During late spring and summer, vegetables are in season and therefore become very affordable. Whether you're buying from a roadside stand, a farmer's market, or your regular supermarket's produce section, you want to make the best of your investment. Knowing how to store vegetables such as carrots, celery, leafy greens and broccoli helps you avoid throwing your money in the trash.
Step 1
Wrap plank-shaped vegetables, such as celery and carrots, and store them in your refrigerator's crisper drawer. The Food Network's website recommends putting carrots in a plastic bag and storing them in the refrigerator, but not peeling them until you're ready to use them. "Cook's Illustrated" reports that celery maintains its freshness best when wrapped in aluminum foil.
Step 2
Put small vegetables, such as snapped green beans or fresh peas, in air-tight plastic containers and keep them near the bottom of the fridge. If you'd like to store these vegetables for long periods of time, spread them out on a wax-paper-lined, lipped cookie sheet and put them in the freezer. Once frozen solid, transfer them to zip-top bags. This replicates the freezing method used by commercial packagers.
Step 3
Place potatoes in the fruit side of your crisper drawer and add a few apples. Author Pam Anderson explains that when stored in refrigerator temperatures, apples release ethylene gas that helps keep potatoes fresh. You can also try tying onions into clean, unused pantyhose and hanging them under your stairs, though you can also store them in the refrigerator in open containers.
Step 4
Wrap leafy greens such as baby spinach, standard spinach, and lettuce leaves loosely in paper towels and place in large, unsealed zip-top baggies. Put these in your crisper drawer or the bottom of your fridge. The paper towels wick moisture away from the leaves while the open bags allow them to breathe, both of which slows down spoilage.
Step 5
Cut a 2 liter soda bottle in half through the middle and discard the top. Fill the bottom with enough water to reach the end of the stem.Trim the bottom off each broccoli crown and place the crown in the bottle bottom and put it on the top shelf in your refrigerator. Broccoli is actually a flowering plant, and treating the crowns as you would flowers keeps them fresh.
Tips and Warnings
- You can also trim broccoli crowns, cut them into small pieces, and freeze them as you would peas.
- Do not eat vegetables with fuzzy spots, slimy surface, discoloration or an unpleasant smell; these are all signs of spoilage.
Things You'll Need
- Aluminum foil
- Zip-top plastic bags in various sizes
- Wax paper (optional)
- Lipped cookie sheet (optional)
- Clean, unused pantyhose (optional)
- Empty 2 liter soda bottle
- Scissors
References
- Food Network: Storing Fruits and Vegetables
- "Cooks Illustrated"; Keeping Celery Fresh; July 2008
- "How to Cook Without a Book"; Pam Anderson; 2000
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