20 July 2012

2 bad pineapples

I mean, literally.

I bought 2 pineapples from a fruiterer, Hock Lee ( I think) yesterday. It's located outside, and in front of, the central market in Ipoh, facing the market's fish section/ noodles and bean sprouts vendors. The fruiterer had just received a whole new truck load of delicious-looking pineapples yesterday morning.

It must be pineapple season as I see pineapples everywhere.

Anyway, the fruiterer and his workers were busy dealing with the new delivery and couldn't assist me in picking a suitable fruit. All he said, in Chinese, was that they should all be excellent as they are freshly delivered. I selected 2 to the best of my abilities.

And found my abilities wanting.

For this afternoon, when my maid cut the fruit for an after lunch sweetener, they were both soft, slightly brown and oozing within. I was upset as both of them were bad. I could accept if just one of them was rotten but now we couldn't eat any!

So I popped them into a clear bag, intent on getting a replacement. Now, refunds and replacements are common place in big established retailers like Tesco, Carrefour, Woolworth and Coles. But at a local Chinese fruiterer? I don't know, but this is the second bad pineapple purchase in just as many weeks, and I would really like to eat a good pineapple!

I arrived at the shop, found a park very quickly and click-clacked into the shop briskly, pineapple bag in hand. The fruiterer himself was just emerging from the back of his shop when we came face to face. Without any hesitation, or other ado, I handed him my bag and said politely in Chinese, "Sir, please pick 2 nice pineapples for me to replace these." He did not look annoyed, he did not look like he was going to object. He might have looked slightly startled.Was it my demeanor, my Chinese or my strange request?

The fruiterer took my bag and quietly asked me which type of pineapple I had picked. I indicated to the appropriate ones. He reached for a bag, quickly selected 2 ripening pineapples, put them into the bag and handed them to me. I took it and thanked him.

That was simple, quick and neat. End of transaction. I'll go back there again for future purchases seeing as to how the fruiterer had passed the customer satisfaction test.

Maybe I should have looked at the Fruit & Produce Guide before I went pineapple shopping. They say that:
  • Size does not indicate ripeness.
  • That being said, larger pineapples have a higher percentage of edible fruit and offer more “bang for the buck” for your grocery dollars.
  • Smell the pineapple for a sweet, fragrant scent.
  • Tug at the top, middle leaves.  They will pull off easily from a fresh pineapple.
  • Pineapples should be stored at room temperature.
  • They spoil quickly, so eat within 1-2 days of purchase.
  • What you bought is what you get.  Pineapples will not ripen any further at home.
  • You can refrigerate fresh cut pineapple, but keep it in an airtight plastic bag.  Eat within 3-4 days.
We ate the pineapple tonight, and it was sweet and fine. We will have enough to make juice tomorrow. I am happy.

(pictures from http://fruitandproduceguide.com/blog/pineapples/, http://variouscooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2012/04/pineapple-juice.html)

No comments:

Post a Comment