Where does everyone store all of their fruits and veggies?

[Chanda]

I found something that lists which fruits and veggies need to be in the refridgerator and which ones need to be out in a magazine.

But, my question is, where do you keep all of your fruits and veggies that need to be out of the frridge? Right now mine are taking up a very large amount of counter space in 3 large bowls and a huge tray. Is there a better place?

Thanks,
Chanda

[misslinda]

I only buy food for a day or two. I have a 3 tier rolling cart for my fruits and veggies. I try to keep them in paper bags vs plastic and like them room temp vs cold. Things like cilantro,broccoli and parley dont' do very well on cart so I refrigerate them and pull them out first thing in the morning.


Cheers,
:)

[Purl]

I have 4 of those cheap 3-teir hanging fruit baskets. I hang them from a rod that I hung in an open "window" type space btwn my living room and kitchen. I also have a very large rectangular basket that holds all the bananas and oranges for the week and a wooden dough bowl that I keep on top of my dehydrator for very unripe fruit. The heat of the dehydrator ripens them faster.

[mbf]

I keep my bananas on the counter in a wire basket but I keep moving the tomatoes around the kitchen though.
Other then that I try not to buy too much, just enough for a day or 3.

MBF

[Chanda]

I have some of those hanging baskets but they are actually hanging in front of a window. Would that be a problem with all the light directly on the fruit and veggies?

Thanks so much. Sorry for all the newbie questions but I swear I must have never bought veggies before!

[rawpriestess]

I buy oranges by the case, and bananas too, and onions, and tomatoes, until ours come in, and all of those are not in the fridge, so I have three small stacking baskets under my butcher block for the veggies, and three larger wire baskets that stack on my counter, with oranges and apples and such in them, then I have a banana hanging thingy that I hang my bananas from, this makes it really great.

then I keep all my greens and such in the fridge,and my grains in the stove and my nuts in the freezer, spices in the microwave.

[Shivananda]

I have some of those hanging baskets but they are actually hanging in front of a window. Would that be a problem with all the light directly on the fruit and veggies?That would not be my first choice, no. In general produce stays freshest longest when it is kept cool and kept dark and kept in high humidity (but not wet). Our ancestors used cellars for the purpose before refrigeration was invented. Greens like parsley and lettuce stay fresh longest when their stems are kept in water (like cut flowers). Onions and garlic and hard squashes can be stored warmer, but need circulating air, like the pantry baskets Misslinda was talking about.

In general, the higher the water content of the food, the cooler it should be kept for maximum storage times. One exception is tomatoes. Tomatoes should kept cool but never refrigerated. Refrigeration spoils their flavor. Just eat them quickly. :)

To ripen fruit quickly (like when you need bananas to get yellow real soon) put them in a covered bowl or in a paper bag and add an apple. All ripening fruit normally gives off ethylene gas, and the presence of ethylene gas causes fruit to ripen. It's an interesting cycle. So when you cover your fruit in a bowl, or keep it in a bag (paper is best, so it can breathe a little) this gas accumulates and helps the ripening process to occur. Apples just happen to give off a LOT of ethylene, so they are real cheerleaders for other hard to ripen fruits.

Also, on this last point, this is why you should never let them put your cut flowers in the same bag with your fruit at the market, and especially not apples. Just the short ride home will give your flowers enough exposure to ethylene to make them croak very quickly. Fruits love ethylene gas, flowers don't.