Carla Hall's Best Tip For Picking Out The Freshest Oranges

As delicious as oranges are for snacking, there are a myriad of ways to use the tangy fruit that go beyond that. It can be as simple as putting an orange slice on the glass of a must-try Italian cocktail or grinding the fruit up to make chocolate chip cookies with orange zest. But whatever way you're choosing to use the citrusy ingredient, you have to get your hands on a good quality piece of the fruit first. Thankfully, a few tips from American chef Carla Hall make it easy to pick the freshest oranges out of the bunch.

Hall, who is best known for having co-hosted ABC's "The Chew" and competing on Bravo's "Top Chef," has shared a number of recipes that feature oranges as the star ingredient. As creative and elaborate as some of these dishes are, though, the professional knows how important it is to select a juicy, ripe orange if you want your creation to succeed. According to Hall, who shared some cooking tips via Redbook, it all comes down to the weight of the fruit and its odor.

Tactics for finding a good orange surpass simply looking for bruises and marks. While that is a good trick, there are others to try out. One of the first things Carla Hall suggests looking for is a heftier orange. Some will weigh more than others, and you'll want to grab the ones that feel heavier, as it's a sign that they contain more juice. Secondly, the chef advises people to smell the produce. Similar to how this trick applies to choosing the ripest strawberries or picking the sweetest peaches at the grocery store, the fresher and more flavor-packed an orange is, the more pleasantly fragrant it will be.

Aside from the wisdom imparted by Hall, there are a few other things you can take note of when selecting an orange. Go for the pieces with the brightest color. A little bit of green is common, but as the name suggests, they should be orange for the most part. The texture of the skin is also important. An overly soft or wrinkled orange is usually a sign that it's overripe, whereas a better pick would be firm to the touch. So, next time you make your way to the grocery store, put your fruit to the test by giving it a squeeze and a sniff. Or else, a sad glass of orange juice might be in your future.