16 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Purchasing Fresh Fruit

As a grocery store operations manager responsible for overall store conditions and customer experience, I’m always interested in how people shop, what they overlook, and what leads to satisfaction or disappointment once they get home. Helping people have the best shopping experience includes making sure they leave with fresh fruit that’s not just beautiful but truly flavorful and delicious.

Choosing great fruit is more than luck, however. I call it a sensory practice. The most successful shoppers use all five senses to guide them. They don’t rely solely on appearances. Yes, sight matters: vibrant color, intact skin, and a healthy sheen can suggest quality, but so can smell, weight, and texture. A sweet aroma is a sign of ripeness. Heft can indicate juiciness. A gentle squeeze can tell you whether a peach will be melting and luscious or rock-hard and unripe. Even sound comes into play — watermelons, for instance, reveal their ripeness with a deep, hollow thump.

So no, great fruit doesn’t just happen. It’s chosen. It’s stored well for freshness. It’s enjoyed at the right moment. In this guide, we’ll walk through common mistakes people make when selecting fruit so you can shop effectively and enjoy every juicy bite.

One of the simplest yet most reliable indicators of fruit quality is how heavy it feels in your hand. Heaviness signals that the fruit is full of juice, flavor, and freshness. When a fruit feels lighter than it looks, it could be dried out, underripe, or past its prime. This is especially important for fruits with a high water content, like citrus, melons, mangoes, pineapples, and even grapes. More water means increased juiciness, and that typically yields better texture and flavor.

When choosing fruits, always compare a few of the same size. Feel the difference. The heavier one will almost always be juicier. You always want to pick fruits that feel unexpectedly dense for their size. If a fruit feels unusually light, it may be mealy, fibrous, and dry. With time, you’ll develop a sense of what “just right” feels like in your hand, and that’s when you know you are getting the most value and flavor for your money.

Feeling the fruit also helps with meal planning. When you squeeze a piece of fruit in your hand, you’re gathering valuable information about its ripeness and whether it will be ready to eat today, tomorrow, or next week. Take avocados or peaches, for example. They are climacteric fruits that continue to ripen after being picked. If you want to eat them in a few days, choose ones that are still slightly firm. But if you know you won’t be eating the fruit for several days, you can choose harder ones and let them ripen at home.

You can even stagger ripeness by choosing fruit at different stages, giving you more flexibility throughout the week. This prevents waste and gives you more control over timing. Not doing this means risking bringing home underripe fruit that never softens properly. Or overripe fruit that’s on the verge of spoiling or dry, woody specimens that are well past their prime.

While feeling the fruit, don’t forget to bring it to your face and inhale deeply. Your nose is a powerful tool when selecting fruit. A good piece of fruit should have a sweet aroma that gives away its flavor. If you can’t smell anything, it may be underripe, over-refrigerated, or out of season. 

This is especially true for fruits like citrus, melons, peaches, pineapples, and mangoes, which emit a noticeable fragrance when they’re at peak ripeness. A ripe cantaloupe, for instance, should smell sweet and musky at the stem end. On the other hand, if the fruit smells fermented or pungent, it might be too ripe or already beginning to spoil. Trust your instincts: If it smells good enough to eat, it probably is.

While a shiny red apple or a perfectly yellow banana may seem like perfect fruit, in some cases, looks can be deceiving. Many fruits can appear ripe on the outside while still being underripe or overripe inside. Color, in particular, is not always a reliable indicator of flavor or readiness. Some red apple varieties may look bright and attractive but can have a dry and mealy texture, especially if they’ve been in cold storage for six months, as no protective wax coating can seal in flavor and moisture indefinitely.

Bananas are another good example — sometimes, they are a flawless yellow on the outside but still astringent and chalky inside. Conversely, those “unsightly” brown spots that appear on bananas are actually a good sign indicating the fruit has naturally ripened and is likely to be sweet and flavorful. While visual appeal is important, ripeness and flavor are about more than skin-deep beauty. Relying on color alone can lead to disappointing fruit and wasted money.

When choosing fruit, it’s easy to focus on the most visible aspects, like the way it sits in the pile. Sure, the top may look perfect, but one of the easiest ways to avoid disappointing fruit is to turn it over and examine the bottom. Mold, bruising, soft spots, or leaks often begin on the side resting against the bin, container, or other fruit. This step is especially important for non-climacteric fruits. Once these fruits are picked, their sugar and flavor levels are set. If you choose fruit that’s already breaking down at the base, it won’t improve at home.

In pre-packaged berry containers, flip the clamshell over and look for moisture, squashed berries, or white fuzz. Melons should feel firm and dry on the blossom end (opposite the stem); if it’s soft or weeping, it may be overripe or spoiled inside. Pineapples should be free of mold and feel firm but not hard. Taking a moment to inspect the bottom is a small habit that pays off, so don’t be afraid to gently rotate or lift items for a quick check.

