Don’t toss fresh fruit in the fridge: Most fruits are best kept in a cool, dry place, such as on a countertop, away from sunlight and heat. As with tomatoes, refrigeration can actually alter the flavor. That’s why you should only buy what you can reasonably expect to consume before it becomes overripe.

Today’s tip comprises fruit ripening tips from The FruitGuys founder Chris Middlesteadt. The FruitGuys delivers farm-fresh fruit and vegetables to businesses, homes and schools nationwide. The company pioneered the “fruit at work” concept in San Francisco in 1998 to help companies provide healthy snacking options to employees.

APPLES

Apples should be kept in a cool space (below 60°F-70°F), away from sunlight and heat, where they will keep well for two weeks or so. Refrigerated apples can last as long as six weeks and still maintain their qualities.

Apricots ripening on the counter. Stone fruits in general, taste better if they aren’t refrigerated. Photo courtesy FrogHollow.com.

Angelcots are a white-fleshed variety of apricot. Apricots and all stone fruits continue to ripen after picking and should be stored at room temperature, away from sunlight and heat, until they give softly to the touch and have a sweet aroma. Once ripe, you can refrigerate the fruit as necessary to prevent spoiling; but cold temperatures may change their texture and taste.

AVOCADOS

Store avocados at room temperature until they are ripe. They’ll give slightly to pressure when they’re ready to eat. Speed up the ripening process by putting them in a paper bag for a couple of days. After ripening, they can be refrigerated for several days. Avocado halves should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge with the pit still in place.

Store bananas at room temperature away from direct sunlight and heat. Bananas become yellow, soft and sweet as they ripen. To speed the ripening process, put bananas in a paper bag overnight along with an apple. The natural ethylene gas released by the apple will help ripen the bananas. Bananas are very delicate and can be easily damaged by extreme temperatures, hot or cold. If bananas turn black then most likely the fruit was exposed to extreme cold temperatures. Refrigerating bananas turns the skin black, but not the flesh. If you have too many ripe bananas, stick them in the fridge, slice and freeze, or make some banana bread or Banana Daiquiris!

BERRIES

Berries are picked ripe; these fragile fruits should be enjoyed as soon as possible. For overnight storage, they should be refrigerated. But don’t wash them until you’re ready to eat (or freeze) them.

If your cherries last uneaten for more than a day, store them unwashed in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to a week or so. When ready to use, rinse and let warm to room temperature for best flavor. They’re also great pitted and frozen for a refreshing cold treat, or tossed into smoothies.
CITRUS FRUITS

Grapefruit, lemons, limes, oranges, pomelos and tangerines can be stored at room temperature for a week or so, out of direct sunlight; or refrigerated for several weeks.
FIGS

Figs are picked ripe and should be stored in the refrigerator until ready to eat. You can enjoy them cold or at room temperature. Figs and fresh goat cheese are one of our favorite treats.

Tune in tomorrow for Ripening Tips Part 2, from grapes and melons to peaches and plums.

Peaches in season, from a good grower, are one of those special annual treats. Georgia and California peaches should be in your market now, so plan your strategy: hand fruit, fresh peach salsa, peach pie, peach ice cream…and a Peach Margarita.

In the U.S., the peach harvest typically begins in early May from Georgia to California. The fruit ripens later in northern states, like Idaho and Michigan—often in early August when the peaches from the warmer climates are ending their run.

This recipe, courtesy of Sauza Tequila, can be made year round, but it’s nice to have a tasty, fresh peach wedge garnish.
 
 
RECIPE: PEACH MARGARITA or PEACHARITA

Ingredients For 6 Cocktails

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE glasses with a half sugar-half salt rim, if desired. (You can use all salt, too.)

2. FILL a pitcher with ice, tequila, peach schnapps, orange liqueur, lime juice and peach nectar. Stir to combine.

3. CHILL and serve over ice in prepared glasses. Garnish with fresh peach wedge.

A Peach Margarita in a Martini glass (photo © Swank [now closed])

Looking for something special to serve on Father’s Day? Try this Bacon Guacamole Recipe, created by “Sam the Cooking Guy” for Avocado Central. The recipe is pretty simple; so if you prefer, you can just add crumbled bacon to your own guacamole recipe.

Large Hass avocados are recommended for this recipe, about 8 ounces each. If using smaller or larger size avocados, adjust the quantity accordingly.

