“Garden to Plate” – Celebrating the Land and Its Freshness
SeasonalVegetables and Fruits and The Inn at Dos Brisas
The produce experts at The Inn at Dos Brisas share expertise, insights, and practical tips about choosing and using the bounty of the season --
A note about Ethylene -
Ethylene is a gas emitted by fruits as a hormone to speed ripening time. It is also sometimes used commercially in small amounts to speed ripening after harvest.
Too much exposure to ethylene can cause detrimental effects on the postharvest quality of vegetables.
For cucumbers to keep their freshness, they should be kept away from tomatoes, apples and citrus, because these give off ethylene gas.
In the case of eggplant, ethylene exposure can cause the browning of the pulp and seeds and accelerate decay.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are not as hardy as they look. They must be stored in a climate controlled area with a temperature of around 45 degrees or they deteriorate rapidly.
In cucumbers, soft spots are the first sign of quality loss.
Cucumbers dehydrate rapidly, because they contain a high percentage of water. For this reason they are waxed before being shipped to grocery stores. The wax coating impedes moisture loss, but cucumbers still have a relatively short storage time.
Cucumbers can maintain their freshness for about a week if stored, unwashed and sealed, in a plastic bag in the vegetable crisper.
Eggplants
Scientists at the University of Madrid have found that eggplant tastes its best 42 days after the fruit begins to form.
Sugar content declines during the second week of growth; then increases up through the end of the sixth week. Finally, the sugar content drops dramatically during the next ten days.
The important flavor compounds which include the amount of ascorbic acid and phenols increase dramatically on the 42nd day and then drop substantially.
Eggplant should be eaten as soon as possible after purchase because it becomes bitter with age. If possible, however, calculate the weeks the eggplants have traveled to the neighborhood grocery store before purchase. Eggplant can stay in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Tomatoes
Fresh tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamins A and C. Vitamins are lost during the processing of tomatoes, especially Vitamin C.
Tomatoes are classified into two categories: fresh market and processing tomatoes. Fresh market tomatoes are eaten directly after harvest. They have higher sugar and acid content. Processing tomatoes have greater levels of ethanol insoluble solids.