Fresh Box

[juliebove]

Has anyone tried this?

http://www.firststreetonline.com/product.jsp?path=-1|13491|37437&id=52449]

I got the catalog in the mail and was excited when I saw it, but it is expensive. It reminds me of the Fruit Saver I used to have but it seems like it doesn't get cold like the fruit saver. Just keeps out air.

The fruit saver kept the fruit cool but not as cold as the fridge and I kept bananas in it for a week! Alas the motor finally went on it and apparently they are not making any more. Seems the motor was a problem for all of them. Still, I got a couple of years of use out of it.

The problems with my fridge are many. Too small. Only one crisper drawer. There's another drawer labeled "meat" and while it seems okay for stuff like meat and cheese it is no good for most veggies because it tends to freeze. I can put sturdier things like carrots and beets in it with no problem, but mostly it's just a waste of space for me. The crisper drawer is always full to overflowing and I often have to put my larger greens and celery in the fridge and hope they don't wilt.

My fruit is sitting out at room temp. in the basket from the old Fruit Saver. But it seems to spoil quickly and I feel like I am throwing out a lot of produce each week.

If this product works, I will buy one. But I would like some feedback from someone who owns one before I rush out and buy. Thanks!

[Tirza]

juliebove;
What a great idea! I just think it is a terrific amount of money for such a small thing. I don't know if you could get enough use out of it to justify the cost. It would almost be better to buy another second hand fridge. I would go to great lengths to find a place for one if I were you. I don't know what your living space is - I live in a small one bedroom apartment at this time - but I am lucky that the kitchen is big, and I have 2 fridges. That is the absolute LIMIT of my available space, but it is worth it.

As for keeping greens fresher in the fridge, we fitted one fridge out with plastic lidded boxes. I thought that these looked like a great idea - http://www.spacesavers.com/stacdraw.html

But I presently have something more on the line of these - http://www.spacesavers.com/4qtsttobysts.html

They really work very well! I spaced the shelves in my older smaller fridge so that the top shelf takes 4 boxes, 2 high (stacked), 2 wide. These are labeled: Spinach/Swiss Chard-Kale/Parsley/Cilantro.
I think the produce stays fresher when I also leave it in the plastic bags, then put them in the lidded boxes. I had grandiose ideas of always cleaning and spin-drying my greens as soon as I got them home and storing them in these boxes all ready to go, but it doesn't happen often. Sometimes I do clean a bunch and then put it into the freezer. Those frozen greens are great for instant smoothies.
Then the next shelf has a crisper in half of it, so I put things like carrots in there. On the side of that it is a bit too narrow for another box so I slide cauliflower and brocolli in there, along with a couple of celery and asparagus.
The next shelf takes 2 boxes side by side. Both of them usually hold grapefruit. (I eat a lot of them-often using 4 of them instead of a whole meal)
The bottom has 2 crispers so I use them for things like onions/garlic/ginger/fennel and beets/turnips and smaller squash.
I put tall things in the door.
In the freezer I keep some greens for smoothies, herbs, some veggies and fruits, and usually a frozen chocolate mousse pie-the stuff made with avocados with RP's brownies as the base. R-I-C-H!! At a tiny piece each when we eat dessert (which is only on weekends), that thing lasts a couple of months or more. It keeps super-well too!

The other fridge is a larger side-by-side so the fridge part is narrower.
It has 2 crispers in the bottom - I keep apples and pears in one and lemons and oranges in the other.
But I love those containers so much that I used the next shelf up from the 2 crispers for another box. It has tomatoes, ripe avocados and peppers.
The next shelf up has other produce that didn't fit anywhere else like cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, melons, a container of mushrooms - well, you get the idea.
The other shelves have space for things like homemade pickles, olives, sauerkraut, kimchi, nut butters, jams and sauces and dressings, stuff like that.
The top is for water, juice, oils, etc.
The doors hold smaller condiment things (some naughty things slip in there too, as my husband does take a little more liberty than I do. He feels he can afford it as he is super-active and in super condition. :rolleyes: )
I have a hard time finding space to store made-up dishes.
I keep nuts and seeds and a lot of my other herb stuff in the side freezer. By the way, freezing never affects the sprouting of anything. After all, seeds sit under snow and ice all winter outside and sprout in the spring!

I hope someone who actually has the item you mentioned chimes in here. I might be interested as well if it would actually keep fruits from ripening so fast. Presently I ripen things in a couple of big ceramic trays. Looks nice, but they ripen so fast that I have to find room in the fridge for them in no time.

[trinity082482]

Looks pretty neat. Although it's a little pricey for me, if you get a lot of use from it, it may be a worthwhile investment? :o

[juliebove]

Because of my daughter's allergies, we do have two fridges already. Hers is a very small one though and holds food only for me. Mine is an old side by side. I can't afford another fridge at the moment and would not be comfortable buying a used one. I have found this unit elsewhere for about $55. So the price is better. But I still want to know if it works before I buy it. I would likely only put fruit in it. Doubtful it would be big enough to hold fruit and veg.

