Produce shopping can be complicated. For the majority of us , we sniff, poke and shake, yet we sometimes still end up with less-than-tasty fruits, limp greens and bland vegetables. Here we’ve gathered some tips on choosing the freshest produce at the market, getting the most for your money.

How to choose great fruits

Bananas are best when they are solid yellow in color speckled with some brown. Greenish bananas ripen well at home, so take advantage if they are on sale so you can eat later on. Store bananas at room temperature, avoid putting them in the fridge–since they age more quickly when cold.

Cantaloupes should have a sweet smell to them. A ripe cantaloupe should not be too soft and have a golden/orange color underneath. Unripe cantaloupe will be green underneath, but don’t worry these continue to ripen so you should have a ripe cantaloupe in a few days.

Grapefruit is best when its heavy and firm, these tend to be the juicy ones. Grapefruit isn’t really sweet, but will be less tart if you choose a ripe on. If raw grapefruit isn’t your thing you can cut it in half and add brown sugar and broil it.

Peaches with a stripe across the stem means it was allowed to ripen longer on the tree and actually swelled up against the branch it was hanging from. Peaches allowed to ripen longer will definitely taste better. Also look for sugar spots which are darkened spots on a peach, this is where the sun has hit the peach particularly hard and lots of sugar has collected.

Strawberries, small berries tend to be juicier and more flavorful than big berries, but this isn’t always the case.  Color is more important than size, look for bright red strawberries.  If there’s white around the stem, or in the center of the berry, it wasn’t picked at peak ripeness.

Watermelons are best when they are firm, heavy and sound hollow when thumped. A properly ripened watermelon should have a yellow spot on one side where it sat on the ground.

We really hope these tips will help you choose great fruit next time you go shopping.