Tips For Keeping Veggies Fresh

Aug 10, 2010 | Care and Storage, Tips and Tricks

You love our delicious, organic fruits and vegetables, but sometimes it seems like a lot of work to keep them fresh for the whole week. There are some simple steps that you can take to ensure that your produce lasts and lasts.

Try these 10 tips to keep your organics crisp and delicious!

1. To keep your celery happy for a long time, wash it right away, pat dry and wrap it tightly in aluminum foil, pressing it to conform to the shape of the celery.  Put it in the crisper drawer.  Crunchy!

2. Certain fruits and veggies produce ethylene gas which can prematurely ripen some other plants, and you don’t want that. Keep your ethylene-producing foods separate from their more sensitive counterparts. That means cantaloupes and tomatoes should never hang out with broccoli, carrots, leafy greens or melon!

3. Keep onions and eggplant out of the refrigerator and try to space them apart so that they are not touching. They’ll last longer when air is able to circulate around them.

4. Your leafy greens like it best in plastic zip bags or tupperware. When you get home and unpack your bin, give everyone a bath right away, spin or shake dry, then wrap lightly with paper towel (it will be slightly damp, that’s okay). Pop in the crisper. Enjoy!

5. For carrots, turnips and beets, cut off any green tops and store in a cold, dark place that is well-ventilated.

6. When storing herbs (and asparagus, too), try snipping off the ends and storing them upright in a glass of water, covered with a plastic bag.  Fresh!

7. Dear world, we tomatoes wish you’d leave us on the counter. Only put us in the fridge if absolutely necessary. We’ll taste better that way, honest.  Thank you!

8. I heard that storing your berries in a sealed glass jar (pre-wash) works like a charm to keep them from going bad – let me know if you try it!

9. What to do if your lovely organics are looking a bit on the wilted side?  You can revive most greens by covering them completely with cold water (you can even toss in some ice cubes) for up to an hour, this should help them regain crispness!

10. Remember: your veggies, and fruits in particular, are susceptible to mold – touch them as little as possible with your hands to give your organics the best chance at making it to your table!

Be well, see you next week!