How To Keep Vegetables Fresh

[Tirza]

We shop for our veggies about twice a week and buy smoothie/salad ingredients in fairly large quantities: Spinach, Kale, Collards, Parsley, Cilantro, Dill, Watercress, Arugula, Dandelion etc. as well as Asparagus. Many of these things come with root still attached. They are misted frequently in the store but as soon as they come home, they stay in a bag in the fridge and begin to dry out or go slimy. I have 2 fridges, one is a little on the warm side, and the other can freeze things if stored too close to the back, so that could be the explanation for some of my troubles. (Sigh!)

I see that the stores all display asparagus upright in a container with moisture in it. So I decided to set all those things upright in a large pot, put a little water in the bottom, and see what happens.

Has anyone else done this? Does it help keep the veggies fresh longer?

I have tried washing them all as soon as I get home, spinning them dry and then storing them in those ZipLoc Vegetable bags, (the ones with the tiny pinholes for air circulation) and they do help.

Has anyone used those Evert-Fresh Green Bags for storing veggies? They say to put a moist paper towel inside to maintain moisture.

What other suggestions do you have?

[juliebove]

Different vegetables like different temperatures and amounts of humidity. My MIL's fridge has two crisper drawers with humidity controls. Alas, I have an old fridge with only one small crisper drawer. There's another drawer labeled "meat" but it is too cold to store veggies in it. They tend to freeze. I bought some green spongy stuff to line the veggie drawer with. That seems to help because it allows a layer of air to circulate underneath. I put most of my veggies in there loose. Mushrooms are kept in a paper bag. Tomatoes are kept out of the fridge in a basket also lined with some green spongy stuff. I have a wooden storage three bin thingie also lined with the green stuff for onions and garlic. And another large wooden bin for potatoes.

I find that I have to buy fresh veggies at least twice a week. I get a small shipment of organic fruits and veggies each week. I try to use up the most perishable things first. Some things like carrots and turnips keep for a lot longer. I try not to buy much of the perishable ones at once. That minimizes how much I have to throw away.

[moonstone523]

I keep my herbs under a moist towel in the fridge.

But nothing seems to keep my cilantro fresh longer than a day.

However, in my village I just walk 3 houses down the road to buy all the herbs I could ever need. Occasionally, it's a bike ride down the road. And on those very rare days, I have to go 10 km to town. :cool:

[madmel]

I usually by a large amount of fruit and veggies once a week: When I come home, I wash and clean them all, dry them and then I store them in Lock&Lock-boxes in my fridge in the basement - like Tupperware, just better. I find that the veggies/herbs/fruit just stay fresh a lot longer!

I find that cleaning them thoroughly, preparing them really well and then store them in airtight containers helps a lot to keep your greens fresh for a longer time. My romaine lettuce keeps about a week like that for example.

mel

[Tirza]

Just to let you know that result of my experiment:

I have been changing the water every day and I started keeping a damp towel over the whole thing. I don't know if leaving it exposed to light would have been better, but I wanted to prevent the leaves from dehydrating. ??

The arugula was the first to look sickly. Some of it started to get kind of yellow after a couple of days and the remaining cilantro is just now starting to show some yellow leaves. The parsley and watercress have been amazing-still green. They would not have lasted as well or in as good shape in my fridge.

I know, I need a new fridge. But it was interesting to find out.

[rawpriestess]

I also have two veggie crispers in one of my fridges, and the other has one veggie crisper, I have also used the green baggies they work really well, I've got lots of those.

I just bought a food saver, which I haven't tried yet, but I'm all excited about using it for dried herbs and fresh foods, my grains and all kinds of stuff.

[Narz]

Evert-Fresh are da' bomb! :)

[lissomllama]

I just started using those green bags, but I haven't noticed a difference yet. It hasn't been long though. They aren't very expensive though so even if they aren't much better than regular bags I'll still use them.

[Tirza]

Narz:
I'm not really up on current "lingo" so forgive my ignorance: What is the meaning of "da' bomb" ?
Back in the day, if something was a bomb, that meant it was a major failure. Am I to take it that way, or is this one of those new sayings that uses the opposite phrasing to mean very very good?
Thanks

[Narz]

when something is said to be "the bomb" it means it's good. :)

[Boz]

Narz:
I'm not really up on current "lingo" so forgive my ignorance: What is the meaning of "da' bomb" ?
Back in the day, if something was a bomb, that meant it was a major failure. Am I to take it that way, or is this one of those new sayings that uses the opposite phrasing to mean very very good?
Thanks


hahaha this just made my evening :D

[sport]

Ye. This lingo thing has gone too far.
How is that to be "cool "is great but to be the opposite "hot" is even better. I just can not decide which I want to be today.
I have been here since the days when being "gay" meant being happy and flighty.

[codajess]

My stepdad is 56 and he's used "the bomb" as long as I can remember. Wayyyy before it became the "cool" thing to say (again?)

[Lay-Lay]

Laughing.....laughing........reminds me of that country song....LOL