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Between the act of meal prepping and figuring out what you want to eat first and what, later, organizing your fruits and vegetables can be quite the task! This can seem like quite the unachievable task considering everything is perishable and must be eaten while it still is in its prime. Keeping your produce looking and tasting perfect needs a little bit of an effort but ensures that your fresh ingredients stay in top form, for longer than usual. Here’s how:
Dry Storage
While a little humidity is good to keep your produce fresh, moisture is the enemy of freshness, making it soggy. If you wash your haul, make sure to dry it thoroughly before you stash them away. For example, placing scallions upright, roots-down in a jug of water at room temperature, helps the greens stay crisp and fresh until it is ready to be used. Similarly, keeping carrots half-submerged in water helps retain their juiciness without drying out in your refrigerator. Differentiating between ingredients that need to make contact with moisture to keep fresh and the ones that don’t, is the first step.
Herb Swaddling
Being patient and gentle with fresh herbs is the best way to keep them looking picture-perfect and aromatic. If your herbs are muddy, wash and dry them off in a salad spinner before patting them dry gently and wrapping it around loosely in a cloth bag or clean, dry sheet of cotton fabric. You could also bundle them up and wrap them up with a paper towel and place in a lidded container, to prevent any oxidation or wilting.
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Keep Gassy Produce Separate
Apples, bananas, potatoes and pears produce a gaseous substance called ethylene, which accelerates the process of ripening in other fruits and vegetables. If you’re trying to extend the lifespan of your groceries, place these fruits and veggies away from the rest or with them, if you want something to ripen quicker. Keep your apples stored in a designated part of the fridge, place potatoes and onions away from each other and bananas in a cool, dry spot on your kitchen counter.
Fridge And Freeze
Once fruits like mangoes, avocados and peaches turn ripe, it would be best to transfer them to your fridge, if not being used up within a short span of time. Lower temperatures slow down the decomposition process, which happens once a fruit or vegetable is fully ripe and ready to eat. Alternately, if your fruit has reached the desired stage of ripeness, simply chop or cube them and put them away in Ziploc freezer bags to use for compotes, smoothies and even pie fillings and jams. Make sure you use them up within a span of three months or less.