One of the simplest and most reliable tricks for checking avocado ripeness is also the one most people overlook: gently popping off the little stem cap at the top. This small nub acts like a window into the fruit’s interior, so when you peel it back, the color underneath tells you a lot. If it pops off to reveal bright green, and the fruit gives slightly when you press it, you’ve likely found a perfectly ripe avocado (that will need to be eaten within a day or two). 

If the cap doesn’t come off easily, don’t force it — the avocado is still underripe and will need a few more days to soften before you can enjoy it. If it’s brown underneath, the inside is probably overripe, with stringy, darkened flesh. This method works better than squeezing alone, which can bruise the fruit or mislead you. By adding this small step to your avocado routine, you can skip the guessing game and avoid wasting money on fruit that disappoints.

There’s a reason you see people slapping watermelons at the store — it’s not just a quirky ritual. The thump test is a time-honored, sensory-based way to tell if certain thick-skinned fruits, like watermelons and even some larger winter squash, are ripe and ready. Ignoring this test means you could end up with a dry, flavorless, or underripe melon that never quite lives up to expectations.

The method is simple: Give the melon a firm, confident thump or flick it with your fingers.  A ripe watermelon will produce a deep, hollow, resonant sound — like a drum with good tension. An unripe melon will sound higher-pitched, tight, and dull. An overripe one, on the other hand, may sound thick and flat, and sometimes you can even hear sloshing inside if it’s gone mushy. While the thump test isn’t foolproof on its own and requires you to “get a feel for it,” it is nonetheless a valuable piece of the puzzle when paired with other signs, such as weight, surface texture, and color.

Understanding whether a fruit is climacteric or non-climacteric can completely change the way you shop and how long your fruit lasts at home. Climacteric fruits continue to ripen after they’re picked. You can buy these slightly underripe and let them ripen on your counter, which gives you flexibility and helps reduce waste. By contrast, non-climacteric fruit does not ripen after harvest. These fruits must be harvested at or near peak ripeness for the best flavor and nutritional value.

Pineapples are a prime example of a non-climacteric fruit that can mislead you. They may look great on the outside, but if they were picked too early, they won’t develop sweetness or complexity and may even mold from the bottom up. Knowing the difference between fruits that ripen off the vine and those that do not helps you to make better buying decisions. It’s a small shift in thinking, but it makes a big difference in the fruit you end up enjoying or wasting.

Sticking only to the usual suspects means missing out on some of the most flavorful and special fruits available. Many lesser-known or heirloom varieties are only around for a short window each year, and their flavors can be wildly superior to mass-produced options. Think of tender, flat donut peaches in mid-summer or intensely flavorful Hood strawberries in early June. These varieties are often too delicate to be shipped long distances, which means they’re only available locally and for a few weeks at most.

Because they’re grown for flavor rather than durability or appearance, these fruits might not look as glossy or uniform, but the eating experience can be extraordinary. They’re the kind of food that stops you in your tracks with flavor to remind you why fruit is worth loving in the first place. So, get curious. Talk to your produce clerks. Ask what’s local and in season; if there’s something special, you should try. You might just find a new favorite fruit to love.

Pre-cut fruit can seem like a great time-saver — neatly packaged, ready to eat, and mess-free. But this convenience often comes at a cost. Once fruit is cut, it begins to oxidize. This means it starts losing moisture, flavor, and nutrients, especially sensitive ones like vitamin C. The longer it sits in that plastic clamshell or deli cup, the less fresh and nutritious it becomes.

Pre-cut fruit is also more vulnerable to contamination. Every time a knife touches a fruit and it is exposed to air, there’s a chance for bacteria to enter. While most store-prepared fruit is handled safely, it still has a shorter shelf life than whole fruit and can turn mushy or sour quickly.

In addition, pre-cut fruit is often more expensive by weight. You’re paying extra for labor and packaging, after all. If you enjoy cut fruit, consider prepping your own at home in small batches. Wash and cut only what you’ll eat in the next day or two, and store it in airtight containers. You’ll save money, retain more flavor and nutrients, and reduce waste.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is expecting the same quality of fruit year-round. While it’s tempting to buy strawberries in January or watermelon in November, fruit that’s out of season is often picked too early, shipped long distances, and lacks flavor and nutrients. Out-of-season fruit may look appealing on the outside but is often bland, dry, or sour. This is because it didn’t have enough time to ripen on the plant.

Seasonal fruit, on the other hand, is harvested closer to peak ripeness and tends to be fresher, juicier, and more flavorful. When fruit is in season, it’s also usually more affordable and abundant since it doesn’t have to be imported from far away. Think juicy peaches in summer, crisp apples in the fall, and citrus in winter.

