Regardless of if one one is looking at the butchers counter or
the cling wrapped meat on the fridgerated shelf. There are a few things that one should look out for to know you are getting fresh meat products.
Color: all meat products should be bright colored
and appropriatly for the animal the meat was taken from. Beef should be red. Pork should be pink. Polutry should be a bright pink color. All meat products should be free of mold or excessive dark spots.
Texture: All uncooked meat products should be soft
to thetouch, but remain firm enough that it doesn't breaks apart. In a loosy opened hand it should feel, about the firmness of, the meaty part of the thumb on the palm.
Smell: Fresh meat should not smell.
Regardless if its beef, pork, polutry, or fish. If you buy it already packaged in the refridgerated section and it smells when you get ready to use it. Throw it out or call your grocer store about returning the product. A stinky smell means it has begun to rot already.
Fat content: A gernal rule of thumb to follow is
that if a piece of red meat that has of lot of fat content spread throughout the cut. It will be a juicier piece of meat. This is called "marbling." If you are looking for a leaner cut of meat. Avoid a cut with a higher amount of marbling.
Shopping For Fruit
There are a few things that should be looked out when shopping for fruits:
Appreance: It is hard to give a specific color of
what a fruit should look like. Just because a red apple is not the exact same red as the other apples. Does not mean that the apple is unsafe or unripe. Subtle color variations are normal. What you should look for is a firm skin on most fruits and they should be realativly blemish free.
Weight: Not all but most fruits should feel heavy
for their size. A heavier piece of fruit can mean that the fruit is free from bugs and otherwise healthy and ripe.
Texture: The texture of all fruit is not the same.
Some fruits like apples and pears are meant to have a tight, firm skin. While other like oranges or lemons are supposed to have a kind of soft, pot marked, tight skin. If you are interested in buying a new or exotic fruit do your research and learn what fresh and rip feels like.
Ripeness: Unfortunantly there is no fourmla for ripeness other than look and feel. Do some research if you are looking at buying fruit, you have never bought before.
Shopping for Vegetables
Shopping for vegtables is probably the easiest thing to shop for. Here are a few general guidelines you should follow when shopping for vegetables at your local grocery store.
Color: Vegetables on the shelf should be free of blemsishes and visible holes. They should also have a clean appearance. This
no dirt should be sticking to the out side of the vegetable.
Texture: Most of the vegetables you are going to find on a grocery store should all be firm. Vegetables like carrots,
cucumber, zucchini should have a very firm skin and hold their shape when touched. Leafy vegeteable, like lettuce, should have a crisp feel to them. The only exceptions should be greens, i.e. Collard Green and Mustard Greens.
Shopping for Oils
The most important part of using an cooking oil is picking the right one. You will need a good high quality finishing out. This would be an high quality extra virgin olive oil. This is gonna be the oil you use after your dish is finished. When shopping for an oil you are going to cook in quality isn't as much an issue. The oil is a medium for heat transfer and impart a little bit of flavor. High heat methods like sauteeing will need an oil with a high smoke point, the tempurature at which an oil begins to smoke. high smoke points are needed, becuase oils heated beyond the smoke point burst into flames!