How do you store your fruit and veg to make sure you get the maximum freshness out of it? I tend to keep a lot of my vegetables in the fridge to try and make it stay fresh for as long as possible. I'll also freeze it if it gets close to where it'll go off and I won't use it in time because I hate to waste money on fruit and veg that doesn't get eaten. I tend to store onions in a net and potatoes in a big brown sack though so that they don't go off too quickly. Are there any specific fruit and vegetables that you store in a specific way in order to maximise their freshness?
We always buy fruits and vegetables on demand, meaning we don't generally store because there is a market nearby so we have that luxury. However, there are times that we buy vegetables to be eaten on the next day. We do that storing during the rainy season when we couldn't go to the market everyday because of the bad weather. In storing fruits and vegetables in the lowest part of the refrigerator, we always wrap it with an old newspaper. I have learned that from the elders, I don't know if it's a tradition. But the benefit of the newspaper is in keeping the moisture of the vegetables and fruits that give it a longer freshness.
This is one of the things I recently have had trouble with as I tried to buy more vegetables to eat more healthily at home. For me I found it difficult because it's difficult to predict when I'll be in the mood to eat certain vegetable dishes and I don't want to force to cook then just because they will wilt. One trick I learned that I value the most is for the one ingredient I like the most which is spring onions and supposedly the way to keep them fresh for longer is to wash them when you get them home and cut off the root then wrap it with a damp paper towel.
Apart from freezing any excess and always making sure that all fresh fruits and vegetables are stored in their right environments - in the fridge, at room temperature or in a dark, dry cool place with good air circulation - I also - in order to avoid fruits and vegetables spoiling or going rotten quicker than they should do - store certain fruits and vegetables separately from each other. The reason being - that as there are some fruits and vegetables that give off more of the naturally occurring gas ethylene - a ripening agent - as well as some that are sensitive to it - storing ethylene-producing foods next to ethylene-sensitive foods causes them to ripen and rot quicker. For example - storing apples (ethylene-producers) next to potatoes (ethylene-sensitive) is not a good idea - as the ethylene gas released from the apple will make the potatoes sprout and deteriorate at a quicker rate. In fact - as the importance of storing these two food types separately is something that not everyone may be aware of and doing this - will not only make fresh produce last longer but more importantly save money - hopefully this rough guide to ethylene-producing and ethylene-sensitive foods will be of help Log In
From what I have noticed, fruits and vegetables get stored in the ref as well, and I really don't think that you can prolong it aside from storing it in the ref. I also think storing fruits can be prolonged by storing it in the freezer, since that's what my dad does.
I like to buy whatever fruit or vegetable that is in season. By doing this I know that it is fairly fresh and will keep longer and local vegetables in season are always cheaper. I try and buy local - farm to table foods when I can. I also freeze fruits when they are getting close to going off. I always do this with strawberries and blueberries. The frozen berries are great in smoothies.I find it such a waste to throw out fruits and vegetables when they go off so I try not to buy too much at one time.
