Put an end to throwing out sad, spoiled produce with produce saving hacks, tips on how to keep guacamole from going brown, where to store food, and more!
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Charlotte Gomez
Invest in some produce bags that absorb ethylene, a gas that accelerates ripening and decomposition.
Your veggies will last a lot longer. In addition, pack your leafy greens loosely, which keeps moisture and sogginess to a minimum.
Get a pack of 30 produce bags from Walmart for $7.99.
Place fresh herbs in a jar filled with enough water to cover the tips of the stems.
Trim the ends and then place them in a glass jar, like a bouquet of flowers. For basil and cilantro, store them at room temperature.
Get a set of 12 pint-sized mason jars from Walmart for $8.69 or a set of 12 quart sized jars from Jet for $10.26.
Or, if you use a lot of fresh herbs, invest in an herb saver.
It's supposed to make your herbs last up to three weeks.
Get it from Jet for $31.50
Store bananas away from other countertop produce and wrap their stems with plastic to keep them fresh.
Because bananas produce a lot of ethylene, a fruit-ripening gas, it's best to keep them away from other produce, unless you want to speed up their ripening. If you want to ripen an avocado more quickly, place it in a bag with a ripe banana.
Get a bamboo banana hammock from Jet for $10.62.
Cucumbers will last longer at room temperature whereas keeping them in the fridge will accelerate their decay.
According to the Kitchn, they'll get "chilling injuries" in the fridge, which include wateriness, pitting, and faster decay.
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Prep your greens with a salad spinner, which cuts out a lot of moisture and prevents leaves from wilting.
Get one from Jet for $18.
Spray leftover guacamole with cooking spray before putting it back in the fridge.
There are a number of ways to keep avocado green, and oil is one of them. You should also keep the pit in the guacamole.
Get a can of olive oil cooking spray from Walmart for $3.85.
Keep carrots crisp by storing them in water after removing their leafy tops.
Apparently, if you keep carrots fresh for an extremely long time, they'll re-grow their leafy tops. Immersed in water, carrots will stay fresh for weeks.
Freeze green onions in a plastic bottle.
Make sure the green onions are completely dry before storing or they’ll get freezer burn.
And keep ginger in the freezer too.
It grates much more easily, and the peel grates up so fine that you don’t actually need to peel it. Plus it lasts way longer.
Store mushrooms in a paper bag, not a plastic bag.
A plastic bag will trap moisture and cause them to mildew. Put them in a paper bag in the fridge or in a cool, dry place.
Store potatoes with apples to keep them from sprouting.
The ethylene produced by the apples stops the potatoes from sprouting. Who knew food science was this cool?
Add a dab of butter to the cut side of cheese to keep it from drying out.
For maximum preservation, wrap the cheese in wax paper and then store it in a reusable bag in the fridge.
Keep produce whole for as long as possible and limit the amount of chopped produce you store in the fridge.
If you do end up chopping too much that you won't use in time, freeze it!
Corn should be left in the husk until the very last minute because, otherwise, it'll lose flavor.
And try not to store corn in the fridge for too long. They'll taste sweeter the sooner you eat them but if you have to store them, keep them in their husks.
Stop scallions from getting slimy by placing the roots in a jar of water.
By keeping the roots attached, they'll continue to grow (if they're stored in a sunny spot and the temperature's warm) and you'll have a long-lasting supply of green onions.
Store countertop items away from windows because sunlight tends to speed up the ripening process.
But if you want to expedite ripening, then place them in direct sunlight (works great for avocados).
blog.confessionsofanewoldhomeowner.com
Follow this handy guide on what to store on the counter, and what to put away in the fridge.
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via BuzzFeed/Food
