Making The Most Of Your Fresh Produce
Here are some tips on how to best store, and when to use fresh fruits and vegetables to make the most of your grocery budget and reduce food waste.
How to Properly Store Fruits and Vegetables
Proper storage is essential for giving fruits and vegetables a longer life.
-Keep lettuces and leafy greens nice and dry. Store in cloth and specially designed produce bags with a paper towel in the refrigerator produce drawer.
-Stash most root vegetables in the produce drawer.
-Keep onions and garlic in a cool, dark spot of the kitchen.
-Store potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squash in a cool, dark place.
-Store bananas at room temperature and away from other produce.
-Whole, uncut melons will keep on the countertop in a cool, dry spot for a couple of days and up to five days in the fridge after ripening.
-Keep peppers, cucumbers, broccoli and cauliflower in your refrigerator produce drawer.
-Asparagus is best kept in a glass or jar with about an inch or two of water, making sure all the ends are sitting in the water. Loosely cover the asparagus with a plastic or cloth bag and store in the refrigerator for up to a week. If the water looks cloudy, just change it as needed.
-Fresh mushrooms are best kept in the refrigerator. For optimal life, place them in a paper bag lined with paper towel. Do not wash until ready to use!
-For the longest shelf life, store apples, citrus, stone fruits, and pears in the fridge. If space is limited, store them in a cool, dark place. Apples are best stored on their own.
-Transfer berries from their packaging to a roomy paper towel-lined container and keep in the produce drawer of the fridge. Wash just before eating.
Keep Them Separate
Many fruits and vegetables release ethylene gas, while others are sensitive to it. The gas causes fruits to ripen, and the more mature the fruit the more gas it typically releases. Some fruits and veggies are bigger culprits than others.
Potatoes and onions: It’s best not to store onions and potatoes together. Gas released by the onions can hasten sprouting and spoilage in potatoes. Potatoes that have sprouted slightly are still OK to eat, but you need to cut out the actual sprout.
Apples: Apples release a fair amount of ethylene gas, which can cause other fruits and vegetables to ripen more quickly. It’s best to store apples in their own crisper drawer in the fridge or in a cool space. Separating the apples will help other fruits and veggies last longer.
When to Wash Fruits and Vegetables
Most fruits and vegetables can be washed and stored as soon as you return from the market, with the exception of berries and mushrooms. They’re tender and porous, so exposing them to water before you’re ready to eat them can hasten spoilage and cause sliminess.
How to Use up Fruits and Vegetables
When fruits and vegetables look like they’re coming to the end of the road, find creative ways to use them. Turn spotted bananas into banana bread. Add shredded zucchini to fritters and sliced mushrooms to soups and sauces. Toss limp, leafy greens into smoothies or scrambled eggs. Slice apples, peaches and pears and cook them on the stove with a splash of water and maple syrup until tender. Mash into a tasty sauce for ice cream!
Freeze Produce Before It Goes Bad
The freezer is your friend when it comes to preserving produce. Pretty much any fruit or vegetable you see in the frozen food section can be frozen at home, too, and that includes avocados! If you have produce about to go south, here’s what to do:
Vegetables: To freeze vegetables, cook them first. Bring a generous pot of water to a boil and add your vegetable of choice, peeled if necessary, and cut into bite-size pieces. Boil or blanch until just barely tender, drain, and immediately immerse in a big bowl of ice water. Dry well and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze and then transfer to a freezer bag.
Fruit: Fruit doesn’t need to be cooked before freezing. Just spread freshly washed berries and cut up mango, pineapple, peaches, and other tender fruits on a baking sheet. Freeze, then transfer to a freezer bag. To freeze bananas, peel and store them whole in a freezer bag. Bought too many grapes? Try freezing them for a tasty, refreshing treat this summer!