Lidia's Italy

It is a good idea to touch your food products, especially vegetables, fruits, fish, and meats, when you are buying them and when you are cooking them. Touching and looking for the texture of ingredient is always very telling. I have been told that I am very sensual with my ingredients when I cook. But I know that I understand them much better when I have handled them. I can tell if meat is stingy and tough, and I can tell how fresh fish is by how firm it is. I can tell that vegetables are fresh when they are firm and crisp, when an artichoke squeaks under my fingers, the string bean snaps when I bend it, the pepper squirts when I break it open, and an eggplant is shiny and firm to the touch.