HOW TO STORE VEGETABLES AND REDUCE FOOD WASTE!
26 May 2022 | DIYA RAJGURU
From shrivelled carrots to limp lettuce, there's nothing nice about having a fridge full of food that's gone off. So how can you avoid this major source of household food waste?
Each year 4.2 million tonnes of food waste goes to landfill in Australia and over half of this comes from households. Not only is this a waste of water and energy used to grow the food, but it produces methane, which is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2. Experts say saving food waste can do more for the environment than switching off the lights. And then there's the cost to your wallet. The average household throws away around $2,000 worth of food each year, according to a 2013 survey of 1,600 Victorian households. Nearly two thirds of the food thrown away could have been eaten.
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The problem is not just related to what we buy and what we do with it when we get home, but how we shop, plan and cook in our busy lives. It turns out that fruit and vegies are among the top products wasted by households. And part of the challenge is that each product has its own individual needs when it comes to keeping fresh.
Storing vegetables the right way will keep them fresh and safe to eat. Some vegetables and fruit need to be stored in the refrigerator, others need to ripen before being placed in the refrigerator, and others are best stored at room temperature or in a cool dry place. Find out more about how your favourite vegetables should be stored.
Storing leafy greens to keep them freshLeafy greens stay fresh longer if they’re rinsed, wrapped in a paper towel or tea towel, and refrigerated in a container or sealed plastic bag. You can do this with lettuce greens, bok choy, Swiss chard, kale and spinach.Time saving tip – Washing and storing leafy greens as soon as you bring them home will make them more convenient to eat.
Storing root vegetables to keep them fresh Root vegetables should be stored in a cool, dark, dry spot outside the fridge like a cupboard or root cellar. You can also store garlic, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes this way.
Storing tomatoes to keep them fresh For the best-tasting tomatoes, store them at room temperature away from direct sunlight. This will help them ripen evenly. Once they are ripe, they can be placed in the fridge.
Storing vegetables the right way will keep them fresh and safe to eat. Some vegetables and fruit need to be stored in the refrigerator, others need to ripen before being placed in the refrigerator, and others are best stored at room temperature or in a cool dry place. Find out more about how your favourite vegetables should be stored.
Storing leafy greens to keep them freshLeafy greens stay fresh longer if they’re rinsed, wrapped in a paper towel or tea towel, and refrigerated in a container or sealed plastic bag. You can do this with lettuce greens, bok choy, Swiss chard, kale and spinach.Time saving tip – Washing and storing leafy greens as soon as you bring them home will make them more convenient to eat.
Storing root vegetables to keep them fresh Root vegetables should be stored in a cool, dark, dry spot outside the fridge like a cupboard or root cellar. You can also store garlic, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes this way.
Storing tomatoes to keep them fresh For the best-tasting tomatoes, store them at room temperature away from direct sunlight. This will help them ripen evenly. Once they are ripe, they can be placed in the fridge.
Your crisper drawers are one of the best ways to help preserve your food and reduce food waste. Here is a quick guide to help you organize your fresh foods. • High & Low Humidity – If your drawers have an option, select high humidity in one drawer, and low humidity in the other. • High Humidity – store leafy vegetables such as spinach, lettuce and thin-skinned fruits and vegetables like strawberries, raspberries, and grapes. • Low Humidity – store thicker-skinned fruits and vegetables like onions, peppers, and tomatoes. • Do not store apples and bananas together.
The general rule is fruits like low humidity and vegetables like high humidity with a few exceptions. Vegetables should go in high humidity crisper drawer and fruits in low humidity crisper drawer.Ethylene gas and moisture makes vegetables to rot. Humidity is good but you don’t want your veggies sitting in water.Store fruits and vegetables separately as almost all fruits release ethylene gas.
Beets Right when you get home from the store, the first thing you should do to your beets is remove the leaves, if they were sold with any. Berkeley Wellness reports that by doing this, you'll help prevent moisture loss from the roots, which will keep them fresher longer. Keep them in the crisper drawer and don't wash them until you're ready to use them.
Berries Nordgren says you should always try to keep berries as cold as possible, so they definitely have to be refrigerated. "Hold off on rinsing your berries until right before eating to preserve their full flavor," he adds. And if they come with green caps or stems (like strawberries might), he recommends leaving them on until you're ready to eat to preserve their freshness.
Broccoli Since broccoli is a winter vegetable, it's built to withstand colder temperatures, and warmer temperatures can lead to its untimely demise. The farmers at Sweetwater Organic recommend covering your broccoli head with a moist paper towel in the crisper drawer of your fridge to keep it cool, crisp, and fresh.
