Food: Bruised Peaches Have More Flavor

It’s natural to want the prettiest peach, the biggest pineapple, or the greenest avocado. But often, the picture perfect examples of fruit are not actually the best tasting.

Here’s a secret: bruised peaches have more flavor.

Now, I’m not talking about mushy, mealy peaches. If your peach has thumb prints and worm holes, pick another fruit- apples are lovely this time of year.  But if you find a peach that is smaller in size (large peaches are often too watery) and has some good give when you squeeze it in your hand, you know you’ve found a juicy winner.

Similarly, it’s ok if your avocado has a few soft spots. You can buy hard avocados and ripen them in a paper bag, but you’re better off finding one that is soft to the touch but on which indentations are not left in the skin after you give it a squeeze.

Now, pineapples are a different matter- once picked, they are as ripe as they are going to get. To determine which will taste the best, check out its “plates”- the hexagonal shapes that make up the exterior of a pineapple. The plates should be the same size all the way up to the stem, denoting that the fruit had enough time to mature properly and wasn’t picked too early.

check out those plates!

We all have our flaws. Maybe you laugh too loudly, or spend too much money on frivolous things. Maybe you don’t let people get close to you, or you get too close to people too fast. Maybe you only do laundry once a month, or you leave dirty dishes in the sink until they smell. Me? My car is always a mess and I have ugly feet (among other failings). But our flaws are what make us taste good. Don’t pick a fruit, a friend, or a partner that doesn’t have flaws. Bruised peaches have more flavor.