Do you use special bags for your greens?

[ellenalesa]

Is it worth the cost to buy special bags to keep leafy greens fresh? do they really work?

Ellen

[Tirza]

I do find them helpful. It is the best when I prep the veggies first -wash, spin dry- then store them in the bag. But either way, they keep longer and fresher than in the solid plastic you bring home from the store.

What I would really like though is some nice rectangular clear bins in which I can keep the cleaned and dried produce. Then I can see what I have and they will stack easily, rather than those piles of bags sliding around in there, piled so you can't always tell what you have without unloading the shelf.

[Leiloshka]

I've used these bags too but I didn't like them much because of the cleanup. I would wash and let air dry, but they always still looked dirty.

Instead I now use those plastic square tubs of different sizes. I bought organic green spring mix in one and brocolli and carrots in a smaller tub and then I just reuse those tubs. I wash and spin the produce dry and even dry extra well with a paper towel. I put a paper towel underneath the produce and on top of it and then close the lid. This works I've found because they stay fresh and the tubs are easier to clean.

However, for some reason, my red leaf lettuce always gets a little slimy keeping for a while so I prefer not to use that lettuce.

[CAdreamer]

I've looked for the bags, called Ever Fresh, but can't find them....where did you get them ?

[Leiloshka]

I got them at a small natural foods market. But, here is an internet link for them.

http://prod.ss.home.dminsite.com/product.asp?pn=023705&bhcd2=1152802591

[mathteacher]

I ordered my Evert-Fresh bags online at www.sproutpeople.com. I'm noticing a big difference in how fresh my produce is staying. This biggest problem with them has been when I wash them and they NEVER want to dry. :p

[rawpriestess]

I bought a bunch of them when I first went raw, used them, they work great, but I agree, cleaning them is a mess, they never feel clean to me, maybe that is the type of plastic they are, or the fact that they breath, but I would have these bags all over my kitchen, then I used to pop them into the dehydrator to dry, and they would get all bunched up, so I'd put something inside them to keep them open, then I tried drying them with a hair dryer, hanging on the clothes line, etc. they just were a pain, I still have them -- never use them.


too much trouble, although I do still use zip lock freezer bags from years ago, but it's not something I have to wash often, like those produce bags, plus, I hardly ever eat greens from the grocery store, we just go outside and pick what we need, so the only time I was using them was in the winter, and I'm just not that fond of greens.

but if you are, they do work very well, and come in different sizes and all.

but before you buy them, I'd say think of how you are going to dry those pesky little guys. a banana tree works great for one bag, but I used to have to dry several at a time, what to do? I suppose if I wanted to figure it out, I would. maybe hanging from a pot rack from the ceiling? or with my hanging herbs in the kitchen? or from the chandelier in the dining room? they all have lots of hanging things to hang several bags from LOL

[Tirza]

I got the Evert Fresh bags on ebay. I got 1 pkg each of Sm, Med, and Large for 17.95. Each pkg contains 10 bags, so that is 30 total. I just received them, so haven't had time to assess them yet.

But I have been doing pretty well with the ZipLoc Vegetable bags, the ones with the tiny pinholes in them. So if you can't find the Evert Fresh, those will help.

[AICgem]

check out Fridgesmart Containers by Tupperware...they have 2 vent holes on them so depending on whats in them you keep both closed, open one or both.

[SNMB]

I've still got a subscription to Vegetarian Times from my vegan days and, though I rarely find anything useful in it, they did do an experiment with various produce preserving products which I found interesting. Most of this I had figured out through trial and error but some of it was new information. First of all, some pointers:

*If your produce rots after just a few days, you might be storing incompatible fruits and veggies together. Those that give off high levels of ethylene gas - a ripening agent - will speed the decay of ethylene-sensitive foods. Keep the two separate.

*Use trapped ethylene to your advantage: To speed-ripen a peach, put it in a closed paper bag with a ripe banana.