Capsicum The pepper farmers at Baloian Farms say that the best way to store bell peppers is in the fridge, unwashed. Residual moisture can cause them to rot prematurely, which is why you're better off washing them right before you're to use them. Store in a dry, sealed bag in your vegetable crisper. Storing them dry prevents your Peppers from turning soft, slimy, or mouldy.
Cabbage "Cabbage is best stored in the crisper drawer and should not be cut until ready for use," says Nordgren. "If storing cut cabbage, its best to tightly wrap or bag."
CauliflowerThe best way to store cauliflower might come as a surprise. Even though it looks like broccoli with less color, the storing methods are quite different. What you'll want to do with it, according to Sweetwater Organic, is wrap it in plastic or leave it in the plastic it was sold in, and store it in your crisper drawer stem side up so the head doesn't collect moisture. Keep the head whole until you're ready to use it, because pre-cut cauliflower doesn't have the same staying power.
So how do you store cauliflower so it stays fresh for as long as possible and doesn't turn brown?It turns out that cauliflower is way more delicate than it looks, and ideally, you want to buy a full head of cauliflower rather than a plastic bag of pre-cut florets. When you're buying cauliflower, you want to pick a head that's "firm and tightly closed," write the editors at the Los Angeles Times. "Reject any heads that show signs of softness, that's the start of spoilage." You also want to make sure the white cauliflowers haven't started to brown, because if they're already changing color, you've lost the battle.
Once you get the cauliflower home, all you have to do is put the head of cauliflower in a perforated or open plastic bag and pop it in the crisper drawer of your fridge. (If the cauliflower came already wrapped in plastic, you can put that in the fridge without unwrapping.) "Keep the head stem-side up to prevent moisture from collecting on it," and thereby causing this unwanted browning, note the folks at Sweetwater Organic Farm in Tampa, FL, adding, "Precut florets do not keep well, and they are best when eaten within a day of purchase."
CarrotsCarrots, a type of root vegetable, are sturdy and built to last. Nordgren says to keep them in a cool, dark, dry environment like your fridge, though they'll last for a while at room temperature too. Cut off the leafy green tops. The tops will continue sucking the nutrients out of the carrots as you store them.Fresh, unpeeled carrots need to stay moist, so the best way to store them is to place the carrots with water in the refrigerator. Place carrots is in a sealed bag or large container and then cover them completely with water. Close the container with lid or plastic wrap. Once the water starts looking cloudy (about every 4-5 days), simply dump it, refill the container, and put it back in the refrigerator.
Cherries and Plums Nordgren says that these two stone fruits will last longest if you keep them as cold as possible. He also recommends eating the cherries as soon as you can, because they gradually lose their sweetness as they get older.
Citrus Much like with melons, citrus doesn't continue to ripen after it's picked. So Nordgren says to always look for the most fragrant fruit you can smell out. When you get home, he recommends storing them at room temperature and away from direct sunlight, though he says you can also refrigerate them if you prefer. They'll last for a few days to a week at room temp and up to several weeks in the fridge.
Corn Epicurious reports that the secret to keeping a cob of corn fresh is to not let it get dry. Don't remove the husks until you're ready to get cooking, and store the cobs wrapped in plastic in the crisper drawer in your fridge.
Cucumbers Nordgren says that cucumbers are sensitive to the cold, and exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees can damage their flavor and texture. This veggie is one of the few on the list that will actually last longer if you keep it at room temperature. Thoroughly dry before storing and wrap in paper towel. This prevents sogginess brought on by condensation or humidity from excess water.
Chillies:The chillies will last well for about 6 months in a freezer. Usually, it's best to use fresh vegetables and fruit within 3 months, but chillies seem to last a little longer. If the prepared pods were frozen as described they should not be watery or mushy when they are used in cooking.
Garlic Whatever you do, don't put garlic in the fridge! In my experience, refrigeration changes the texture of the garlic for the worse. Nordgren agrees, and he says you should try to keep it in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. I like to keep mine in a basket in a cool corner in my kitchen. How to Store a Whole Head of GarlicLeaving the entire head (aka the bulb) of garlic whole and not breaking it apart is the best way to store fresh garlic. If kept this way, under the right conditions, the head will stay fresh for a few months.Garlic’s life span begins to decrease once you break apart the head and take out the individual cloves. A broken head will keep for about three to 10 days, so make it a point to use it up first before breaking open a new head. Light and moisture are garlic’s worst enemies, as they both cause mold to grow. Instead, store garlic at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has plenty of air circulation, like in a wire-mesh basket or open paper bag in a cupboard or pantry.
Avoid the fridgeWhen stored in a cold environment, like the refrigerator, garlic will begin to sprout in no more than a few days. While sprouted garlic is still edible, it can sometimes be a little bitter-tasting.How to Store Peeled GarlicIf you’ve peeled or chopped too much garlic for a recipe, it’s OK to stick it in the fridge. Keep it sealed in an airtight container to prevent raw garlic smells wafting through the fridge, and try to use it up as soon as possible, within a day or so, to prevent sprouting and loss of flavour.
