Please don't pinch the fruit

My friend from Perth, Australia, took this photo in Singapore. She thought it was so funny to read "Please Don't Pinch the Fruit". A comment from her friend was even funnier: "Oh, and all the fruit juices you get there too." To which the photographer replied: "I'm pretty confident they mean don't squeeze the fruit." That set me thinking about the difference between "pinch" and "squeeze".

Pinch: to squeeze between the thumb and a finger.

Squeeze: 1. to exert pressure on, as by way of extracting liquid; 2. to extract by or as if by applying pressure.

Minor difference between the two. But, the sentence could also be taken to mean: "please don't steal the fruit" since another meaning of "pinch" is to "pilfer or steal". Either way, it makes complete sense. It will then be up to the reader to interpret the meaning for himself.

It may seem odd to tell people not to squeeze the fruit, but, unfortunately, this is a bad Asian habit. We like our fruit fresh, ripe and sweet. One way is to pick it up and smell it (durians, nectarines, peaches). Another way is to gently squeeze the middle of the fruit to see if it is soft and ready to eat. If it is hard, then you can either choose a riper fruit, or keep it for a few days to ripen naturally before eating. But, squeezing the fruit gently will leave dents and bumps on the inside of the fruit, making it unsaleable. More often than not, we tend to squeeze the fruit rather than smell it.

I don't know if westerners do the same when shopping for fruit. Or is it a universal bad habit? I've never seen an American squeeze fruit in the supermarket. Neither do they spend a long time digging to the bottom of the pile just to choose the "best" one. What's wrong with those on top? I've found equally good fruit on top of the pile.

I once stood in front of a pile of oranges in the supermarket. Next to me was a family from China. The little girl about 8 years old was digging around the pile choosing oranges. I don't think she really knew what she was looking for. Perfectly good oranges were being thrown aside in search of the perfect ones. Her father was very patient, but I was not. She was blocking the way and just being a pain. I gently told her off, but the whole family ignored me. I love my Chinese friends, but their habits have been the subject of many criticisms around the world.

Change does not happen overnight. While trying to effect change, let us learn about each other's cultures and habits. Encourage the good and discourage the bad habits. Let's make this world a friendlier place!

Learn about a new culture today!

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