*One bad apple really can spoil the whole bunch. Mold proliferates rapidly and contaminates everything nearby, so toss any spoiled produce immediately.

*For longer life, keep your produce whole - don't even rip the stem out of an apple until you eat it. "As soon as you start pulling fruits and vegatables apart," says Barry Swanson, a food scientist at Washington State University, "you've broken cells, and microorganisms start to grow."

*Cold-sensitive fruits and veggies lose flavor and moisture at low temperatures. Store them on the counter, not in the fridge. Once they're fully ripe, you can refrigerate them to help them last, but for best flavor, return them to room temp.

*Never refrigerate potatoes, onions, winter squash or garlic. Keep them in a cool, dark, dry cabinet, and they can last up to a month or more. But separate them so their flavors and smells don't migrate.

Then there's a chart:

Refrigerate these gas releasers:
Apples
Apricots
Cantaloupe
Figs
Honeydew

Don't refrigerate these gas releasers:
Avocados
Bananas, unripe
Nectarines
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Tomatoes

Keep these away from all gas releasers:
Bananas, ripe
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Cucumber
Eggplant
Lettuce and other leafy greens
Parsley
Peas
Peppers
Squash
Sweet potatoes
Watermelon

Their experiment with four different produce-keeping systems:
1. The E.G.G., an egg-shaped ethylene absorber you drop into crisper drawers ($4 each at 4theegg.com)

2. The ExtraLife disk, another crisper-bin drop-in that absorbs ethylene ($9 for two at reusablebags.com)

3. BioFresh bags, special bags that allow produce to breathe but also absorb ethylene ($4 for 12 bags at reusablebags.com)

4. Tupperware's FridgeSmart lettuce crisper - a plastic drum with built-in venting and raised grid to lift produce away from condensation ($26 at tupperware.com)

Five heads of Romaine were purchased and stored in the following ways:

On a refrigerator shelf in the Tupperware FridgeSmart container.

In a cripser bin with an ExtraLife disk, plus an apple an an avocado - both high ethylene producers - to test the efficacy of the disk. He wrapped the lettuce in moist paper towels and kept it in the plastic bag from the produce aisle.

In a crisper bin with an E.G.G. plus an apple and an avocado, with the lettuce wrapped in moist paper towels and in its plastic bag.

In a BioFresh bag.

In a crisper bin with an apple and an avocado, with the lettuce wrapped only in moist paper towels and in its plastic bag- the "control group."

Now, all of the lettuce survived beautifully up to day seven, which I'd think would be plenty long enough, as we're raw foodists and we eat lots of the stuff and the longer it sits, the more nutrients it loses. However, the contest came out like this:

A tie between the E.G.G. and the FridgeSmart - both kept the Romaine salad-worthy for two weeks. Second place goes to the ExtraLife disk. The BioFresh bag did well for a while, but was outpaced at the end.

And FINALLY a chart showing in which order you should eat your produce if you only buy it once a week. (This is for fully ripe produce):

Eat First: Sunday to Tuesday
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Basil
Broccoli
Cherries
Corn
Dill
Green beans
Mushrooms
Mustard greens
Strawberries
Watercress

Eat Next: Wednesday to Friday
Arugula
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Grapes
Lettuce
Lime
Mesclun
Pineapple
Zucchini

Eat Last: Weekend
Apricots
Bell Peppers
Blueberries
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Grapefruit
Leeks
Lemons
Mint
Oranges
Oregano
Parsley
Peaches
Pears
Plums
Spinach
Tomatoes
Watermelon

And Beyond:
Apples
Beets
Cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Garlic
Onions
Potatoes
Winter squash

All this said and done, I think I may invest in some of the Tupperware containers. They're expensive but they apparently do a good job and you can really get them clean.

[Tirza]

That is a very informative post! Thank you.

Has anyone heard of using an ozone device in the fridge? I saw an Ozonator that looked interesting.