The prep time is just 15 minutes.

BACON GUACAMOLE RECIPE

Ingredients

1. PLACE avocadoes in a bowl. Mash with the back of a fork.

2. ADD salsa, bacon and lime juice. Mix well and serve with chips or soft tortillas.
A Bloody Mary sounds great with bacon guacamole!

FIND MORE GUACAMOLE RECIPES AT AVOCADOCENTRAL.COM.

In one week, we’ve gone from sweater weather to heat wave. While the temptation is to cool down with ice cream and frozen yogurt, we’ve put together a list of healthy summer snacks that are both good for you and hydrating. The key is to prep everything in advance so that when you come indoors, hot and parched, you have immediate succor.

FRUITS

1. Fruit Salad

Cut up your favorite fruits—bananas, berries, grapefruit, melon, oranges, pineapple, whatever—and keep them in the fridge for cool snacking. Mix blueberries, blackberries, grapes, raspberries and strawberries for a salad packed with antioxidants. You can top it with a drizzle of honey, plain Greek yogurt, fruit or vanilla yogurt.
2. Frozen Grapes & Bananas

Just wash and dry ‘em (grapes), slice ’em (bananas), stick ‘em in the freezer and pop ‘em in your mouth. Frozen grapes and bananas take more time to eat, so the snack lasts longer. The frozen fruits are more lush and creamy than they are at room temperature.

Melon and berries are high in nutrition and fiber, low in calories, and hydrating. Photo courtesy CaliVirgin.com.

Low calorie, “no sugar added” ice pops are perhaps our favorite cool-off snack. Popsicle makes them in Sugar Free Orange, Cherry and Grape (15 calories); Sugar Free Tropicals (15 calories); Creamsicle Sugar Free Pops (40 calories) and Fudgsicle No Sugar Added (80 calories).

You can make your own lower-sugar ice pops by diluting your favorite juice with fruit tea or spice tea, unsweetened or with a noncaloric sweetener.
4. Melon

Don’t have time to cut up a fruit salad? Any melon, chilled in the fridge, hits the spot. Cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon are packed full of vitamins, fiber and water. While you can cut a quick slice whenever you need refreshment, we like to cut them up in advance and keep some in snack backs in the freezer for grab-and-go.

VEGGIES
5. Ants on a Log

This kiddie favorite can be made more sophisticated for grown-ups, filled with goat cheese, seasoned cottage cheese or seasoned Greek yogurt instead of peanut butter or other nut butter.

Cut celery in 3-inch long pieces, fill with the spread of your choice and top with a row of 3 raisins, dried cranberries or other dried berry, pistachios or peanuts.

There are so many different vegetables and so many different flavors of hummus, that this one never gets old.

 
7. Cucumbers With Dill-Yogurt Dip

The phrase “cool as a cucumber” comes from the fact that the inside of a cucumber is 20 degrees cooler than the outside. Slice them and serve with a nonfat Greek yogurt (lots of dill and garlic to taste, lemon zest, mint or basil if you have it, seasoned with salt and pepper). Look for different types of cucumbers and serve a fun assortment—you can find some real beauties in farmers markets (check out these heirloom cucumbers).

8. Barley Or Quinoa Salad

Chilled whole grain salads are great for summer snacking. Combine cooked barley or quinoa with chopped fresh or cooked vegetables (bell peppers, corn, edamame, onions/scallions, mushrooms, peas, zucchini, etc.), nuts, seeds, even berries or chopped fresh or dried fruits, including raisins. Dress with a light vinaigrette, or a citrus-olive oil dressing. Here’s a barley salad recipe; you can substitute quinoa for the barley. Eat with a spoon or in a lettuce leaf wrap or endive leaf.
DRINKS
9. Homemade Lemonade

While a cold jug of Crystal Lite lemonade can slake a thirst, homemade lemonade with zingy fresh lemon juice is a real treat. When you make your own, you not only spare the environment from bottle landfill; but you can use noncaloric sweetener including stevia or agave nectar instead of sugar. More about the different sweeteners.

For fun flavored lemonade, add grated ginger, fresh mint, lavender (here’s a lavender lemonade recipe), muddled berries or savory fresh herbs (basil, rosemary or thyme—crush gently to release the oils before adding to the drink).

