Pomona Fruit Baskets

Apples

There are more than 1,400 different types of apples. The most popularare Delicious (which is easy to digest), Golden Delicious, MacIntosh,Pippin, Granny Smith and Rome Beauties. All of these types arewonderful for making fruit baskets no matter what time ofyear it is. Apples are high in pectin which turns to a gel in theintestine, helping to remove toxins and stimulating bowel activity.Potassium and phosphorous help flush the kidneys and calm the stomach.Apples have a natural sugar that develop acids which encouragesaliva-flow and digestion.  If at all possible, try to eatwax-free apples. Wax increases shelf life but toughens the skin andtastes unpleasant.  Apples should be crisp and firm.  Alwaysstore apples loosely in the refrigerator which will increase shelf lifesix-fold. In a refrigerator, less tardy apples can store up to 2months. 

Just like their name, when ripe, honeydews have alight green, juicy flesh with a sweet flavor. It is a good source of vitamins A andC, potassium and zinc and excellent in digestive enzymes.

Excellent for potassium and magnesium which supplies stamina. Also agood source of iron. Only cantaloupes can rival apricots for the amountof beta carotene.  Apricots should be fairly firm, but not rockhard. Coloration should be orange with a brush of pink revealing thesweet flesh below. They will store for two to three days at roomtemperature and slightly longer in the refrigerator.

Bananas are filledwith potassium which contributes to strong heart and muscles. In theclass of soft fruits, they are the second-highest in mineral contentonly to be rivaled by strawberries.  Dehydratedbanana slices are like chewy candy for the kids. Bananas are alwayspicked green from the plantation for easier transportation. Try to buybananas green, which will ensure that they have not been gassed intransit. Do not eat them unripe because they are difficult to digest.Bananas will ripen at room temperature in two to three days. Tomaximize the nutritional value within a banana, allow them to ripenwith an apple in a paper bag. The apple in the bag will createethylene, a natural gas produced by fruit specifically for ripening.The chemical reaction between the gasses being formed allows the bananato produce a high amount of potassium similar to bananas that haveripened on the tree.<

When pears are perfectly ripe—not too soft and nottoo firm, they are the most delicious of fruits.  They are high inthiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid which help establish ahealthy cardiovascular system. They are also a good source of vitaminC, calcium, potassium, phosphorus and minerals. Levulose is the fruitsugar in pears which is easily tolerated by diabetics. Pears are higherin pectin than apples, which encourages regularity. Common varietiesare Bartlett, Bosc, Anjou and Comice. The sweetest and juiciest are theBartletts with their bright yellow skin.   Look for slightlysoft flesh around the stem area.

Take a cold fresh glass of ripened pineapple juice in crushed ice. Finda quiet comfortable corner in your home and close your eyes. You willbegin to hear the waves of the ocean lapping on the powdered, whiteshoreline of a tropical island. Above you, the gentle dance of palmleaves moved by hot tropical breezes. Add a pinch of coconut juice andyou have been transformed into Robinson Crusoe, living a life ofsolitude in a tropical paradise. Pineapple is the taste of thesun-soaked tropics, especially if you find one that was picked in itsripened state. Pineapples are jam-packed with minerals, potassium,choline, sodium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron andiodine. They have loads of vitamins including vitamin C and are anexcellent source of bromelain, an enzyme that helps digestion.Bromelain has also been known to cure laryngitis and is soothing to thethroat.  Learning how to determine a sweet pineapple may take somepractice. Your pineapple ought to have a strong, sweet aroma. Look fora large plump, heavy fruit. The leaves should easily pull out. The skinshould be a dark golden color. The summer is prime pineapple seasonbecause the sun is at its strongest.

They are God's candies with enzymes, vitamins and minerals.

With five times the vitamin C content oforanges, this juice is a powerful cleanser. The tastiest grapefruit isgrown in Texas and Florida. Pink is sweeter and less acidic than white.Many people can tolerate grapefruit more easily than oranges. 

Look for smooth round heavy fruit with a sweet smell.Grapefruits should be slightly spongy and flat at both ends. All citrusfruits should be bought in the ripened state because the ripeningprocess ends when they are picked. Store loosely in refrigerator.

They are the king of the berries. If you haveever had the pleasure of going strawberry picking, it is simply adelicious experience. You can taste the sun in the tender flesh. Whenstrawberries are allowed to ripen on the plant, they are a high sourceof vitamin C but useless for shipping. They are high in potassium,sodium, and iron. Strawberries are handy if you have to enduresecond-hand smoke. The ellagic acid neutralizes and dissolves thecarcinogen, PAH present in cigarette smoke.  Frozen with honey,they make brightly-colored Popsicles that children just love. Try tofind a local farmer who grows strawberries in your area. They areusually found during early summer. Strawberries, out of season, fromCalifornia are not as sweet but are still good for juicing. Alwaysstore in refrigerator in open paper bag.

Tangerines are in the mandarin family. An excellentlunch box delight. Easy to peel, wonderfully sweet and highlynutritious. A small tangerine will have more usable vitamin C than alarge orange. People who have a difficult time digesting oranges findtangerines more agreeable. Also an excellent source of B1. Tangerinesare seasonal and can be found from November through to February.Satsuma, Kinnow and the popular Clementine are sister fruits and aredelicious. Can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator andare best eaten within a week.

There is nothing more refreshing than aslice of watermelon on a hot day. Why, it is even better thanbeer— legal to eat in a public place and does not result in anasty hangover. For £2.50, you can produce a mother-load ofjuice. And whereas eating the rind would be hard on the stomach,juicing it is a wonderful source of chlorophyll, vitamin A, protein,potassium, zinc, iodine, nucleic acids and enzymes that aid indigestion. Ninety-five percent of all the nutritional content ofwatermelon is in the rind. Thump watermelons with your knuckles and ifit sounds hollow, it’s going to taste sweet. They should be darkgreen in color, dull, rather than shiny and their underbellies shouldhave a pale yellow color. Store whole watermelons in a cool place.

The kiwi fruit was invented in New Zealand from theChinese gooseberry. So tickled were the New Zealand farmers, that theynamed it after their national bird, the kiwi. Today kiwis arecultivated in California and New Zealand. This allows us to have freshkiwis all year round. The small fruit is about the size of a golf balland is round and fuzzy on the outside and bright green with edibleblack seeds.  

Kiwis should be firm, only giving slightlywhen pressed. They will store well for a week in the refrigerator. 

A fruit that comes from the deep tropics. Expensiveand hard to find because of difficulty in shipping this delicate fruit.Most of our papayas come from Hawaii. They are an oval-shaped fruitweighing less than a pound. Cut in half, the flesh is an orange huefilled with shiny, black, edible seeds. They are a good source ofcalcium, potassium, vitamin C and of course, the color gives itaway—beta carotene. They are high in the enzyme, papain, whichhelps us digest protein and is used commercially to tenderize meat..  Papaya should have some yellow color which is an indication ofripeness. Will store in the refrigerator only for a few days. Greenfruit will soften when left on the counter for a day or two. Spottedpapayas, somewhat like bananas, are sweeter even though they do notlook pretty. Peel before juicing.

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