Fresh Product-Fruits, Vegetables, and Fresh Herbs

Unit 12: Fresh Produce:
Fruits, Vegetables,
and Fresh Herbs
It is a great challenge for a chef to
buy, store, and serve fresh
produce at its optimum quality
2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

American Culinary Federation: Culinary 07458. All Rights Reserved.
Keeping in Top Quality,
a Major Concern
Most of these products lose quality quickly
Greens wilt fast, fruits and berries lose
sweetness and get soft
Root vegetables and citrus fruits keep longer
Pod vegetables loose flavor and crispness
Herbs will start to turn dark and loose their
pungency
Upon receiving, turn back any with the slightest
damage as they will go quickly

Proper Storage
Most kept under refrigeration
Potatoes, tomatoes, bananas, and onions kept in a cool
darker area, off the floor
Fruits that need ripening stored at room temperature
Other fresh produce, kept at 40 to 45F (4 to 7C),
under humidity of 8090 percent
Ideally, have a separate cooler for fruits and produce
Excess moisture will cause spoilage
Trim the leafy tops as the tops will draw moisture
Apples, bananas, and melons produce ethylene that
causes wilting in other produce
Onions, garlic, and lemons give off odors that affect
other products

Local, Seasonal, and Artisan
Products
Buying locally promotes good relations
Product is usually fresher and cheaper
Supply is usually consistent
Specialty (boutique/artisan) products easier to
get
Heirloom products are a good marketing tool
Local foragers can get the best local mushrooms
and organic products
Be careful how you choose your forager
Organic products are in vogue now

Fruits
The Ovary of a Plant
Apples offer a myriad of colors, textures, and flavors
Can be applied to appetizers, salads, entrees, and
desserts
They come dried, fresh, sauced, frozen, canned
Select firm apples with no bruising
Different apples taste better during different seasons, so
choose the best apple for the right season
Keep in water with a little lemon or acid after preparation,
or the Maillard reaction will occur
Ten of hundreds of varieties are mentioned in your book

Berries
Are available individually quick
frozen, fresh, canned, frozen bulk,
dried, pureed, and as syrups
Spoil faster than most fresh produce
Purchase very close to service
Do not wash until immediately
before use
Inspect for bugs/worms

Citrus
Keeps well, available all year long
Sold in many forms, most common are
lemons, oranges, limes, grapefruits
Sweet and juicy types are used for eating,
bitter and very pungent used for preserves
and juices (Seville oranges, lemons and
limes)
Select firm, heavy fruits with no soft spots
Store refrigerated
Grapes
Available all year long, keep well
Do not wash until use
Should be plump, juicy, no soft spots, keep
refrigerated
Serve at room temperature
Can purchase seedless or with seeds,
white (green), black, red
Thompson, Concord, Black and Red
Emperor are the most common for eating
Melons
Succulent and fragrant fruit of the gourd family
Buy with no soft spots, bruises, fractures, or flat
spots.
They should have a sweet aroma
Store in a cool dark area, refrigerated if they are
cut
Two major categories, musk and watermelons
Musk melons have a pocket of seeds in the
middle, watermelons have seeds spread
throughout
Pears
Varieties may be round or bell shaped with a
sweet spicy flavor
Colors are yellow, reddish, russet or brownish,
some smooth and some very bumpy
As they ripen, the stem end softens and the
aroma intensifies
Once ripe, use them fast, keep refrigerated
Will brown when cut

Stone Fruits
Two types, freestone and clingstone
In freestone, pits remove easily; clingstone, as
the term implies, have stones that cling
Fruits include peaches, nectarines, apricots,
plums, cherries
Sold canned, frozen, fresh, dried
When buying, select plump fruit with no bruises
or soft spots, and store refrigerated with no
strong odors around

Exotic and Other Fruits
Some of these are tropical, but the
purchasing and storage is similar
Some are considered exotic (passion fruit)
while others are very common (bananas)
Included in the list that are used frequently
in the U.S. are (list not exclusive) avocados,
rhubarb, coconuts, figs, guavas, kiwifruit,
carambolas (star fruit), mangoes, persimmons
Many of the fruits we are using result from the rich,
multicultural society of Americathese are part of the
wonderful ingredients or recipes that our fellow citizens
have brought to our market basket

Vegetables
Comprised of the roots, tubers, stems, leaves,
seeds, stalks, seedpods, and flower heads
Cabbage family (Brassica) includes red, green,
Savoy, cauliflower, kale, turnips
Available all year long, keeps well, inexpensive and
popular
Many applications, from soups to stir fry to braised
and glazed

Soft-Shell Squash, Cucumbers,
and Eggplant
Zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, and
eggplants are all members of the gourd family
Picked or purchased when immature as they are
most tender with small seeds
Can be entirely eaten
Can be simmered, grilled, sauted, baked,
stuffed, used in salads, marinated
Pick with bright colors and store in the
refrigerator

Hard Shell Squash
Members of the gourd family, hard inedible
shell, keep a long time at cool temperatures
Available all year long, best in fall and early
winter
Flesh is orange to yellow
Seeds are often toasted and eaten
Purchase with blemish free and intact shell

Green Leafy Vegetables
Lettuce classified into several
categories: leaf, romaine, butter
head (Boston),
crisp head
In general, the darker, the stronger
the flavor
Select lettuce with no bruised leaves or wilting,
good color
Store well cooled, covered loosely with damp
towels

Bitter Salad Greens
Tender enough for salads but may be
cooked by steaming, braising, grilling, or
sauteing
Excellent to place on crispy entrees for a
texture contrast

Cooking Greens
Cooking greens are the edible leaves of a
variety of plants
Too fibrous to eat without cooking
Can be steamed, sauted, wilted, braised
Trim and wash by submerging then lifting them
out of cold water and straining
You may have to repeat this as they are sandy
Even prewashed greens should be washed

Mushrooms
Thousands of varieties
Range in size, color, shape, and
flavor
Cultivated mushrooms include
portobello, whites, cremini, shiitake,
and oyster mushrooms
Wild include cpes (porcini), chanterelles, morels, truffles
Select firm, no soft spots or blemishes, no breaks in the
caps or stems
Keep refrigerated and dry
Wash when using immediately

Onions
Two main categories: dry (cured) and green
Greens include ramps, scallions, leeks, chives
Greens are edible in most (not leeks)
Many applications, cold and hot
Dry onions include Spanish, Bermuda, pearls, shallots
and garlic
Store dry in cool, dark places that are well ventilated
Store greens refrigerated and covered
Select dried onions that are heavy and with tight-fitting
skins

Peppers
Two basic types: sweet and chilies
Sweets are also known as bell peppers because of their
shape
All start out green, but ripen to red, yellow, orange
All are similar in flavor, the red being the sweetest
To purchase, look for firm, heavy, bright, and glossy
specimens with tight skin
Chiles are grown in various sizes and colors
Have varying degrees of capsaicin, which gives them
their fire

Peppers (continued)
Caution: You must wear gloves
while handling chilies
Wash all surfaces and tools after
preparation
Avoid touching sensitive areas of your body
Each of the varieties have distinctive flavors
and lend themselves well to most cooking
applications

Pod and Seed Vegetables
These include fresh legumes (peas,
beans, and sprouts)
Sugars turn to starch after picking, so use
them quickly
Sugar snaps, snow peas, green beans,
and wax beans should be picked when the
pod is tender enough to eat.
Pods should be crisp, have good color,
and show no wilting
Root Vegetables
Rich is sugars, starches, vitamins, and
minerals
Beets, kohlrabi, parsnips, turnips
Check for soft spots and splits or moldy
spots
Root end should be dry
Trim leafy greens off as these draw
moisture
Store under refrigeration
Tubers
Potatoes are the most popular and familiar
Jerusalem artichokes, jicama, sweet
potatoes, and yams
Connected to the root system
Select tubers that are firm and appropriate
in size and color
Store unpeeled, dark, cool and dry, with
ventilation
Potatoes
Size is indicated by A, B, and C, A being
the largest
Young potatoes have more sugar and less
starch
New potatoes are any potatoes harvested
small, any color, labeled new potatoes
and graded C
Avoid potatoes with green skin; cut it away
Starchy Potatoes
Have less moisture, more starch
These are baking potatoes
Flesh is easy to bake or mash
Desirable for pureing and baking
Good for frying as they brown fast and will
not absorb grease
Will absorb moisture (starch cells), which
makes them perfect for casseroles
Moderate-Moisture Potatoes
All-purpose potatoes
Include Maine potatoes, Chefs potatoes,
and all-purpose potatoes
This variety also includes Yukons, Yellow
Finns, some fingerlings
These tend to hold their shape
Good for steaming, boiling, and oven
roasting, braised and stewed
Frequently used for salads
High-Moisture Potatoes
Include new potatoes, and some
fingerlings
Tender skin, cooked with skins on
Naturally sweet, fresh flavor; best boiled,
steamed, or oven roasted

