October 22, 2007
So I was in NYC last week, and on my way there, I sat between a young man in his 20s and a man perhaps a decade or so older than me.
During the course of our brief get-to-know-the-person- whose-personal-space-you'll-be-in-for-the-next- two-hours conversation, the younger man, Matt, mentioned that he was an artist. I've heard that before, but, wow. When he pulled out his sketchbook I almost fell out of my seat (which would have been an amazing feat, considering how bloody small those plane accomodations are!). Talk about talent. Matt, I'll say it again: if you see this blog post, drop me an email. And if you ever read my books, I'd love to see your renditions of the characters. The guy is really talented.
The older man, whose name I don't think I ever got, was the produce manager for a small chain of upscale grocery stores in Brooklyn. He'd been traveling to Michigan for the day to check out some upscale grocery stores here to see what the trends were in organizing the produce department.
Since I love food, in particular fruits and vegetables, I launched into a whole slew of Q&As (after all, what else can you do during a flight?) about storage and prep of those goodies.
I was right in most cases as far as whether to refrigerate or not…but there were a few that surprised me.
So, without further ado, here's a list of dos and don'ts in regards to produce:
Don't ever refrigerate tomatoes. (This is something I'd learned years ago.)
Don't refrigerate mangoes, bananas, pears, apples (something my Music Man and I argue about–he likes them cold "like they are when you pick them in the fall" and I don't), lemons or limes.
You can refrigerate berries, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and most other vegetables. Not potatoes, or onions, of course.
Don't wash mushrooms, just wipe them off with a paper towel before cooking. And when refrigerating them, make sure there are little holes in the plastic wrapping so they can breathe.
To eat a tamarillo (which was a fruit my daughter had suggested I buy at the store recently, and when she bit into it she thought it tasted horrible), cut it open and just eat the flesh–not the peel or the black seeds.
He explained to me the mystery of the mango pit–which, if you aren't aware, is the oddest, most inconvenient pit I've ever come across–and how to effectively navigate around it to get the most of that wonderful fruit.
And we waxed rhapsodic over one of my favorite fruits–the Asian or Korean pear. He also called it something else, but I can't remember. Love those crisp, juicy fruits.
And then I landed in NY and had a whirlwind two days there, attending the reading at The Happy Endings Lounge (where Colette, Jane, Elizabeth, Megan, Kent, and I met a thick-lashed black male bouncer named Shannon Shamiq), and then found a diner in the Village where we had to eat something to dilute the martinis we'd enjoyed earlier.
So, there you have it. I'm back and on deadline for Gardella Four (so will probably be very quiet for awhile), and should have ARCs of The Bleeding Dusk to give away very soon. So stay tuned for contest winners (I haven't forgotten about the Meatball Contest and the Readers Ask contests…winners announced soon).
Finally, Twisted Kingdom contacted me about a new contest for readers of The Gardella Vampire Chronicles–a fan-fic/fan-art contest. So get your creative juices flowing, and I'll give you the heads up when they post it.
And last but not least, 'fess up: Do you refrigerate tomatoes? Apples? Have you ever had an Asian pear? What's your favorite "exotic" fruit?
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:23 pm
On the mushrooms — theoretically the reason you’re not supposed to wash them is they get waterlogged. But Alton Brown (food channel) put that to the test on an episode a while back and said the theory doesn’t hold water. (hah.) He encourages a quick wash (not a soak) because it’s much faster to get dirt out of the mushrooms that way than to brush them off.
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Now I’m confused. I just read something on bookofjoe last week that said you should always refrigerate apples. The quote was from the owner of an orchard. Unless you’re planning to eat them right away, they should go in the fridge.
I generally do prefer to eat them cold. Although I like my pears at room temperature.
October 22nd, 2007 at 1:57 pm
Umm, I totally refrigerate my tomatoes. Mainly because then they’re all in one handful with the lettuce when it’s time to make salad. Although, I’m someone who subscribes to the “lettuce is really just a vehicle to get the salad dressing into my mouth” school of thought. So I’m probably not the best person to ask about veggies.
October 22nd, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Why can I never have cool conversations like this when I’m traveling! I always refridgerate my fruit except my bananas. I like them cold.
October 22nd, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Thud, thanks for coming by. I’m flattered–and appreciative of the info about mushroom washing.
Susan…huh, on the apples. I guess it doesn’t really matter, then. I mean, our apples always taste fine, albeit cold on the teeth. The produce guy did say that if you got the apples near the end of the season and wanted to keep them for awhile to refrigerate them. But if you planned to eat them soon, not to. So I guess it works both ways.
MaryKate. Don’t refrigerate them, I beg of you! They can’t ripen further and get nice and red. Besides, aren’t they too hard and cold when you eat them?
Christine…I felt like I was giving the poor guy the third-degree. He humored me, however, and I thought it was interesting.
Cold bananas, huh. Interesting. I’ve had frozen ones, but not cold ones.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I had no idea about tomatoes. Really? Huh. I have always put them in the fridge. I also put apples and pears in there, but not bananas (except to avoid a fruit fly infestation this summer), onions or potatoes in.
And I keep my mushrooms in a paper bag in the fridge.
October 22nd, 2007 at 10:59 pm
My favorite fruits are strawberries, mangoes & kiwis.
I live in Portland, Oregon, so we have a lot of people from foreign countries around here. It seems to be predominately Asian & Russian. So, my horizons have been broadened sampling foods from these cultures.
I do have a question for you…have you had a “winner” for your “Where did the meatball come from”? Just curious because I don’t remember seeing it.
Have a great night & have fun with your deadline. I can wait for that when it comes to my writing.
October 23rd, 2007 at 7:42 am
On the tomatoes — Alton Brown (sorry, I get almost all my food knowledge from “Good Eats”) says refrigerating tomatoes destroys an enzyme in the tomatoes responsible for a good bit of the flavor.
October 23rd, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Colleen:
I saw that same Alton Brown does Mushrooms show, very helpful.
I have a friend who refrigerates bananas because they don’t get overripe on the inside, even though the skin turns.
I don’t refrigerate tomatoes,and my favorite exotic fruit–hm. My husband has had durian, the foul-smelling fruit from Asia that Anthony Bourdain loves. I haven’t, though.
I’ve had Asian pears, though. And starfruit, in Jamaica, and ackee, also Jamaican. I don’t like papaya very much, although I love mangoes.