Harrison made an important point today that I feel should be given more attention. Many people attempting a LFRV lifestyle tend to eat unripe fruit. This can potentially be a big problem for health, especially teeth so I felt this was a good time to nip it in the butt as much as possible. I will add this discussion to FAQs too.
So how's it going to work? I don't know I'm open to suggestions but to start I was thinking of posting in the following format...
FRUIT: Cavendish Banana
UNRIPE Cavendish Banana (do not eat):
Appearance: Generally all over perfect yellow/greenish, none or not many 'age spots'
Feel: Too firm, texture not soft to bite, hard to break off stem, won't fall off bunch.
Smell: Not really any smell at all
Taste: Starchy, chalky and can cause constipation and stomach cramps, hard on digestion.
RIPE Cavendish Banana (eat as many as desired!):
Appearance: Generally lots of brown spots almost covering the skin (all the commercial ones in the western world should look like this when ripe). Stringy fiber within the skin attached to banana itself should come away easily or not be present at all.
Feel: Soft but firm, should break/fall off the stem easily without effort
Smell: Sweet, pleasant, appealing. Should not have a fermenting, alcohol-like smell, in this case it has gone off.
Taste: Nice & sweet, easy to chew and should digest seeminglessly
If I've left out details about the cavendish banana or you don't think i've been accurate enough please tell me and I will modify it. This can apply to everyone's posts too. If you don't think the poster has done the fruit justice please add extra details below their description
FRUIT: plantain (contributed by
Sunnie)
Unripe
Appearance: any green or yellow areas
Feel: Too firm
Smell: Not really any smell at all
Taste: starchy, hard to digest
Ripe
Appearance: completely black
Feel: yields to pressure, the mushier the better
Smell: Sweet, pleasant, appealing.
Taste: Delicious
Please note some varieties should be eaten slightly firmer but this particular one needs to be soft. There are over 3000 known varieties on the planet... (BTW - These are all unripe and hard)
UNRIPE PEAR (Bartlett or Green Anjou variety I believe...) NOTE THE GREEN ONES ARE UNRIPE IN THIS PIC
Appearance: Greenish, sometimes yellow
Feel: Hard, no 'give' in the flesh
Smell: Nothing or very faint
Taste: Crunchy, tart, starchy
RIPE PEAR:
Appearance: Golden yellow with brownish skin tones/brown (depending on variety but never green). Quite old and almost "beaten up" looking
Feel: Soft, teeth sink into skin EASILY, no crunch, flesh almost melts in mouth.
Smell: Beautiful sweet aroma, that's almost intoxicating
Taste: Yummy! Very sweet, shouldn't be powerdery
FRUIT: Black mission figs (Contributed by
Figgie)
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Unripe:
Appearance: Firm, like a full balloon. Inside pink/pale, clearly defined fibers, (if just picked what sap will ooze from stem - do not eat!)
Feel: Firm, hard to slight give
Smell: none
Taste: none to very mild, watery
Ripe:
Appearance: squishy, slightly deflated balloon, may be leaking clear/amber syrup. Inside brown/tan, few if any fibers, seeds evident.
Feel: squishy, very soft. A ripe fig is easy to pinch apart between two fingers. Fingers should go right through it with ease. Unripe figs put up a fight
Smell: mildly sweet
Taste: syrupy, sweet, devine!
FRUIT: Gold Kiwi
Unripe:
Appearance: Lighter green skin than when ripe, tight perfect oblong shape. Inside is less translucent and the colour is more "solid" and perfect looking. The inside translucent colour is starting to extend to the rims on this one below, its nearly there but a few more days would be sweeter. It is sweeter and riper than the one below it.
Feel: Hard, skin is tight, smooth and firm
Smell: Nothing
Taste: Sour, tangy, acidic - not sweet
Ripe:
Appearance: Definitely darker colour of Skin and skin is looser, sometimes wrinkly, definitely not tight. Inside is more beaten up looking and translucent
See how dark the full one in the back is?
Feel: Soft but not squishy, still holds it shape but not tight like a drum
Smell: Sweet, tutti fruiti odour
Taste: Super sweet, not an ounce of acidic, sour taste
(I'm using this example for the DARK ONE - notice how there are different shades of brown here? The darker one is the ripe one...the other ones are a good comparison to it.
FRUIT: Green Kiwi (challenging!)
Unripe:
Appearance: Very tight skin. Inside is darker solid green and white
Feel: Hard
Smell: No
Taste: Don't do it! Tart, acidic, sour..not sweet
RIPE:
Appearance: Often has uneven feel, like dents in skin not perfectly oval shaped. Less solid colour inside, more translucent
Feel: Soft
Smell: Sweet, lovely, not as strong as some fruits
Taste: Sweet but not as sweet as gold kiwi's, no sour or acidic taste
FRUIT: White Dragonfruit
UNRIPE:
Skin Appearance: Generally smaller in size but not always, depends on variety. The "leaves" that come off the side of the fruit are quite close together and stiff, these "leaves" look Flesh fresh and green. Skin is thicker.
Flesh Appearance: Flesh is sometimes translucent looking when unripe, a small amount of translucency is ok. Sometimes watery consistency that sticks to skin.
Feel: Very firm, skin is pulled tight, a little more difficult to open fruit with fingers.
Smell: No smell
Taste: Tart, sour
RIPE WHITE:
Skin Appearance: Generally fuller looking, "leaves" are old almost dead looking (sometimes a slight green colour) and further apart due to expanded size. Skin is quite a bit thinner (see above) and looks a little darker and translucent sometimes.
Flesh Appearance: Solid white colour is consistently better than translucent. Translucent patches are generally not tasty. Flesh should break into cubes easily when extracted.
Feel: Similar to unripe but you can feel the skin exploding beneath to skin to get out, unlike unripe. Should be able to peel the fruit like a
Smell: Not a lot of odour at all, a mild tropical sweet smell.
Taste: A good white dragonfruit is amazing, moderately sweet, not sour or tart at all.
UNRIPE RED:
Skin Appearance: Hard, perfect looking, no blemishes
Flesh Appearance: Lighter red/purple color
Feel: Quite hard, skin feels really tightly pulled around flesh, harder to get into
Smell: Nothing
Taste: Not pleasant, sour
RIPE RED:
I've had them like this and they taste great...
Skin Appearance: Battered, bruised, sometimes with "sores" on skin. Is looser on skin.
Flesh Appearance: Delicate, watery, a spoon glides through it
Feel: Quite loose, easy to peel off, more pliable.
Smell: Subtle sweet fruity
Taste: When a red dragonfruit is grown correctly and left until perfectly ripe it is a religious experience! Tastes like sort of like a sweet raspberry cuccumber.
PLUM (Balkan variety called Madzarka) - Contributed by
Nikola
UNRIPE PLUM: hard, red or green skin, inside sour and green color
RIPE PLUM: not much bigger than cherry, very sweeeet:) 1$/kg:))) And usually nobody put pesticide on it because it is no commercial variety (sold by local farmers only) and usually left for jam cooking or as food for pigs!!! And me!:)))
soft, blue skin, inside dark orange color, taste like sweet jam
PLEASE SHARE YOUR FRUIT PICS & DESCRIPTION (can you use the same format as I have above for consistency :-)
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