Every cook knows that using fresh ingredients is always best.  It doesn’t just taste better than processed, frozen and packaged; it’s also healthier, cheaper and can be kept for leftovers because you know where they came from. Good ingredients are the staring point of great food. That is why any aspiring home cook should learn to spot the best ingredients. 

Do you know how to spot a fresh? Learn how, below:

Fresh Produce
Demand freshness! Choosing fresh produce requires your senses: sight, smell, touch, and common sense, of course.  Generally, you can look for produce with bright, vibrant colors (no fading colors and spots) and solid covering (no holes); with your hands, check its firmness—avoid ones with mushy spots, and with your nose, avoid anything that smells like mold or just doesn’t smell right (this when your common sense kicks in).  To pick out the freshest of the bunch, here’s what to look for:


Garlic (bawang)
Look for:
• Big, plump and firm, tight silky skins with its paper-like covering intact

Avoid:
• Spongy, soft, wrinkled, or peeling. As with all ingredients for cooking, buy the best garlic you can afford.

Note: Always remember that a single garlic bulb usually contains between ten and twenty cloves of garlic.  The individual cloves are covered with a fine pinkish/purple skin, and the head of cloves is then covered with white papery outer skin.


Onions (sibuyas)
Look for:
• Onions that are heavy for their size with dry, papery skins, and that show no signs of spotting or moistness

Avoid:
• Onions that are soft or sprouting. They should have absolutely NO SMELL whatever. If they do, they are probably bruised somewhere under the skin and are on their way out.


Tomatoes (kamatis)
Look for:
• Deeply colored and firm to touch.
• Strong, sweet, earthy odor. The more fragrant a tomato is, the more flavorful it will be, so be wary of tomatoes that don't smell like anything.

Avoid:
• Any discolorations—even a small black spot can mean hidden rot on the inside.

How do you know if my ampalaya, talong, kalabasa and potatoes are fresh? Read on.

Bitter melon or bitter gourd (ampalaya)
Look for:
• Darker green color as they get increasingly bitter and less crisp as they mature.
• If they are yellowish they are useful only for the brilliant red arils surrounding the seeds.
• Fresh-looking fruit without soft spots or blemishes.

Avoid:
• Spots, especially black ones, where the points have been damaged —this indicates they aren't very fresh


Eggplant (talong)
Look for:
• Firm, smooth-skinned eggplant that is heavy for its size

Avoid:
• Soft or brown spots. To check, gently push the skin with your finger. If the flesh bounces back, it is ripe. If the indentation remains, it is overripe and the insides are mushy. To make sure the eggplant isn’t dry inside,, knock on it with your knuckles. If you hear a hollow sound, don't buy it.


Squash (kalabasa)
Look for:
• Smaller squash because it tastes better, softer and the texture is less chewy

Avoid:
• Bruises on the skin, which should be bright yellow and firm to the touch.


Potatoes
Look for:
• Smooth, well-shaped, and unbruised
• Firm potatoes with thinner skins and free from blemishes and sunburn (a green discoloration under the skin).

What should I look out for in sitaw, saluyot, kangkong, pechay, asparagus, broccoli and spinach? Read more!

Green Beans (sitaw)
Look for:
• Slender beans that are crisp, bright-colored, and free of blemishes.


Jute’s Mallow or Jew's Mallow (saluyot)
Look for:
• Leaves that are crisp-looking, full and dark green. Store them in the refrigerator crisper drawer and make sure to consume within two days.


Swamp cabbage (kangkong)
Look for:
• Fresh and green leaves, not wilting

Avoid:
• Any signs of wetness or rot


Pechay (bok choy or pak choy)
Look for:
• White stalks and upright, crisp dark green leaves.

Note: Bok choy stays fresh for four to five days when stored in the refrigerator. Use a plastic bag large enough to cover the entire vegetable, and wrap loosely.


Asparagus
Look for:
• Green asparagus with closed, compact, firm tips.
• Stalks that go far down as the green extends

Avoid:
• Open, moldy or decayed tips,
• Ribbed spears (spears with up-and-down ridges or that are not approximately round). Those are all signs of aging, and indicate tough asparagus and poor flavor.


Broccoli
Look for:
• Tight and firm stalks.  Look at the stalk and make sure it's not tough
• Buds that are tightly closed
• Leaves that are crisp and very green
• Dark green florets

Avoid:
• Strong smell or if the leaves have a slightly yellow color


Spinach
Look for:
• Green and undamaged leaves
• Loose spinach leaves are more likely to be fresher than packaged

Note:  Leaves with thin stems are usually more tender than those with thick stems. Wrapping spinach in a paper towel and storing in clear plastic bag will keep it fresh for three to four days.

How do I know if fish and shellfish are fresh? Check the next page.

