TLE

• Leafy vegetables like kangkong, spinach, celery, lettuce, mustard, Chinese cabbage, and cabbage should be:

  • Bright green in color
  • Crisp, firm, and whole in shape
  • Free from decay, blemishes, and holes
• Fruit vegetables like patola (sponge gourd), upo (bottle gourd), okra, eggplant, radish, and sayote should be:

  • Tender, young, and firm
  • Bright in color, whole, with no decay, bruises, or blemishes
• Fruit vegetables like ampalaya, carrot, squash, tomato, onion, and garlic should be:

  • Mature, whole, and plump
  • Bright in color, uniform in size and shape
  • Free of blemishes, decay, bruises, dirt, and soil
• Beans like Baguio beans and string beans should be:

  • Young, crisp, and tender
  • Snaps easily when cut or broken
  • Free from decay, bright green in color, and free from dirt or soil
• Root crops should be:

  • Free from dirt and dark spots
  • Heavy, well-shaped, with no unbroken skin
• Legumes should be:

  • Free from holes and insects
  • Not powdery
• Properly wash leafy vegetables in a bowl of clean water by splashing their leaves up and down to remove sticking dirt and other particles
• Root crops should be scrubbed and rinsed well, while fruit vegetables should be scrubbed and cleaned under running water
• Cut decayed or rotten parts of vegetables before use
• Use a peeler to thinly pare vegetables
• Cut vegetables only when about to be cooked
• Cut vegetables according to purpose: thinly for fries, thicker for tempura, much thicker for viands like pinakbet or kare-kare
• Avoid overcooking vegetables to retain nutrients and aesthetic appeal
• Serve vegetables immediately after cooking
• Cook only enough portions for a day's consumption to maintain freshness; reheating vegetables the next day can lead to loss of taste and appeal
• Characteristics of fresh fish:

  • A mild seaweed-like odor
  • Shiny and tight skin
  • Bright red gills (if too red, not fresh)
  • Clear and full eyes (if redness from dynamite or cyanide fishing, not fresh)
  • Firm body (not healthy if lagas-lagas)
  • Tight intact head (if tanggai or pagod, already damaged)
  • Transparent, firm body
  • Slight seaweed odor (if too malansa, not fresh)
  • Bright color (dark when buying, right color when cooked)
• Shellfish (clams, mussels, oysters):

  • Clean and fresh
  • Shells tightly closed (better if still intact)
  • Shucked oysters should be plump, creamy white, and odorless
• Crabs / Alimango:

  • Heavy in weight
  • Shell corners compact and very thin
  • Slight seaweed smell (if too malansa, not fresh)
• Lobster / Wang:

  • Dark blue when alive (scalp muscle)
  • Spongy tails and deep-red shells when boiled
  • Male lobsters have brighter color and larger claws
  • Female lobsters have broader tails and more tender flesh
  • Firm body (pagiamog)
  • Plenty of ink
• Market forms of Vegetables- Fresh, Canned, Frozen, Dried and Dehydrated Vegetables

  Market forms of Fish- Live, Whole or Round, Drawn/Gutted, Dressed, Steak, Split, Deboned, Fillets, Butterfly Fillet, Sticks, and Cubes

  Market forms of Shellfish- Live, Whole or Round, Shucked, Cooked, Cooked Meat, and Shelled
• Crustaceans -Which include crabs, lobsters, and varieties of shrimps. They have hard protective coverings called chitinous armour. This covering is segmented giving them the power to move and walk.
• Mollusks - They have soft bodies that are soft and unsegmented.

  These bodies are protected in calcified shells. Some mollusks have two shells, others have one. Those with two shells are called bivalves like tahong (mussel), talaba (oysters), clams, and abalone. One shell mollusk are called univalve. Examples are all kinds of edible snails (suso).
• Invertebrates - These are aquatic animals without backbone.
• Shellfish - This type contains hard shells outside of their soft tissues.
• Round fish - that lives near the sea. Examples: cod, haddock, and whiting;
• 1. Fat fish haveoil all over their bodies while lean fish have oil concentrated in the liver.