After dinner Wednesday night, I went searching for fresh fruit. I started at H Mart, the Korean supermarket near the Little Ferry Circle, because I also needed hot pepper paste with vinegar, just the thing to spice up the firm tofu I have been cooking.
With my wife and son away, I passed on the watermelons, afraid I couldn't finish one by myself. Ditto for the huge jack fruit, which I have never eaten. California peaches were shrink-wrapped a dozen to the tray, too many for me. I couldn't find New Jersey peaches, and the only blueberries were from Canada and Michigan. In August? Where are the Jersey blues?
I left the Korean store for ShopRite, which is on the way back to my Hacensack home, certain I could find Jersey fruit. I did find hard Jersey peaches that need ripening on my counter (69 cents a pound), but the blueberries came from Michigan and were two pints for $5, which is high. I bought one, along with a half-dozen peaches, and went home.
I emptied half of the blueberries into a bowl, and washed and ate them, but too many were soft. At least they were sweet. This afternoon, I ate the rest out of the plastic package after washing them, and they were sweet and a lot firmer.
The peaches are still hard, so I still need fruit.
(Photo: Jack fruit, the national fruit of Bangladesh.)