Fresh seafood
Seafood shopping can be a challenge because you have a lot of to look for, but once you know what to look for, it will be easier—we promise!

Fresh fish and seafood have practically no odor.  And when they start smelling fishy, it just means they're decomposing.


Whole fish
Look for:

• Bright and clear eyes
• The skin should be moist, firm, clear, and bright
• Bright, reflective and metallic scales
• Briny, fresh, and mild saltwater smell
• Stiff tail

Avoid:
• Red, cloudy or sunken in eyes
• Brownish gills
• Traces of slime on the skin
• Sour-smelling, strong or “fishy” odor
• Missing scales that appear to be dried out,
• Skin that has darkened or dulled
• Milky liquid, the first sign of rotting


Fish fillets
Look for:
• Should be moist and lie flat, with no curling at the edges. To check, press the fillet with one finger. If the flesh bounces back and regains its original shape, it is fresh. If the imprint of your finger remains, the fillet is past its prime.


Crab
Look for:
• Live ones!
• Active in their movements
• Should be moving and not be sagging at the joints and tails

Avoid :
• Live crabs with sluggish movements, this is a sign they may not have had food recently—which means and are not very fresh, and may even have less meat.


Shellfish: clams (halaan), oysters (talaba) and mussels (tahong), snail (suso)
Look for:
• A trusted vendor or a reputable fish market.

Avoid:
• Cracks in the shell. If the shell is cracked, chances are they’re dead—and those are the ones that make people sick.

Note: If the shells gape slightly, tap them: the shells should close up. If they do not close up, throw them away.
    
Shellfish reminder:  Always look out for RED TIDE warnings. Hard-shell clams, soft-shell clams, oysters, mussels and scallops are particularly prone to contamination as they feed by filtering microscopic food out of the water.


Scallops
Look for:
• Shelled scallops, ideally
• Firm, and respond to pressure

Avoid:
• Mushy flesh


Shrimp
Look for:
• Whole and frozen
• Translucent flesh
• Saltwater smell

Avoid:
• Ammonia smell
• Black spots or rings (unless it's black tiger shrimp) as this indicates the meat is starting to break down.
• Pink meat
• For frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined before freezing. It can cause a loss of flavor and texture (shells will help to protect the meat of the shrimp and add more flavor to it)

Squid
Look for:
• Squid that have bright and shiny eyes.

What should I know about fresh poultry and meats? Go to the next page.

Poultry
Look for:
• Tightly secured, not ripped, packaging
• No smell
• Creamy white skin color to faint yellow
• Shiny skin

Avoid:
• Strong odors
• Grey skin; chicken with translucent skin is not as fresh
• Visible liquid or blood, which means has been frozen and thawed multiple times, and roughly handled

Note: Check if the packs of chicken are stacked on the chilling shelf. If they’re stacked too high, the packs on the top may not be properly chilled.  Squeeze the package to check for signs of freezing. If the meat case is kept too cold, ice crystals appear within the tray.


Meat: beef, pork, lamb
Look for:
• Properly sealed packaging, so the meat juices cannot run out
• For beef,  bright red color; For pork, pinkish
• For marbled meat, thin white streaks for a juicier and more tender beef cut

Avoid:
• Anything with an unusual or “off” odor


Double-dead
The sad truth: Aside from the fact that this is uniquely Filipino, double dead meat (botcha or hot meat) are actually sold in markets today. Double dead is a term for meat taken from an animal that are already dead, died of a disease and sold to innocent meat buyers. So beware!  Check closely
 
Look for these to spot double-dead pig, beef and chicken meat:
• Foul smell
• Pale color with greenish-gray or bluish hcolor
• Dark hide, hair remain stuck to the meat's fat meaning it has been dipped in boiling water, sticky and slippery.

Note: For safety and extra precaution, avoid buying frozen meat kept in boxes and those that are sold in unusually low prices. Instead, the buyer must look out for meat with pinkish or reddish color with some traces of blood, signifying that it is fresh.


Beef vs. Carabeef
Simply put, carabeef is carabao (water buffalo) meat. It is very popular across the world, especially among Indians (because cows are sacred among Hindus) and Muslims.

In the Philippines, carabeef can only be sold by Department of Agriculture-accredited meat processors, and only in the form "processed meat products such as corned beef, hot dogs or sausages." Compared to cattle beef, carabeef has lower fat and higher protein content, but is still frowned upon in the country because they're pets for some. Regardless of what your beef preference is, here's how to tell carabeef from beef:

According to blogger bucaio, compared to cattle beef, carabeef:
• Redder meat
• Grain that's not as fibrous
• Tastewise, carabeef and beef are almost the same, except cattle meat has a more "beefy" flavor, while carabao meat is more "magata."
• A less juicy flavor, but creamier flavor.
• Carabao milk doesn't "curdle" at room temperature.


Photos by sxc.hu

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