Picking Perfect Fruit

One thing that I love about living in California is we are lucky enough to have such an amazing assortment of fresh produce to choose from. My sister, when she was living in Utah, said that the students there would go to Jamba Juice to get their "fruit" via smoothies. As much as I love smoothies (and trust me I make them daily), there's something about biting into a fresh piece of perfectly ripe fruit. Am I right?! 

I was thinking it might be helpful to some of you to name some fruits and how to choose a good one from the bunch. Nothing's worse than eating fruit that isn't quite ripe enough...or too ripe!

From my experience, this is what I've found to be helpful in picking out fruit.

Watermelon- I kind of knock on it and if it sounds hollow that seems to be the best kind.

Cantaloupe- I do the knock trick for this one too but what really helps is picking it up and smelling it. If you can smell it from the outside, it's perfect!

Bananas and Apples- Those are pretty obvious. I just go for the ones that don't have holes/scratches/ and aren't overly bruised. When the bananas at home get too bruised I either make banana bread out of it or peel them, break it up into two or three pieces, and put in a freezer bag in the freezer specifically for smoothies. I have one for strawberries too.

Strawberries- Not too mushy, perfectly red, no mold or holes.

Grapes- No mushy grapes!

Peaches- Not mushy and not too hard. It should be soft.

Those are my go-to fruits. Do you have any more helpful tips for picking out fresh fruit?

-Shelley