“Eat your greens!” is a line we probably grew up hearing. Our question is, “Do you know how to choose your greens?” The answer is likely to be “No”.
Supermarkets are replacing wet markets because Singaporeans like to shop in a clean and air-conditioned environment, at working adult friendly times and with polite counter staff.
Wet market sellers are perceived to be grouchy and temperamental peddlers in a warm and dirty environment. Beneath the gruff exterior, when a genuine buyer asks for advice on selecting vegetables, the seller can be transformed into a willing teacher. Time permitting.
The vegetable seller may often refuse to sell produce that are past their prime. This has happened to me on a few occasions when the storekeeper tried to rummage through the stock to find the best yams for making yam puree dessert but couldn’t find enough to fill my required quantity. His advise was to scale back my recipe instead of buying ingredients that are not ideal. This would never have happened in a supermarket because I would have been left to my own devices to select a suitable ingredient and would very likely have bought a less than ideal product.
What a wet market offers, that is lacking in a sterile supermarket, is a relationship with the seller. Many storekeepers have a sense of pride in their vocation and are committed towards ensuring their customers walk away with quality produce. Storekeepers sometimes recommend vegetables that are in season and even teach you how to cook them. In contrast, there is nobody to ask for such assistance in a supermarket.
How to choose vegetables?
Bak Choy – For mature Bak Choy, select those with dark green leaves and bright white stalks. Avoid those with yellow leaves. Baby Bak Choy should have light green leaves.
Tomatoes – Pick tomatoes that have a firm skin with the stem intact and that are heavy for their size.
Potatoes – Potatoes need to be firm and smooth, avoid those with sprouts or bruises.
Broccoli and Cauliflower – Florets need to be packed tightly together without yellowing or flowering.
A vegetable seller’s advise to me was to buy locally farmed vegetables, where possible, instead of imports because local produce use less chemicals as they are monitored regularly by the local authorities. He said that the testing for the imports are on a sample basis due the sheer volume which means that some baddies may slip through the cracks.
To prove his point, he made me sniff some of the vegetables at the stall to teach me how to identify the strong odour of chemical treatments on some of the imports in contrast to local produce, that have been grown with smaller doses. I soon found myself receiving advice from other elderly buyers at the stall, some of whom used to grow their own vegetables. Apparently, the rule of thumb is that the more perfect a vegetable looks and the more vibrant the colours, the more likely it has been treated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. So the next time you buy your vegetables, please wash them well to avoid ingesting chemicals.
