One of the most frustrating wastes of money is when you buy produce that ends up not tasting good. In most cases, I simply chalk it up to bad luck and take the loss. Part of the problem is that I’ve never known how to pick fruit to get the best of the bunch. Now I know from this tip sheet so I will never waste money on less than satisfactory fruit again. Here is the number one rule to remember:

Good Produce Weighs More Than You Expect

Take 5 of anything of the same size, preferably medium. Grab each one and gently hold it in the palm of your hand for a few seconds. Pick the heaviest feeling one. No need to squeeze, no need to dig in with your fingernails and disgust everyone. Works for citrus, works for corn, works for melons, works for tomatoes, works for celery, heck, it works for garlic bulbsit just works for everything.

And the rest of the tips that will help you always have great tasting produce:

• Good produce smells good.
• Good produce has a firm cut end.
• Good produce is not the biggest.
• Good produce ripens with its friends.

Since having to throw away food is the same as throwing away money, this tip should serve everyone well in the future. I’ve already written the 5 points on a piece of paper and placed it in my wallet until I have memorized them all. The next time I’m in the produce section, I will actually enjoy trying to figure out which fruit will taste the best.