Buying or harvesting high-quality fruits and vegetables is meaningless unless you eat them straight away or learn how to store them. Preserving them in sub-par conditions will lead to them losing their taste and be good only for two things either soup or the trash.
The trick to properly storing your fruits and vegetables starts with learning about ethylene. Ethylene is the hormone that produce emit as they ripen. For example, ripe bananas and apples are huge emitters of this hormone that’s why if you place them in paper bags with other produce they will help them ripen.
There are, however, certain veggies like leafy greens and asparagus which are sensitive to ethylene and when exposed to it tend to quickly deteriorate. Choice have an awesome chart on their site which displays the ethylene emission and ethylene sensitivity of a plethora of fruits and veggies.
So without further ado, let’s go into the food storage part of things.
How to store fruits
Apples - Apples tend to be quite tricky when it comes to storage. This is mainly due to their deterioration in both cold and warm temperatures. If you place them in warm storage, their lifespan will commence decreasing drastically. On the other hand, leave them somewhere too cold and they’ll turn to mush once they begin to soften. The trick here is balance! Apples should be maintained at a steady temperature of -1.1°C(or 30°F) to prevent rotting. To achieve this, you will need to place them inside the crisper drawer of your fridge and then cover them with slightly dampened paper towels. On a side note, avoid placing bruised or rotting apples with the rest of the batch as it can spread to them as well.
Avocados - The storage of Avocados, really depends on their ripeness. An unripe Avocado can be stored in the fridge for a whole week (before it starts going bad), while a ripe one, can be stored only for around two to three days.
Lemons - Lemons are quite easy to store and can survive up to a month if stored correctly. The best approach here is to place your lemons into a zipper-lock bag and then refrigerate them. This method is as effective as it is simple and will yield great results.
Tomatoes - Whatever you do, don’t keep your tomatoes in the fridge! The best place to store your tomatoes is actually on your countertop at room temperature. This will aid in their development of flavor and won’t take away from their sweet sweet taste (the same way as fridge storage will).
Berries - Berries are some of the most storage-friendly fruits you can buy. Start out by rinsing them thoroughly with water to get rid of any germs and bacteria. Then dry them off with a few paper towels and spread them on a sheet of wax paper. Leave the wax paper with the berries in the freezer for about 10 minutes(to flash freeze them). When done with that place them in a zipper-lock plastic bag and leave them in your freezer(to chill). Storing your berries this way will help preserve them for up to a full year!
How to store vegetables
Potatoes - Potatoes need to be kept in dry, dark and cool places with good ventilation in order to last longer. A good example of such spots are cupboards and cellars. Places to avoid when storing potatoes are ones where it’s warm and moist.
Carrots - When it comes to carrots, the storage process can be a bit unconventional. You have to first cut off the carrot greens. Then, fill up a closable container with water and place the carrots in it. This will guarantee that they stay fresh for quite some time.
Cucumbers - Most of us tend to store our cucumbers in the refrigerator. That, however, is the wrong way to go about it. You see, cucumbers are actually quite sensitive to temperatures below 10°C (or 50°F) and if left in the cold too long begin to decay quickly. Therefore, the ideal place to store them is at room temperature, where they will last for way longer.
Sweet corn - Corn loses its flavor very quickly, therefore the only solutions you have at your disposal is either to leave it in the fridge or freeze it. Be mindful that sweet corn can only be stored for about 3 days in the fridge before it starts to lose flavor. If you’re looking to store it longer, you should go with freezing it. To do so, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Throw the shucked ears into the boiling pot and let it sit for around two and a half minutes. Then take the corn out of the pot and cool it in a bowl filled with ice. Proceed with cutting the kernels off the cob and into freezer bags. Once in the freezer, corn can be stored for about a full year.
Zucchinis - Store zucchinis with the squash whole and unwashed. Place them in a plastic bag and leave it open(for air circulation), then stash them in the crisper drawer. This will keep them from going bad for about one to two weeks.
Storing herbs
Fresh herbs fall into three categories when it comes to storage.
Herbs that hate water - these are the ones that usually grow in dry soil(for example thyme and rosemary). Avoid storing them in places where they can come into contact with water as they will become mouldy when damp.
Herbs that dislike the cold - these are summery herbs which like being stored in a glass of water(basil, mint,etc.).
Herbs that enjoy the damp - you can place these herbs(oregano, parsley, chives) in jars and then store them in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Conclusion
Learning how to store your produce is as important as knowing how to cook it. So take your time to learn what lasts where the longest and you won’t ever have to deal with spoiled fruits and veggies.
Author Bio: Desiree Thomson is a gardening and landscaping expert working at Alyssa’s garden maintenance company. When she’s not running around in her back garden, she can be seen blogging for various online outlets or fixated on decluttering her house.