Learning a bit about seasonal availability — especially in your local area — can make a huge difference in the quality of the fruit you buy. Farmers markets and local produce stands are great places to get a sense of what’s at its peak. Many grocery stores also highlight seasonal fruits with special displays or signage.

As mentioned, not all fruit at the store is freshly harvested. Many common fruits are stored in cold storage for weeks or even months before they make it to your kitchen. While this helps extend availability and reduce waste, it can also lead to disappointing fruit if you don’t know what to look for. Storage fruit often looks pristine, but its texture may be mealy. Its flavor may also be dull, and the juiciness greatly reduced.

Apples are the biggest example. A shiny, firm apple in March may have been picked the previous September and stored for six months (here’s why grocery store apples are older than you think). Cold storage slows down spoilage, but it can’t stop the slow decline in taste and texture. Even if the apple is technically still edible, it might lack the crisp, juicy sweetness of one picked fresh.

To avoid this, try to buy fruit that’s in season locally. Ask your produce clerk when the fruit arrived at the store and where it originated. Some stores do a better job than others at bringing in local and seasonal varieties, so it’s worth learning which ones offer the freshest inventory.

Where your fruit comes from matters more than you might think; in truth, many fruits at the grocery store are imported from countries that are thousands of miles away. Take tropical fruits, like mangosteen, passionfruit, or rambutan, for example. While it’s tempting to reach for these tropical treasures when you see them in a grocery store, it’s important to understand the trade-offs.

Because these fruits are often harvested before peak ripeness to survive long-distance transport, they may arrive looking vibrant but taste bland. A papaya picked green in Thailand and shipped to a supermarket in New York may never fully develop the sweetness and fragrance it would have if ripened on the tree.

Beyond flavor, there’s also the environmental cost: Long-haul shipping significantly increases the fruit’s carbon footprint. While it’s wonderful to try new things, exotic fruits are often best enjoyed when you’re closer to the source, so ensure to read the sticker or check the signage. A little geographical awareness can lead to better flavor, better value, and a lighter environmental impact. While you’re here, check out the tropical fruits we’ve ranked from best to worst.

It’s easy to be seduced by size, but in the world of fruit, bigger doesn’t always mean better. Many smaller fruits pack more concentrated flavor, better texture, and higher sugar content than their bulkier counterparts. Fruit size is often influenced by growing conditions, water content, and variety. Some larger fruits may have been grown with more irrigation, which can lead to a watered-down or less flavorful bite. 

Smaller fruits, especially heirloom or specialty varieties, are sometimes bred for taste rather than appearance, which makes them worth seeking out, even if they don’t look as impressive. For example, smaller Kishu mandarins can be juicier and sweeter than giant navel oranges. Tiny wild strawberries may look unimpressive next to their oversized cousins, but they can deliver far more intense, nuanced flavor. Even small plums or figs can surprise you with their richness. So, instead of going for the biggest fruit on display, consider choosing ones that feel heavy for their size, smell fragrant, and are true to their natural variety. 

It’s easy to get carried away in the produce section, especially when everything looks fresh, ripe, and delicious. But one of the most common fruit-buying mistakes is overestimating how much your household can actually eat before it spoils. Fruit is perishable, so unless you have a plan for how you’ll use it, some will likely end up uneaten, overripe, or moldy in the crisper drawer.

This not only wastes money but also contributes to food waste, a growing environmental concern. It’s important to shop with intention — consider how many servings of fruit you’ll realistically consume in a week, and think about when and how you plan to eat each type. Will the kids snack on the grapes? Are the nectarines part of breakfast? Will the bananas make it into smoothies? If you buy extra, think ahead and try to stagger ripeness by buying a mix of ripe and still-ripening fruits to extend your eating window.

Even the best, most perfectly chosen fruit can disappoint if it’s stored incorrectly at home. One of the most common mistakes people make is not understanding the specific storage needs of different fruits — or worse, tossing them all together in one bowl or crisper drawer. This can lead to faster spoilage, flavor loss, and even ruined textures.

Some fruits, like apples, bananas, and avocados, give off ethylene gas — a natural compound that speeds up ripening in other produce. If you store these next to ethylene-sensitive fruits like berries, leafy greens, or citrus, those more delicate items can spoil much more quickly. Keep ethylene producers and sensitive fruits apart to help them last longer.

Temperature matters, too: Stone fruits like peaches and plums can ripen on the counter but should be moved to the fridge once ripe. Berries are best stored dry in a container lined with paper towels, while bananas prefer a cool, dark place (not the fridge, which will blacken their skin). Understanding fruit storage isn’t just about prolonging shelf life — it’s about preserving flavor, texture, and nutrition. Take the time to learn how your fruits behave, and your fridge will become a far more delicious place.