot	Spring/Summer	Deep red roots with a firm skin. Any leaves should be unwilted.	Refrigerate unwrapped in crisper.
Broccoli	All Year	Heads should be compact, dark green or tinged purple. Avoid yellowish, enlarged buds. Check cut end for rot or discolouration.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Brussels sprouts	Winter	Avoid yellowing, loose, soft or wilting leaves. Small compact sprouts are best.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Cabbages	All Year	Firm heads, heavy for their size. Even colour, crisp outer leaves. Cut bottom should look fresh, not brown or soft.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Capsicums	Summer	Firm, deep coloured and unwrinkled glossy skin.	Refrigerate unwrapped in crisper.
Carrots	All Year	Firm, well formed with a good orange colour and no root hairs.	Refrigerate in plastic or store in a cool ventilated place.
Cauliflower	All Year	Clean, compact, white heads. Cut bottom should look fresh, not brown or soft.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Celery	All Year	Fresh, unwilted leaves. Stems firm and crisp when snapped.	Will keep crisp with stem placed in a shallow container of water or in plastic in fridge.
Courgettes/marrows	Spring/Summer/Autumn	Firm, glossy skin.	Refrigerate, unwrapped in crisper.
Cucumbers	Summer	Firm skin, dark green colour.	Refrigerate with plastic over cut end.
Eggplant	Spring/Summer/Autumn	Should be blemish free, firm to touch, dark and glossy.	Refrigerate uncovered, avoid bruising.
Garlic	All Year	Avoid bulbs that are sprouting or mouldy. Should be heavy for size.	Do not refrigerate or store in plastic.
Kumara	Autumn/Winter/Spring	Smooth unbroken skin and good smooth shape.	Don't refrigerate. Store in cool, dark, well-aired place.
Leeks	Autumn/Winter/Spring	Fresh green tops and plenty of white flesh. Cut bottom should look fresh, not brown or soft.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Lettuces	All Year	Clean, crisp leaves and firm compact head. Cut bottom should look fresh, not brown or soft.	Refrigerate in airtight plastic container or in plastic bag.
Mushrooms	All Year	Avoid wilted, wrinkly mushrooms.	Refrigerate in a paper bag - plastic makes them sweat.
Onions	All Year	Firm with papery outer skin and heavy for their size.	Store in a cool, dark well-ventilated place, not in plastic.
Parsnips	Autumn/Winter/Spring	Small-medium size, smooth and firm. Large ones can be fibrous.	Keep refrigerated in plastic or store in a cool, ventilated place.
Potatoes	All Year	Smooth, clean, free from bruises, cuts, green patches or shoots.	Store in cool dark place out of plastic.
Pumpkins/squash	All Year	Undamaged, firm skin and heavy for size.	Store in cool dark place. Once cut, remove seeds, wrap in plastic and refrigerate.
Radishes	All Year	Firm flesh and bright colour. Smooth unblemished skin. Attached leaves unwilted.	Refrigerate in plastic. Can freshen up by soaking in iced water.
Salad leaves/herbs	All Year	Avoid limp or yellowing leaves.	Refrigerate in a plastic bag or salad container.
Silverbeet/spinach	All Year	Crisp, green leaves with firm white stalks. Avoid brown or discoloured stalk bases. Cut stem should look fresh.	Refrigerate in a plastic bag.
Spring onions	Spring/Summer/Autumn	Solid bulbs with white root hairs firmly attached. Straight, crisp green tops.	Refrigerate unwrapped in crisper.
Sweetcorn	Summer	Plump, tight kernels. Bright fresh husk. Avoid dry, yellowing or straw-coloured husks. Tassel should be yellow and silky. Open husk to see kernels.	Use immediately. Can be stored in bags in fridge.
Tomatoes	Summer/Autumn	Avoid overripe, bruised, blemished fruit.	Ripen at room temperature, only refrigerate if overripe.
Yams	Winter	Firm, brightly coloured, blemish free.	Refrigerate in plastic.

Retaining nutrients

The nutrient content of fresh vegetables decrease during storage (even more so at higher temperatures than when they're kept chilled). English spinach, for example, retains only 53% of its folate and 54% of its carotene after just eight days stored at fridge temperature.

The substances that give the fruit and veg their flavours are also easily lost. As vegetables age, they can develop unpleasant smells and bitter flavours, and droop or get tough and woody.

Apples kept in cold storage for too long have less flavour and aroma, and they can go floury quickly unless you keep them in the fridge.

Frozen or canned?

Frozen vegetables retain most of their nutrients and can be more nutritious than "fresh" vegetables that have been transported over long distances.

Frozen peas, for example, typically have 60 percent more carotene than "fresh" peas, and the vitamin C content is comparable with fresh peas that have been stored and then cooked.

Canned vegetables and fruit also retain most of their original nutrients. They have less vitamin C, but the levels of dietary fibre, carotene and folate, for example, aren't much affected by the canning process.

Watch out for added salt in canned vegetables - look for low-salt or salt-free brands.

Buying tips

Buy from a busy shop. High turnover should be a good indicator of freshness.
Buy what is fresh and affordable rather than shopping from a list.
Beware of shops that use a lot of water to spray their displays. A little is good, but a lot can make produce too wet and encourage rot.
Buy produce when it's in season.
Buy a selection of fruit from the very ripe to the unripe, so you'll have several days' good eating.
If you find bad items, take them back (with the docket) as soon as possible and ask for your money back.
Avoid items with handling damage. Cuts and bruises speed decay.
With produce cut from the plant (lettuce, cauliflower) check the cut surface. Discolouration indicates age.
Test for firmness in the palm of your hand, rather than by pushing with your fingertips. You'll only bruise it for the next person.
See the storage tips for fruit and vegetables in our tables. If it's not meant to go in the fridge, don't put it there. For example, bananas and tropical produce will develop watery, brown flesh if refrigerated, and tomatoes will lose their flavour.

Farmers' markets

While there's no guarantee, you're more likely to find really fresh fruit and veg at your local farmers' market. Farmers often get a better return than from selling through the big supermarket chains, but of course there's a more limited range of produce available, especially during the winter months.

More help

5-a-day: www.5aday.co.nz. Made by United Fresh. A good resource for kids.
VegFed: www.vegetables.co.nz. Made by the New Zealand Vegetable Growers' Federation. Provides recipes and information about New Zealand-grown vegetables.