TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Fresh produce worries? Chill!

ADVERTISEMENT

By MARY A. KEITH

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 5, 2009

Is it really true we can't serve fruit salad or sliced tomatoes at picnics anymore? What's happened? I took some to a picnic and my friends got upset!

You can serve them, you just have to keep them iced. What's happened is that either bacteria are getting sneakier or we're catching on to where they live. We now know that bacteria can survive and grow on many cut or sliced fruits and vegetables, including tomatoes, melons and cantaloupe. Bacteria can get down inside a tomato or a pepper by following the veins down from the stem scar to the center. Slicing a watermelon can carry bacteria from the surface down onto the cut flesh. All that nice juice is a sweet place for them to grow. Keep all cut fruits and vegetables cold, on ice or in the refrigerator, to keep bacteria from growing.

Is it OK to just slice and flour okra before I freeze it, if I'm going to make fried okra later, or do I have to fry it first?

You don't have to fry the okra before you freeze it, but depending on how long you intend to keep it, you might want to blanch it. Blanching, that quick dip in boiling water, stops a lot of enzymes. If they're still active they can ruin the flavor in many frozen vegetables. Things come out tasting or smelling like freshly mown hay. Not what you want in your okra!

If you'll use it in the next four to six weeks you can probably get away without blanching. But for longer storage, blanch small pods for three minutes, larger ones for five. Dip in ice water to chill, so they don't cook. Pat them dry, slice, and dredge with your favorite breading mixture. Lay them on a cookie sheet to freeze solid, then pack in freezer bags or containers.

How much sugar is there in a cup of watermelon? What about cantaloupe? Which is more nutritious?

A cup of watermelon cubes has 10 grams, or about 2 teaspoons of sugar. A cup of cantaloupe cubes has a little more 13.4 grams or not quite 3 teaspoons. And honeydew melon earns its name by having the most, 15.1 grams, or about one tablespoon of sugar in a cup of cubes. Cantaloupe has more vitamin A, watermelon has lycopene for vision and other health benefits.

They're all good for us.

Mary A. Keith, a nutritionist and health agent at Hillsborough County Extension, can be reached at (813) 744-5519 or mkeith@ufl.edu.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT