Grocery Picking for Dummies

For whatever reason you’ve finally decided (or perhaps someone decided for you) to do the groceries for your household, quickly getting to grips with the how-tos of choosing ingredients can seem like quite the impossible task. We won’t kid you: even with the help of this article, you’re not going to magically transform into a pro at picking the sweetest mango or the freshest fish - it takes practice. But if you have little time on your hands to learn the ropes and don’t want your first few attempts to earn you earfuls from your parent, in-law, partner, or whoever the grocery snob in your family is, stick with us and (hopefully) you’ll go unscathed🤞🏼!

We’ve tried to be concise here (since if you’ve been too lazy to do the groceries up till now, you’re probably too lazy to read a long article), but if you still find this a tad too comprehensive...well...you’ve got a lot of catching up to do so quit complaining🤨! Depending on your family’s dietary restrictions, you might not even have to read all of it anyway. The sections below have been arranged such that the guide would satisfy the needs of, firstly, the fruitarians, then the vegans, then the vegetarians, then the pescatarians and, finally, the cruel.

Our goals here are freshness, quality and stretching the dollar. With regards to freshness and quality, we’ll assume that you know not to pick anything that’s expired or which has blemishes, slime, and/or a stench, so we’ll focus on choosing the great out of the good. Rest assured - we will point out red flags that are less obvious or perhaps not common knowledge. As for stretching the dollar...we do NOT apologise for going against anyone’s bourgeois proclivities.

FRUITS

Start by narrowing down your search to options that are both in season and imported from nearby countries (or, better yet, locally farmed). These tend to be cheaper and - assuming the vendor has been diligent with restocking - fresher.

Of course, it would be impractical for you to memorise which fruits are in season when. Thankfully, you needn’t have that prior knowledge when you go to the store. If you see that there is an abundance of a certain type of fruit on display and that its price is discounted, it’s probably in season. (You can typically deduce that something is discounted by checking for whether it has (1) a slash drawn and a new figure written on its price tag, (2) a new price tag pasted on top of an older one, or (3) a lower price than you might expect, with the product still looking far from spoiled.)

From there, it’s just a matter of selecting the ones that are ripe and have the best flavour. Here are some things you should look out for:

Berries

​blackberry/raspberry	firm and plump deeply and brightly coloured and, very importantly, shiny instead of matte note: determining if berries are mushy may be tricky since they are packaged in boxes. you could gently shake the boxes and pick those in which the berries seem to move around most freely. if the berries stay in place, it could mean that they have gone soft and are sticking to each other. you could also check the underside of the boxes (if they are transparent) for any juice that may have trickled to the bottom (which would tell you that the berries are damaged and hence bleeding)
blueberry	plump deeply and brightly coloured with a whitish bloom note: the note above for blackberries and raspberries applies here too
kiwi (yes...kiwis are berries…)	slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy) skin is taut
strawberry	gives off strong fragrance deeply and brightly coloured

Citrus

most, if not all	firm to the touch peel is bright (strong and deep neon colour is best) and finely textured gives off strong fragrance

Melons

cantaloupe/rockme-lon/netted-skinned honeydew	gives off strong fragrance (if already cut up) skin beneath rind is golden-yellow
smooth-skinned honeydew	skin is bright yellow
watermelon	skin is dull and has a cream-/deeply coloured patch

Stone Fruit

most, if not all	skin is firm and unwrinkled soft to the touch (NOT mushy)

Tropicals

​avocado	slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy) skin is fully black (some supermarkets provide infographics to illustrate exactly how black it should be; if they don’t, and if you’re unsure...there’s always Google Images) skin is free of blemishes and wet spots (which typically indicate overripeness/rotting) note: even without blemishes, avocados with fully black skins may still turn out to be overripe. to be safe, we suggest that you select those that still have a tinge of green all around or on either end, since this ensures that you would have perfectly ripe avocados in a day or two.
​banana/guava/man-go/papaya	slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy) gives off an intense fragrance has turned from green to yellow (or yellowish-green) (for mango and papaya) heavier than it looks
​dragon fruit	​petals are evenly pink and vibrant
​jackfruit	​gives off a sweet smell slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy)
​lychee	​skin is bright red slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy) gives off a floral smell note: fresh lychees may be hard to find so do not shy away from the canned version
​mangosteen	slightly soft to the touch (NOT mushy)
​pineapple	gives off a strong aroma at the stem end the best ones have yellower spikes
​starfruit	firm to the touch skin is bright yellow (slightly brown edges and some patches of green are fine)

Others that are common

apple/pear	firm to the touch skin is smooth
grape	plump skin is firm skin has a whitish bloom note: avoid those with shiny skins. they may look great and all but they also tend to be rather flavourless or horribly sour (just like your ex).
passionfruit	​plump heavier than it looks skin is wrinkled

If your favourite fruit is unavailable at your local store or not in season, don’t shy away from frozen versions. The flash-freezing process locks in their nutrients so they can be just as good as their fresh counterparts. Stay away from IQF berries, though (unless you have a lot of disposable income).

