Wet market Shopping List: A Guide to Buying the Best Ingredients for Recipes
Are you planning to visit the wet market soon? Do you need a guide to get the best Ingredients you will use on your prepared dishes? Don’t worry; this article will guide you on accessing this ingredient like a pro-wet market buyer.
We all know that when you visit the wet market, you will be clumped by dozens of options ranging from meat, fish, poultry, fruits, and vegetables. With this many options available, you should buy from that seller at the entrance of the wet market or the nearby seller/beside you. There’s nothing wrong with doing this method (especially if that’s the seller you’re buying ingredients from), but if not, try using the guide below.
For Vegetables
Artichoke - The plump ones have the most meat and taste. It should be fresh and green all year round. Not dark brown or black at the tip.
Aubergine/Eggplant - It should feel heavy, or else it’s too old. The stalk must be fresh and green.
Avocado - An avocado can be green or brown, shiny or coarse (rough) without affecting its quality.
Broccoli - Bursting with healthy and green grass. A flat head of broccoli is like a bland dinner guest-not worth inviting.
Carrots - Potent orange-colored carrots are the ones with the best quality. It’s best to buy many small ones rather than a few large ones.
Cauliflower- Look for fresh leaves. The head should be white or ivory.
Cucumber - Shiny and dark green skin. A pale, soft, spotted cumber isn’t worth buying.
Lettuce - Should burst with freshness. Although outer leaves may be limp, don’t let that discourage you; usually, the head is solid and crisp underneath.
Peppers - The more extensive the fruit, the milder the taste. The red peppers are the sweetest. The surface should be shiny and smooth.
For Fruits
Figs - Fresh figs should ” sweat” with small drops of juice that make the skin gleam.
Grapefruit - The thin-skinned ones are the juiciest.
Kiwi - A ripe kiwi should yield a little if you press gently where the stem is. If the fruit is too soft, it’s probably already fermenting.
Lemons - Round lemons are juicier than oblong shaped. The more yellow the lemon, the more vitamin C it’s packing. The green ones should be avoided or disposed of. They’ve been added for ripening purposes.
For Meats
Beef - Should be red. It should not be brownish.
Chickens - Forget the butcher, forget the supermarket, drop the market, and drive to a local farmer with free-range chickens in the country. These are the tastiest.
Duck - Choose female ducks; they have the most succulent meat. The fat should be white rather than yellow.
For Fishes
In General, Fish must have a pleasant fresh smell of the sea or seaweed. Fish eyes should be clear (and bulging), and the skin should glisten with scales adhering firmly to it. The skin should be firm to the touch and “bounce back” when you press it with your fingers. Check that gill are red and not pale or slimy.
Cod - Cod is best bought during the colder months. Cod meat gets looser in the warm months when it feeds the most, as opposed to the winter and the shedding periods in the spring.
Flounder (Plaice) - If there is any doubt about the freshness of the flounder, fry it. Fresh flounder shrinks in the pan.
Herring - Silvery in the skin. It’s ok if it's soft at the belly, but it should not be porous. Avoid long skinny herrings.
Mussels - Prepare live. You can check this quickly by placing them on the kitchen counter, where they’ll open if alive. You can tap them gently on the edge of the sink if you’re still in doubt. If they close immediately, they’re still alive.
Smoked herring - Should be uniform in color and uncut to prevent the dark brown skin from coming in contact with the meat- it makes it taste of soap.
These are just some foods available in the market where you can apply the guides provided. Note that this guide is only intended to inform you on what factors you can consider if you’re buying the ingredients you need to get most of the benefit from the food.
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