A pinch of cayenne creates chile-accented lemonade: Add it pinch by pinch to the glass until you get your desired level of heat; or start with 1/2 teaspoon in a pitcher. (We prefer the more flavorful heat of ginger.)

Or make an Arnold Palmer: half lemonade, half iced tea. If you haven’t tried this combination, you’ll be delighted with the taste.

10. Iced Tea & Iced Coffee

There’s nothing like an ice-cold glass of iced tea or iced coffee to help cool down. Brew up decaffeinated versions if you like to drink lots of it but prefer to limit your caffeine intake.

To keep your drink even tastier, make ice cubes from iced coffee or iced tea—just pour it into the ice cube tray and freeze. Then, you won’t dilute your drink while keeping it cool; and adding ice cubes to a refrigerator-cold drink makes it super cold and refreshing.

We repurpose 64-ounce empty drink bottles to hold our brewed teas, and fill some repurposed 16-ounce drink bottles for grab-and-go.
Keep cool!

Dessert lovers: This one’s for you. Today’s tip is adapted from an article by Ann Pietrangel on Care2.com. To get recipes attached to the tips, see the original article.

Pietrangel interviewed Chicago-based pastry chef and restauranteur Malika Ameen, a Top Chef Just Desserts contestant and proprietor of By M Desserts.

Ameen recommends five ingredients that she always has on hand to give her desserts that extra something special. They happen to be popular with us as well:
1. Candied Citrus Peel

Candied citrus peel—grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange—adds brightness, freshness and texture to cakes and cookies. The peel of the fruit is julienned and boiled in sugar syrup, which preserves it. Here’s a recipe (along with a delicious lemon chiffon cake).

Candied red grapefruit peel, served with a mascarpone dip. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

 
2. Dried Lavender

“Used sparingly, dried lavender enhances food with a mysterious and distinctive flavor,” says Ameen. She steeps it in cream to pair with berries, makes lavender-infused simple syrup syrup for lemonade and iced tea, and combines it with a crunchy sanding sugar to garnish cookies and pound cake. Here’s our recipe for lavender whipped cream.

If you’re buying lavender outside of a food store (at a farmers market or general merchandise store, for example), be sure that it is organic. Lavender that is grown for ornamental display or potpourri can be coated with chemical pesticides. You want culinary lavender.

This aromatic and slightly sweet spice, a relative of ginger, is one of Ameen’s favorites. While it is known for its use in Indian cooking, it is a popular addition to Scandinavian breads and breakfast pastries, as well as to Middle Eastern desserts.

Cardamom pairs beautifully with chocolate: Use it to accent anything from chocolate pudding to brownie batter; add a dash or two to a chocolate milkshake. You can use cardamom pods to brew a delicious cardamom tea.

Cardamom plants grow wild in the monsoon forests of southern India. They had been gathered and traded for 1,000 years until the British began to cultivate it in the 19th century. Cardamom was called the Queen of Spices. Black pepper, also Indian in origin, was the King of Spices.

Vanilla beans are expensive, but they have a second life. Used vanilla beans can (and should) be used to make vanilla sugar.

Use vanilla sugar instead of plain table sugar to add a lift of flavor as an ingredient or a topping. Try it with baked goods, berries, beverages, cereal and grapefruit, for example.

To repurpose vanilla beans, simply place one in a sealed pound canister of granulated sugar for at least week. It can remain there infinitely; just shake the jar occasionally. You can add more used pods and can give containers of your artisan vanilla sugar as gifts.

If you don’t use vanilla pods, you can buy ready-made vanilla sugar as a gift for your favorite baker.

NOTE: Vanilla powder is not the same as vanilla sugar. Vanilla powder is a combination of sugar and ground vanilla that is used in recipes where a dry ingredient is preferred, instead of vanilla extract. More about the different types of vanilla.

5. Fleur De Sel

Sweet and salty has emerged as a flavor hit (although everything old is new again). Salt helps to lift the flavor of other ingredients. That’s why cookies, cakes and other sweets all have a pinch of salt in the recipe.

Fleur de sel (“flower of the sea”), a fine French sea salt is simply delicious with chocolate. That’s why there are so many artisan brownies, chocolate bars and chocolate chip cookies garnished with it.

Sprinkle a few crystals of fleur de sel sprinkled over any chocolate dessert to add a burst of flavor and crunchy texture.

Here’s more about fleur de sel in our Artisan Salts Glossary. Who knew there were so many wonderful salts?