[juliebove]

juliebove;
What a great idea! I just think it is a terrific amount of money for such a small thing. I don't know if you could get enough use out of it to justify the cost. It would almost be better to buy another second hand fridge. I would go to great lengths to find a place for one if I were you. I don't know what your living space is - I live in a small one bedroom apartment at this time - but I am lucky that the kitchen is big, and I have 2 fridges. That is the absolute LIMIT of my available space, but it is worth it.

As for keeping greens fresher in the fridge, we fitted one fridge out with plastic lidded boxes. I thought that these looked like a great idea - http://www.spacesavers.com/stacdraw.html

But I presently have something more on the line of these - http://www.spacesavers.com/4qtsttobysts.html

They really work very well! I spaced the shelves in my older smaller fridge so that the top shelf takes 4 boxes, 2 high (stacked), 2 wide. These are labeled: Spinach/Swiss Chard-Kale/Parsley/Cilantro.
I think the produce stays fresher when I also leave it in the plastic bags, then put them in the lidded boxes. I had grandiose ideas of always cleaning and spin-drying my greens as soon as I got them home and storing them in these boxes all ready to go, but it doesn't happen often. Sometimes I do clean a bunch and then put it into the freezer. Those frozen greens are great for instant smoothies.
Then the next shelf has a crisper in half of it, so I put things like carrots in there. On the side of that it is a bit too narrow for another box so I slide cauliflower and brocolli in there, along with a couple of celery and asparagus.
The next shelf takes 2 boxes side by side. Both of them usually hold grapefruit. (I eat a lot of them-often using 4 of them instead of a whole meal)
The bottom has 2 crispers so I use them for things like onions/garlic/ginger/fennel and beets/turnips and smaller squash.
I put tall things in the door.
In the freezer I keep some greens for smoothies, herbs, some veggies and fruits, and usually a frozen chocolate mousse pie-the stuff made with avocados with RP's brownies as the base. R-I-C-H!! At a tiny piece each when we eat dessert (which is only on weekends), that thing lasts a couple of months or more. It keeps super-well too!

The other fridge is a larger side-by-side so the fridge part is narrower.
It has 2 crispers in the bottom - I keep apples and pears in one and lemons and oranges in the other.
But I love those containers so much that I used the next shelf up from the 2 crispers for another box. It has tomatoes, ripe avocados and peppers.
The next shelf up has other produce that didn't fit anywhere else like cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, melons, a container of mushrooms - well, you get the idea.
The other shelves have space for things like homemade pickles, olives, sauerkraut, kimchi, nut butters, jams and sauces and dressings, stuff like that.
The top is for water, juice, oils, etc.
The doors hold smaller condiment things (some naughty things slip in there too, as my husband does take a little more liberty than I do. He feels he can afford it as he is super-active and in super condition. :rolleyes: )
I have a hard time finding space to store made-up dishes.
I keep nuts and seeds and a lot of my other herb stuff in the side freezer. By the way, freezing never affects the sprouting of anything. After all, seeds sit under snow and ice all winter outside and sprout in the spring!

I hope someone who actually has the item you mentioned chimes in here. I might be interested as well if it would actually keep fruits from ripening so fast. Presently I ripen things in a couple of big ceramic trays. Looks nice, but they ripen so fast that I have to find room in the fridge for them in no time.

My kitchen is fairly small and I already have a second small fridge in there for my daughter. No room for another big fridge. The one I have is a side by side. Hate it! Not sure the space would allow for a different type though. It's not a really big fridge.

[trinity082482]

A side by side you mean a double door fridge? I have one also and its a full sized double door fridge but very small. I can barely fit anything in them because I have to share the fridge space with non raw foods :o

[juliebove]

A side by side you mean a double door fridge? I have one also and its a full sized double door fridge but very small. I can barely fit anything in them because I have to share the fridge space with non raw foods :o

Yep. That kind. And here too there are non raw foods. And the freezer is a joke as well. Little compartments, none of them big enough to hold much. Daughter wanted two gluten free frozen dinners and I had to spend about a half an hour rearranging things to accomodate them. Hubby likes to have ice cream in there at all times but unless I go to the store every two or three days that can't happen. Just not enough room!

I seem to have room enough for the veggies, although I would prefer a newer fridge with two crisper drawers where I could control the humidity. But there's just not room for the fruit as well. That's why I was hoping this device might work. The way it looks we might be here only for another year and a few months. Then we'd have to sell the house. So this is why I don't want to buy a new fridge now. Not that I could buy one. No money for that. If we do go to Petaluma it will be military housing and hopefully the fridge will be big enough.

[juliebove]

I did get one of these and am very much less than thrilled. I don't feel it keeps my fruit fresh any longer. In fact it seems to make it spoil faster. Moisture tends to build up in there and then things go moldy quickly.

I do not recommend it. :mad: