How to Store your Veggies

In general, anything whole will last longer than anything cut, and anything cut or peeled should be stored in the fridge. Chopping veggies causes them to lose 10% of their vitamins and minerals each day, so in 10 days, essentially void of nutrients. Most fruits will last about 5 days after being sliced (some vegetables a few days longer), and should be stored in an air tight container to keep out oxygen). Preservatives, to say the least, are not good for you, and CAN prevent spoilage, but do not keep vital, delicate nutrients alive. Just remember, excess moisture is the enemy of fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure your produce is dry before you store it.

Why does organic matter? The average apple in North America has been off the vine for 9 MONTHS before it makes it onto your plate, and generally travels thousands of miles to get there. That is a lot of fumigation (several times in many cases, to ward off bugs), months of sitting in warehouse shelves. and all kinds of gas and pollution before it gets to your door. Organic, at the very least, does not INTENTIONALLY spray on top of the transportation costs. Best way to get your fresh veggies? from an organic CSA basket where you can reach out to the farmer who picked your food!

On the counter:

• Apples, pears, kiwi, nectarines, apricots, plums, and peaches (mega-producers of a gas called ethylene). Keep away from other produce. Their gasses accelerate the ripening of produce around them. Fruits like apples, pears, bananas and avocado are not the best candidates for slicing ahead of time since they brown quickly.

• Avocado (to ripen, store in a bag with an apple. Once brown, keep in fridge to extend life)

• Myriad of fruits (stone fruits, citrus, and bananas)

• Tomatoes (Technically a fruit, out of direct sunlight. The fridge will turn their texture grainy)

• Mangoes, plums, peaches, and pears (Can be ripened at room temperature in a brown paper bag and should then be refrigerated for longer storage)

• Store pineapple upside down for a day or two at room temperature or in the fridge to allow the sweetness to spread throughout the fruit.

• Keep whole melons at room temperature. Cantaloupe can be stored at room temperature, but it will ripen quickly.

Sometimes you may want your fruit to ripen faster, but this isn't the case with vegetables. With veggies, ripening just means spoilage: spotting, wilting, yellowing, and generally breaking down.

In a tall glass of water (like a bouquet of flowers!):

• Herbs: Wash fresh herbs like you would salad greens in cool water and then spin them dry. With the exception of basil, fresh herbs like to be stored in the fridge with a damp (but not soaking wet) paper towel to keep them fresh. You can also store them like a little mini bouquet of flowers in your fridge by trimming off an inch or so of the stem and sticking them in a jar of water with a plastic bag loosely covering the bunch. You can use the same trick for asparagus too; it helps keep the flower ends fresh. Ditto for basil, but keep you basil bouquet on your counter instead of in the fridge.

• Green onion (but don’t trim off the bottom. If you're really lucky, those tiny white roots will begin to grow and you can plant the stalks in your garden where they'll provide free green onions for up to two years! Once they're planted, just snip off however much of the green shoots you want. (You won't get to use the white parts at the ends without digging them up.)

• Leafy greens need moisture and good air circulation to last longest as possible. This means throwing in a cramped drawer isn’t its favorite spot. What do restaurants do to keep them crisp and fresh? Wash it, spin it dry, and then store it in a perforated container (like a colander) in the refrigerator

In a cool, dark place, (ideally a cool 50 to 60 F, up to 70 is fine) like a cabinet or pantry. When exposed to light, they think they're outside and will start to sprout!

• Onions (Keep away from potatoes. The excess moisture in the onions emit causes potatoes to sprout)

• Potatoes sprout faster if they are near onions)

• Shallots

• Garlic, well ventilated area

• Hard squash

• All potatoes

Refrigerator (ideally 30-40 deg F). If you have two crisper drawers, you might reserve one for veggies and the other for fruits.

• Most delicate (2-3 days)

  • Asparagus is fairly delicate. (If want to last longer, trim off stems, place in a glass, fill glass halfway with water, then cover with a plastic produce bag and secure with a rubber band. May last over a week! Can also wrap with a moist paper towel.)

  • Ears of corn should be stored in their husks, only last a couple days

  • Grapes

  • Berries (blueberries, cherries or strawberries). Berries are delicate and they hate to be wet, so washing them can be tricky. We've found the best way is to rinse them in a strainer, then spread them out on a paper towel-lined plate to dry before you stick them in the fridge. You want to keep these in containers with tiny vents help keep them fresh longer by releasing moisture. Alternatively, just wait to wash right before eating.

  • Fresh leafy greens should be washed really well with water before refrigerating. Dry the leaves and store them in a clean plastic bag with a few paper towels.

• 3-5 days

  • Broccoli

  • Brussels sprouts

  • Green beans

  • Summer squash, yellow squash

  • Mushrooms (should be refrigerated in a paper bag. mushrooms have a high water content, and as that water evaporates, it can become trapped in a plastic bag, causing them to turn slimy. A paper bag lets them breathe. See best way to clean them here.)

• A Week

  • Artichokes

  • Cauliflower

  • Celery

  • Cucumbers

  • Eggplant

  • Peas

  • Peppers

  • Zucchini

• 2 Weeks!

  • Carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, and radishes can be stored in a plastic produce bag

Beautiful cooking graph from Gygi