There’s an art to selecting fruits that are both ripe and long-lasting—and it starts with understanding how to read produce labels and spot signs of freshness. Whether you’re at a grocery store or farmer’s market, knowing what to look for helps you avoid waste, stretch your grocery budget, and bring home better-tasting produce.

First, let’s decode those little stickers on your fruits. These are called PLU codes (Price Look-Up codes), and they tell you more than just price. A 4-digit code starting with a “3” or “4” means the produce was conventionally grown. A 5-digit code starting with “9” indicates organic produce—grown without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. And while rare, a 5-digit code starting with “8” was once designated for genetically modified (GMO) items, although many retailers have phased this out.

You’ll often see PLU codes on apples, bananas, avocados, and citrus fruits. For example, a conventionally grown banana might have a PLU code of 4011, while an organic one would be 94011. For more details, you can reference the full PLU code database maintained by the International Federation for Produce Standards.

Beyond stickers, freshness is all about look, feel, and sometimes smell. Here are a few reliable guidelines for selecting the best fruits:

• Apples: Look for firm skin with no bruises or soft spots. A slight shine is good, but avoid any that feel waxy or greasy.
• Bananas: Buy slightly green if you want them to ripen over the week. If you need immediate use, yellow with brown specks is best for smoothies or baking.
• Berries: Check the underside of the container for juice stains or mold. Berries should be plump and dry—not mushy or shriveled.
• Citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, limes): Choose fruit that feels heavy for its size and gives slightly when pressed. That means it’s juicy.
• Avocados: Gently press near the stem. If it yields slightly and still has the stem cap attached, it’s perfectly ripe. Too soft or missing the cap? It may be overripe.
• Melons: A ripe melon will have a sweet, fragrant smell near the stem end and feel heavy. Tap it—if it sounds hollow, it’s good to go.

Color is a useful indicator too. For example, bright red strawberries with green caps are sweeter, and peaches with more yellow background tend to be riper. But remember: natural imperfections like minor scarring or bumps don’t always affect taste or quality.

To make your produce last longer at home, store it correctly. Keep bananas, avocados, and tomatoes at room temperature until ripe. Berries should be refrigerated unwashed in a breathable container. Leafy greens do best wrapped in a paper towel inside a storage bag.