Chicory, endives, escarole
These vegetables, used mainly in salads, are available
practically all year round, but primarily in the winter and
spring. Chicory or endive has narrow, notched edges, and
crinkly leaves resembling the dandelion leaf. Chicory plants
often have "blanched" yellowish leaves in the center which are
preferred by many people. Escarole leaves are much broader and
less crinkly than those of chicory.
Look for: Freshness, crispness, tenderness and a good green color of the outer leaves.
Avoid: Plants with leaves which have brownish or yellowish discoloration or which have insect injury.
Note: Witloof or Belgian endive is a compact, cigar-shaped plant which is creamy white from blanching. The small shoots are kept from becoming green by being grown in complete darkness.
Collards (see Greens)
Corn
Sweet corn is available practically every month of the year,
but is most plentiful from early May until mid-September.
Yellow-kernel corn is the most popular, but some white-kernel
and mixed-color corn is sold. Sweet corn is produced in a large
number of states during the spring and summer, but most
mid-winter supplies come from south Florida.
For best quality, corn should be refrigerated immediately after being picked. Corn will retain fairly good quality for a number of days, if it has been kept cold and moist since harvesting. Therefore, it should be refrigerated as soon as possible and kept moist until used.
Look for: Fresh, succulent husks with good green color, silk-ends that are free from decay or worm injury and stem ends (opposite from the silk) that are not too discolored or dried.
Select ears that are well-covered with plump, not-too-mature kernels. Sweet corn is sometimes sold husked in overwrapped film trays.
Avoid: Ears with under-developed kernels which lack yellow color (in yellow corn), old ears with very large kernels, and ears with dark yellow or dried kernels with depressed areas on the outer surface. Also avoid ears of corn with yellowed, wilted or dried husks, or discolored and dried-out stem ends.
Cucumbers
Although cucumbers are produced at various times of the year in
many states, and imported during the colder months, the supply
is most plentiful in the summer months.
Look for: Cucumbers with good green color that are firm over their entire length. They should be well developed, but not too large in diameter.
Avoid: Overgrown cucumbers that are large in diameter and have a dull color, turning yellowish. Also avoid cucumbers with withered or shriveled ends - signs of toughness and bitter flavor.
Eggplants
Eggplant is most plentiful during late summer, but is available
all year. Although the purple eggplant is more common, white
eggplant is occasionally seen in the marketplace.
Look for: Firm, heavy, smooth, and uniformly dark purple eggplants.
Avoid: Those which are poorly colored, soft, shriveled, cut, or which show decay in the form of irregular dark-brown spots.
Endive, escarole (see Chicory)
Greens
A large number of widely differing species of plants are grown
for use as "greens." The better known kinds are spinach, kale,
collard, turnip, beet, chard, mustard, broccoli leaves,
chicory, endive, escarole, dandelion, cress and sorrel. Many
others, some of them wild, are also used to a limited extent as
greens.
Look for: Leaves that are fresh, young, tender, free from defects, and that have a good, healthy, green color. Beet tops and red chard show reddish color.
Avoid: Leaves with coarse, fibrous stems, yellowish-green color, softness (a sign of decay) or a wilted condition. Also avoid greens with evidence of insects - especially aphids - which are sometimes hard to see and equally hard to wash away.
Kale (see Greens)
Lettuce
Among the leading US vegetables, lettuce owes its prominence to
the growing popularity of salads in our diets. It's available
throughout the year in various seasons from California,
Arizona, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and other states. Four
types of lettuce are generally sold: iceberg, butter-head,
Romaine and leaf.
Iceberg lettuce is the major type. Heads are large, round and solid, with medium-green outer leaves and lighter green or pale-green inner leaves.
Butter-head lettuce, including the Big Boston and Bibb varieties, has a smaller head than iceberg. This type will have soft, succulent light-green leaves in a rosette pattern in the center.
Romaine lettuce plants are tall and cylindrical with crisp, dark-green leaves in a loosely folded head.
Leaf lettuce includes many varieties - none with a compact head. Leaves are broad, tender, succulent and fairly smooth, and they vary in color according to variety.
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