VEGETABLES

As with fruits, you should start by narrowing down your search to options that are both in season and from imported nearby countries or locally farmed. From there:

Beans and Peas

dried bean	skin is not discoloured not cracked, chipped, and/or split note: you should take the time to look for any signs of mould
pod (long bean/French bean/snow pea/sweet pea/sugar snap pea)	deeply coloured tender and crisp (if sold in a bunch/bundle, bend one of the pods to test if it snaps quickly and cleanly - but don’t stand there snapping every one of them please…) (for pea pods) medium-sized and bulging from peas within

Dark Greens

broccoli	florets are deep, bright green and compact stem is undamaged
cucumber	medium-sized unwrinkled skin has no yellow spots
leafy green	leaves are bright green and tender stems are crisp note: a few holes here and there on the leaves is not a problem
lettuce	​leaves are bright green and crisp

Starches

corn	kernels are plump (determine this by feeling the kernels through the husk; do not pull down the husk to take a peek...that’s rude) husk is bright green, tightly wrapped around the cob and free of brown/black holes throughout husk’s beard (at the top end) is still slightly damp/sticky
potato	firm to the touch very few “eyes” and no sprouts no green patches
​sweet potato	small-/medium-sized skin is even-toned, smooth and deeply coloured
taro	lighter than it looks (if sold cut open) full of red/purple veins

Yellows, Oranges and Reds

​capsicum (aka bell pepper)	firm to the touch skin is deeply coloured and shiny
carrot	​slim and medium-sized relatively straight and without too many indentations skin is bright orange
chilli	firm to the touch skin is deeply coloured and shiny
tomato	firm to the touch heavier than it looks skin is taut and deeply coloured

Others that are common

brinjal	heavier than it looks skin is shiny, deeply coloured and smooth firm to the touch (just don’t touch it for too long when picking…) medium-sized (bigger doesn’t always mean better *cough*)
cabbage	leaves are bright green/purple and crisp
cauliflower	florets are free of brown spots (and have yet to yellow), firm and compact stem is undamaged
green asparagus	bright green spears are tightly closed and have tips that are darker green or purple
lady's finger	very small pod bright green firm to the touch

Again, if something you are looking for is unavailable at your local store or not in season, consider looking in the freezer. In fact, when it comes to vegetables, the frozen stuff usually comes fully prepared (peeled, chopped up, rid of beards and stems, etc.) which means you’ll have a lot less to worry about when whipping up your meals.

DAIRY & ALTERNATIVES

You might be thinking, “Ah this one’s easy...just gotta look at the expiry date!” Well...NO 🙅🏻‍♀️. Here are three extremely important pointers to keep in mind:

1. If the product is kept in a chiller, that chiller should not exceed 4°C. (if there isn’t a thermostat attached to the display shelves, just ensure that the product is very cold to the touch)

2. If the product is kept in a freezer, there should be no water dripping from that freezer.

3. If the product is packaged in a carton, that carton should still be straight-sided, not the slightest bit puffy.

Being far from the expiry date does nothing to ensure that the product is safe for consumption unless it passes the above temperature and contamination checks. You need to be quite pedantic about this since you’re probably going to be consuming your dairy (and alternatives) raw.

If you’re wondering about point 3, the puffiness usually comes as a result of contamination due to temperature abuse or packaging damage. Gases released by the microbes within the carton are what cause it to expand. Do note that if/when the cartons in YOUR fridge BEGIN to puff up, it’s still safe to consume the products in a day or two. But if a carton sitting on the store’s chiller shelf has already puffed up, you wouldn’t know exactly when the puffing had started (for all you know it’s been a week) - so just don’t touch that nastiness with a ten-foot pole!

L: puffed carton, R: straight-sided carton

(Image Credits: Twitter and Oatly)

And even at risk of stating the obvious, we think it’s best to remind you that high-risk products like dairy should be purchased last (or at least, near the very end of your time shopping)!