Sweet Potatoes and Yams
In the U.S., yam is widely used to label an
orange-fleeshd variety of the sweet potato
Thin, smooth skins with tapered ends
Use the same cooking techniques as for
high-moisture/low-starch potatoes
True yams are starchier and drier than sweet
potatoes
They have rough scaly skins, very blocky

Shoots and Stalks
Globe artichokes, asparagus, celery,
fennel, and fiddleheads (ostrich fern)
Look for firm, fleshy, full stalks with no
browning
Tips closed
Store under refrigeration
Rinse and cut before using

Tomatoes
Hundreds of varieties
Different sizes, colors, acid contents, amount of
flesh, texture, shapes, and uses
Look for shiny skin, bright color
Firm, pliable feel, tight skin
Avoid bruised and soft tomatoes with soft spots
Store at room temperature unless very ripe

Herbs
Aromatic plants that add flavor to foods
Available dry, fresh, frozen
The stronger the aroma, the fresher the
herbs
Look for good color, well-shaped leaves,
no wilting or pest damage
Store loosely in plastic bags
Rinse and chop only when ready to use
Vegetable and Fresh Herb
Mise en Place
In cutting, consistency and speed is important
Calculate the timing
Check the service time
Think the job through
Assemble all tools, containers, waste area
Wash and trim before doing any cutting
Discard all the waste
Clean all tools and your hands before beginning
again
Prepare for service and cooking

Techniques for Selected
Vegetables
Peeling and cutting onions:
Cut as close to use as possible
They can be peeled in advance
Slice away the ends, peel away the first one or two
layers
Slice in half for dices and juliennes or batonnets,
leave whole for rings
For diced or minced, just lay it on the side and cut
laterally one or two times two-thirds through, turn the
onion, cut vertically, then turn again and cut across
the vertical cuts

Garlic
Garlic can be purchased peeled and minced,
just-peeled, fresh and whole in the bulbs,
granulated, powdered, roasted, pureed
To use fresh, peel and chop as close to service
as possible
If you peel and chop prior to service, keep it
chilled and well covered to prevent the odor from
getting into absorbant foods

Roasting Garlic
Gives a rich and smoky flavor

Component in potatoes, marinades,
glazes
Place unpeeled on an aluminum platter
and roast at 350F (175C) until garlic is
quite soft
Remove skins and pass through a mill

Leeks
Wonderful flavor; very sandy and need to be handled
with lots of fresh clean water
Trim, discard the dark green leaves, leave part of the
stem attached and cut the long way so it resembles a fan
Fan out in cold water several times to remove the sand,
then slice for use
Or, slice as you need them, place in cold water, lift them
out, discard the water, and rinse them again
Always lift sandy fruits and vegetables out of the water;
never pour the vegetables out as this will put the sand
back

Tomatoes
Can be sliced by hand or electric slice (if
they are firm enough)
Tomato concass: skin, liquid and seeds
removed, leaving only the pulp
Cut an X into tomato bottom, through skin
only, dip 510 seconds in boiling water, then
ice bath, skin will slip right off
Section and squeeze water and seeds from
pulp, reserving liquid for cooking
Chiles and peppers
Very versatile, used in diverse cultures
Be sure to wear plastic gloves when using chiles
Wash, and then pat dry
Cut from top to bottom, quarter or half
Cut away pith, stem, and seeds
Cut as the recipe requires
Cutting peppers is the same
To cut peppers more uniformly, slice off the
bottom and collar, cut into even strips, turn and
dice

Roasting Chiles and Peppers
Cook peppers over a gas burner on
medium or a grill that is medium heat
Roast in a moderate oven until soft and
skin has roasted
Place in a bag for at least 30 minutes, or
in a covered bowl, to sweat, and skins will
then slip right off
Reserve for recipes
Roasting peppers is the same technique
Dried Fruits and Vegetables
Must be rehydrated or plumped
Soak them in liquid
Some may be toasted or charred while dry in a skillet
To do this, just place the skillet and at medium heat,
toast until the product is fragrant
Check for infestation before using
Rinse or wash them to remove dust, bugs, stems, etc.
Sort out moldy pieces
Place into a bowl and pour hot liquid over them
Soak them till they are almost original in size
They will seldom rehydrate to the full size
Save the liquid as it make a good flavor base

Mushrooms
Slice at service
Wipe off the dirt they are grown in before slicing
Rinse briefly before using
Do not let them soak as they soak up too much
water
Drain and cook them immediately as the recipe
requires
Only cut what you can cook at one time as
precutting causes flavor loss

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Unit 12: Fresh Produce:

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

Gives a rich and smoky flavor

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

2006, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ

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