Herbs "Fresh herbs can be stored in the refrigerator, kept dry and bagged, or stored in a jar or glass of water," says Nordgren. If you do decide to store them in a glass of water, make sure to trim the ends before you do.
Leafy Greens The trick to keeping leafy greens like lettuce and spinach fresh in your fridge is making sure they're far from any moisture, safe in the confines of your crisper drawer. You'll have the best luck if you wash and dry them fully, then store them in a plastic bag with a paper towel.
Onions Like garlic, Nordgren suggests keeping onions in a cool, dark place, but not in the fridge because that'll mess with their texture.
Potatoes Like onions and garlic, Nordgren recommends keeping potatoes stored in a cool, dark place that isn't the fridge. However, he says that you shouldn't store them with onions, because the gasses from onions can cause the potatoes to sprout.
Tomatoes I die a little inside every time I see a tomato in someone's fridge. Tomatoes should never go in the fridge, according to Nordgren, because refrigeration makes them soft and mushy—it's true. Keep them at room temp out of direct sunlight. Store uncovered on your counter. This allows them to continue to ripen and develop a vibrant flavor. Tomatoes can lose flavor and even become overly soft if kept too cold so keep them on the counter.
OkraRefrigerate unwashed, dry okra pods in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in perforated plastic bags. Wet pods will quickly mold and become slimy. Okra will keep for only two or three days. When ridges and tips of pods turn dark, it needs to be used immediately. Once it starts to darken, it will quickly deteriorate.
The general rule is fruits like low humidity and vegetables like high humidity with a few exceptions. Vegetables should go in high humidity crisper drawer and fruits in low humidity crisper drawer.Ethylene gas and moisture makes vegetables to rot. Humidity is good but you don’t want your veggies sitting in water.Store fruits and vegetables separately as almost all fruits release ethylene gas.
Beets Right when you get home from the store, the first thing you should do to your beets is remove the leaves, if they were sold with any. Berkeley Wellness reports that by doing this, you'll help prevent moisture loss from the roots, which will keep them fresher longer. Keep them in the crisper drawer and don't wash them until you're ready to use them.
Berries Nordgren says you should always try to keep berries as cold as possible, so they definitely have to be refrigerated. "Hold off on rinsing your berries until right before eating to preserve their full flavor," he adds. And if they come with green caps or stems (like strawberries might), he recommends leaving them on until you're ready to eat to preserve their freshness.
Broccoli Since broccoli is a winter vegetable, it's built to withstand colder temperatures, and warmer temperatures can lead to its untimely demise. The farmers at Sweetwater Organic recommend covering your broccoli head with a moist paper towel in the crisper drawer of your fridge to keep it cool, crisp, and fresh.
Capsicum The pepper farmers at Baloian Farms say that the best way to store bell peppers is in the fridge, unwashed. Residual moisture can cause them to rot prematurely, which is why you're better off washing them right before you're to use them. Store in a dry, sealed bag in your vegetable crisper. Storing them dry prevents your Peppers from turning soft, slimy, or mouldy.
Cabbage "Cabbage is best stored in the crisper drawer and should not be cut until ready for use," says Nordgren. "If storing cut cabbage, its best to tightly wrap or bag."
CauliflowerThe best way to store cauliflower might come as a surprise. Even though it looks like broccoli with less color, the storing methods are quite different. What you'll want to do with it, according to Sweetwater Organic, is wrap it in plastic or leave it in the plastic it was sold in, and store it in your crisper drawer stem side up so the head doesn't collect moisture. Keep the head whole until you're ready to use it, because pre-cut cauliflower doesn't have the same staying power.
So how do you store cauliflower so it stays fresh for as long as possible and doesn't turn brown?It turns out that cauliflower is way more delicate than it looks, and ideally, you want to buy a full head of cauliflower rather than a plastic bag of pre-cut florets. When you're buying cauliflower, you want to pick a head that's "firm and tightly closed," write the editors at the Los Angeles Times. "Reject any heads that show signs of softness, that's the start of spoilage." You also want to make sure the white cauliflowers haven't started to brown, because if they're already changing color, you've lost the battle.
Once you get the cauliflower home, all you have to do is put the head of cauliflower in a perforated or open plastic bag and pop it in the crisper drawer of your fridge. (If the cauliflower came already wrapped in plastic, you can put that in the fridge without unwrapping.) "Keep the head stem-side up to prevent moisture from collecting on it," and thereby causing this unwanted browning, note the folks at Sweetwater Organic Farm in Tampa, FL, adding, "Precut florets do not keep well, and they are best when eaten within a day of purchase."