SEAFOOD

Cephalopods (this refers to the likes of squid, cuttlefish and octopus)

most, if not all	skin is untorn flesh is very firm to the touch and shows no signs of yellowing

Fish

​steak

flesh => is almost translucent => is firm and elastic (check by pressing gently and seeing if it springs back, leaving no indentation) => appears moist (no drying around edges) => appears even-toned (no reddening or brown spots - visible streaks of blood are fine, but the flesh itself should not be discoloured by blood) => has no “cracks” (that is, separating fibres) packaging contains almost no liquid (excess liquid expedites bacterial growth)

​whole

smells fresh and mild (fresh fish shouldn’t smell fishy) eyes are bright, clear (without cloudiness or a pink hue) and protruding gills are bright red or pink

Shellfish

​clam/mussel/oyster (live)	shell => is not broken or cracked => closes when tapped on
​ prawn	firm to the touch has a mild odour has no black spots or blackened edges (black lines are natural for tiger prawns)

Not many grocers in Singapore carry live shellfish, so you probably wouldn’t be purchasing them frequently enough to warrant learning how to choose the freshest ones (we included the common molluscs above since those are pretty straightforward to select). If you ever need (or want) to buy live shellfish, just consult the grocers/employees.

Whether or not frozen seafood can ever compare to the fresh stuff, that’s up to you to decide for yourself (or for whoever the food snob in your household is to despotically decide for everyone else🙄). What we will say, though, is that it definitely provides for a ton of convenience, especially considering that frozen molluscs tend to be sold already shucked.

Buying seafood frozen also provides much assurance in terms of safety, since the freezing halts bacterial growth. Just ensure that the product is not bendable (which guarantees that it has been frozen at a low enough temperature) and that the package has little to no ice crystals within it (since these indicate that the product was either thawed and refrozen at some point - which would throw out practically all assurance of safety - or has been sitting in the inventory for way too long).

As with dairy, remember that seafood, frozen or not, should be purchased last or, at the very least, near the end of your time shopping! Also, to avoid cross-contamination, it would pay to put your seafood into extra plastic bags of their own before you cram them into your huge-ass tote bag or personal trolley along with everything else from your shopping haul.

MEAT & EGGS

Eggs

all	shell has no cracks shell is free of dirt, stray feathers, or sticky liquid (the presence of any of these would tell you that whoever did the quality check couldn’t care less)

Poultry

all	​meat is pale (could range from blue-white to yellow) and firm skin, if left on, is taut and unwrinkled smooth cuts; no jagged/frayed edges (which indicate poor skill/lack of care on the butcher’s part) packaging contains almost no liquid (excess liquid expedites bacterial growth)

Reds

all

​meat is dark purple (freshest) or dark red (quite fresh) - brown is safe to eat but far from desirable fibres are densely packed (sign of good quality and skilful butchering) smooth cuts; no jagged/frayed edges (which indicate poor skill/lack of care on the butcher’s part) for stewing: fibres are coarse and highly visible (sign of great meaty flavour) for searing/grilling: fibres are barely visible and interspersed with marbling (sign of tenderness and great fatty flavour) packaging contains almost no liquid (excess liquid expedites bacterial growth)

Other Meats, the classifications of which remain controversial

​duck

​(as with red meat) meat is dark purple (freshest) or dark red (quite fresh) - brown is safe to eat but far from desirable (as with poultry) meat is firm (as with poultry) skin, if left on, is taut and unwrinkled (if not sold whole) smooth; no jagged/frayed edges (which indicate poor skill/lack of care on the butcher’s part) packaging contains almost no liquid (excess liquid expedites bacterial growth)

pork

​meat is bright pink and firm smooth cuts; no jagged/frayed edges (which indicate poor skill/lack of care on the butcher’s part) packaging contains almost no liquid (excess liquid expedites bacterial growth)

If you’re absolutely hopeless at cracking eggs, consider purchasing the liquid or powdered versions. They have just as much nutritional value as the shelled stuff and would save you from the nightmare that is cracking a rotten egg...like...have you ever smelled one? N.A.S.T.Y. honestly we’d rather die!

As for frozen meat...well...it can usually save you at least 15% (sometimes up to half the price). So, really, unless you intend to cook your meat on the day of purchase to enjoy it at peak freshness, the frozen stuff would be the wiser option. As with frozen seafood, just ensure that the product is not bendable and that the package has little to no ice crystals within it.

And, once again, at risk of stating the obvious, frozen or not, meat should be purchased last or, at the very least, near the end of your time shopping, and placed into plastic bags of their own before you cram them into your tote bag or personal trolley.

Now that we’ve given you the rundown, don’t go embarrassing yourself at the grocery store! 😉 Good luck!