Posted by kathryn in Vegetables and Fruit

A while ago Iona asked a really good question, about buying vegetables where she lived:

It’s a city without farmers’ markets, where fruit and vegetables are transported in lorries without refrigeration and stored in crates out in the hot sun at the city’s vegetable stands . . . as a result, fruit and vegetables often aren’t terribly fresh. Peppers are always wrinkly, carrots and cucumbers are soft and bendy, spinach is half green, half yellowish-brown in colour, asparagus has soggy, mouldy smelling tips that you have to cut off before cooking . . . It’s easy to eat healthily . . . where veggies are fresh and luscious, but what do you do when your choices are more limited?

I live in the middle of a City and there are options. I can shop at the supermarket or dedicated fruit and vegetable shops. There are weekend farmers’ markets, a central fruit and vegetable wholesale market and I can choose between organic and conventional. I’ve recently joined a box scheme. However this is not the case for everyone, so if your fruit and vegetable choices are limited, what do you do?

1. Shop on delivery days

Many shops only have fruit and vegetables delivered occasionally. This is particularly true of smaller stores, places with a limited turnover and shops in remote areas. Deliveries may be once a week, perhaps even less. I’ve been to places in country Australia where they only get fresh produce delivered once every three to four weeks. If this is true where you live, then find out when the deliveries do occur and try to shop on, or close to, that day. It means you’re going to get produce in its best possible state – the freshest available to you.

2. Buy the longer lasting vegetables

I adore leafy greens, but they don’t last. After a few days they’re tired, nutritionally depleted and looking quite sorry for themselves. You need to get them as fresh as possible and use them quickly.

However there are other vegies which survive longer. Potatoes, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, garlic, leeks, beetroot and onions all keep well and all contain good nutrition. Where choices are limited and vegetables look tired, I’d concentrate on buying these longer-lasting species. I’ve linked to this before, but it’s worthwhile taking a look at the table at the end of this article. It lists fruit and vegetables in the order of fastest to slowest spoilers. If your choices are limited, then concentrate on buying produce from the slower spoiling end of the chart.

3. Make use of frozen and tinned

Tinned and frozen fruit and vegetables are good options if your access to fresh is limited. They’re nutritionally valuable foods, which will add fibre, antioxidants, minerals and some vitamins to your body.

Tinned fruit, beetroot, tomatoes, corn, and legumes like lentils and chickpeas can be purchased relatively easy. Frozen vegetables are really good and worthwhile buying. Frozen fruit is also great, although it tends to be more expensive and choices are often limited.

Back up your fresh stuff with these longer-life options.

4. Get to know your supplier & be friendly, but a bit pushy

If you can, get to know your fruit and vegetable supplier. Some shop owners are not interested in chatting, but often they are. Be friendly, say hello, ask what’s best, show an interest. Getting to know your fruit and veg supplier is invaluable in my opinion. They will know what’s best, what’s going to last the longest and will usually give preferential treatment to their preferred customers. So you want to be a preferred customer. In my experience, this doesn’t necessarily mean spending lots of money. Instead it’s a matter of being friendly, having a joke and letting them know what you like.

On the flipside it can also help to be a little bit pushy. To ask for better produce. Tell them when the tomatoes are grotty and you can’t use them. Ask if they have anything fresher out the back. This is hard for many people, but I’d strongly advise you to stand your ground. Don’t be rude or aggressive. Be polite and remain friendly. But ask for better produce.

5. Grow what you can

When it’s hard to get good fresh fruit and vegetables, growing a few bits and pieces of your own is a good idea. A balcony, sunny window, shelf in the bathroom can all be good growing areas. You will need a bit of light, and the plants will need to be watered, but even a couple of pots can help top up what you’re getting from the shops.

I find leafy greens are particularly good to grow at home, which is useful as they’re the ones which wilt first. Herbs like parsley and basil, lettuces, rocket, amaranth and spinach are all easy to grow, don’t need a lot of space and are productive “crops”. There’s a great idea for hanging salad bowls on Life on the Balcony.

6. Form a local co-op or go direct to the farmers

If you still can’t find good produce then another option is to join forces with some friends and start buying in bulk – like these people have. Many cities have a centralised produce market, where you can get fresh fruit and vegetables in boxed quantities. Clubbing together with some friends or neighbours means you share the time and costs involved in going to the market and you can make use of the bulk quantities available.

Alternatively, if you ask around, there may be a local farmer who is willing to sell direct to the public. Where my parents live there’s a farm shop which collects produce from other local smallholdings and sells it directly to the public. They’re only open a couple of days a week and for limited hours. However, apart from what dad grows in the garden, my parent’s only other option is a poorly stocked supermarket. So they make the effort to go to the farm shop, where they can buy good, fresh fruit and vegetables

7. Eat whatever vegetables you can

If finding good quality vegetables in your local area is difficult, it can feel too hard and many people give up. However, vegetables are too important. You need them to be part of the food you eat every day, to have good health both now and also into the future. So don’t give up.

Also, don’t beat yourself up if you’re not able to find the full five serves or eat a variety every single day. Do the best you can. Have fresh when you can find it, but also use tinned and frozen – these are still good options.

Just eat vegetables.

What are your tips for getting the best produce?

17 March, 2010