CarrotsCarrots, a type of root vegetable, are sturdy and built to last. Nordgren says to keep them in a cool, dark, dry environment like your fridge, though they'll last for a while at room temperature too. Cut off the leafy green tops. The tops will continue sucking the nutrients out of the carrots as you store them.Fresh, unpeeled carrots need to stay moist, so the best way to store them is to place the carrots with water in the refrigerator. Place carrots is in a sealed bag or large container and then cover them completely with water. Close the container with lid or plastic wrap. Once the water starts looking cloudy (about every 4-5 days), simply dump it, refill the container, and put it back in the refrigerator.
Cherries and Plums Nordgren says that these two stone fruits will last longest if you keep them as cold as possible. He also recommends eating the cherries as soon as you can, because they gradually lose their sweetness as they get older.
Citrus Much like with melons, citrus doesn't continue to ripen after it's picked. So Nordgren says to always look for the most fragrant fruit you can smell out. When you get home, he recommends storing them at room temperature and away from direct sunlight, though he says you can also refrigerate them if you prefer. They'll last for a few days to a week at room temp and up to several weeks in the fridge.
Corn Epicurious reports that the secret to keeping a cob of corn fresh is to not let it get dry. Don't remove the husks until you're ready to get cooking, and store the cobs wrapped in plastic in the crisper drawer in your fridge.
Cucumbers Nordgren says that cucumbers are sensitive to the cold, and exposure to temperatures below 50 degrees can damage their flavor and texture. This veggie is one of the few on the list that will actually last longer if you keep it at room temperature. Thoroughly dry before storing and wrap in paper towel. This prevents sogginess brought on by condensation or humidity from excess water.
Chillies:The chillies will last well for about 6 months in a freezer. Usually, it's best to use fresh vegetables and fruit within 3 months, but chillies seem to last a little longer. If the prepared pods were frozen as described they should not be watery or mushy when they are used in cooking.
Garlic Whatever you do, don't put garlic in the fridge! In my experience, refrigeration changes the texture of the garlic for the worse. Nordgren agrees, and he says you should try to keep it in a cool, dry, and well-ventilated place. I like to keep mine in a basket in a cool corner in my kitchen. How to Store a Whole Head of GarlicLeaving the entire head (aka the bulb) of garlic whole and not breaking it apart is the best way to store fresh garlic. If kept this way, under the right conditions, the head will stay fresh for a few months.Garlic’s life span begins to decrease once you break apart the head and take out the individual cloves. A broken head will keep for about three to 10 days, so make it a point to use it up first before breaking open a new head. Light and moisture are garlic’s worst enemies, as they both cause mold to grow. Instead, store garlic at room temperature in a dry, dark place that has plenty of air circulation, like in a wire-mesh basket or open paper bag in a cupboard or pantry.
Avoid the fridgeWhen stored in a cold environment, like the refrigerator, garlic will begin to sprout in no more than a few days. While sprouted garlic is still edible, it can sometimes be a little bitter-tasting.How to Store Peeled GarlicIf you’ve peeled or chopped too much garlic for a recipe, it’s OK to stick it in the fridge. Keep it sealed in an airtight container to prevent raw garlic smells wafting through the fridge, and try to use it up as soon as possible, within a day or so, to prevent sprouting and loss of flavour.
Herbs "Fresh herbs can be stored in the refrigerator, kept dry and bagged, or stored in a jar or glass of water," says Nordgren. If you do decide to store them in a glass of water, make sure to trim the ends before you do.
Leafy Greens The trick to keeping leafy greens like lettuce and spinach fresh in your fridge is making sure they're far from any moisture, safe in the confines of your crisper drawer. You'll have the best luck if you wash and dry them fully, then store them in a plastic bag with a paper towel.
Onions Like garlic, Nordgren suggests keeping onions in a cool, dark place, but not in the fridge because that'll mess with their texture.
Potatoes Like onions and garlic, Nordgren recommends keeping potatoes stored in a cool, dark place that isn't the fridge. However, he says that you shouldn't store them with onions, because the gasses from onions can cause the potatoes to sprout.
Tomatoes I die a little inside every time I see a tomato in someone's fridge. Tomatoes should never go in the fridge, according to Nordgren, because refrigeration makes them soft and mushy—it's true. Keep them at room temp out of direct sunlight. Store uncovered on your counter. This allows them to continue to ripen and develop a vibrant flavor. Tomatoes can lose flavor and even become overly soft if kept too cold so keep them on the counter.
OkraRefrigerate unwashed, dry okra pods in the vegetable crisper, loosely wrapped in perforated plastic bags. Wet pods will quickly mold and become slimy. Okra will keep for only two or three days. When ridges and tips of pods turn dark, it needs to be used immediately. Once it starts to darken, it will quickly deteriorate.
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