Keeping produce fresh...help!

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NYIceQueen
NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
in Food and Nutrition
Hi! Live up here in Buffalo and half the time (or more in winter) the produce is already half gone bad.

Does anyone have any tricks/tips on keeping veggies/fruits fresh? I buy lettuce and in a couple of days it's brown. Even the prebagged ones are slightly brown when I get them most of the time. Forget fresh fruit in winter -- $5-6/lb for strawberries and half the container is rotted/molded.

The fresh salad bar at the store is great, but it's 6-7$ a pound. So a good salad is pretty expensive.

I hate wasting money, and I literally can't bring myself to get produce in general because of how much $$ I end up throwing out.

Any advice would be welcome!

Replies

  • princessorchid
    princessorchid Posts: 198 Member
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    For berries, you could always freeze them - freeze them in a sheet (one layer only) so they freeze individually and not in a big clump tho! They take almost no time to deforst.
  • NYIceQueen
    NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
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    Always wondered about that. Do they still taste the same once thawed? I tried a bagged kind once and it tasted funny after I defrosted them :huh:
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
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    most of the fruits and berries are able to freeze them. you can cut them up and freeze them. so when you wanna eat them use them or whatever you wish. their still fresh :)

    as for veggies. buy what you will eat in the next two days. looks like you will have to go shopping more often. for smaller stuff instead of exceeded amount in 2 weeks? 1 week. once every two days shouldnt be bad. if it is. then you gotta buy smaller portion in a day. and eat it that day.

    that is my best advice for this. i hope it helps
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
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    Always wondered about that. Do they still taste the same once thawed? I tried a bagged kind once and it tasted funny after I defrosted them :huh:

    some will taste good some will taste less then what it should but. but i gotta say its much much better. then wasting the food(money).
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
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    oh and i forgot to add. you can always try to find different places. if you dont do that. my mom goes to like 5 different stores and some are fresher then others. and some arent. just depends on the company.

    Edited: of course not all in the same day. but that is just an idea :)
  • louloup
    louloup Posts: 87 Member
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    Hi,

    Dont know what the supermarkets are like in America but here we have a great selection of frozen veggies. They are usually frozen within a few hours of being picked so retain their vitamins. Also its easy to just grab a portion and cook as needed.

    I you dont have this option, buy fresh. Chop up and blanche for 2-3 mins in boiling water and then cool and freeze.

    As for fruits I f reeze berries they can go a bit mushy so I use them in smoothies.

    If you have to have canned veg then get them in unsalted un sweetened water.

    Happy shopping:flowerforyou:
  • NYIceQueen
    NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
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    I'm okay with the frozen veggies like brocolli...I'm more concerned with things like lettuce/leafy stuff for salads. As for the availability, I guess I'm spoiled in that I used to live in Florida and could go berry picking at a local farm for $2 for the bucket. Or I'd get fresh veggies and fruit delivered to our office (We worked at a Farm Bureau and the farmers would send stuff over all the time).

    I think I need to maybe see if there are any good Farmer's Markets nearby that don't charge an arm and a leg. Grant it they're only available over the summer (we just had snow here on Mother's Day) but maybe that's something I should explore.

    Thanks for the great tips!
  • slimkitty
    slimkitty Posts: 418
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    I buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables at one time - sometimes enough to last our entire family for 2 weeks. Here's what I do to keep them fresh.

    As soon as I get home from the grocery store, I fill my sink with cold water, add about a half a cup of hydrogen peroxide and I soak all my fruits and veggies in it. Then I rinse everything and just lay everything on a towel to dry a bit, I put everything away in the refrigerator and they stay fresh for a long time. This is good because it sanitizes the produce and it stays fresh longer. This works great for leafy greens, brocolli, green beans, cabbage, brussel sprouts, leaks..... The good thing is, that all the produce is washed, that on a busy weekday I just have to grab a few handfulls of veggies for a quick stir fry.

    One time I had a forgotten a container of fresh spinach in the refrigerator for 4 weeks. When I was cleaning up and found it, I thought it would be rotten - but no - it was still fresh.

    When I do this with berries after a few days they start to dry out, but don't spoil and obviously it doesn't help bananas and pineapples (not that I buy that many). If the bananas start to get too brown, or the berries start to dry out, I just put them in the freezer and later use them in smoothies. A frozen banana, some frozen berries and some almond milk (allergic to dairy here) makes a delicious treat.

    A lot of vegetables are also great frozen. I like having frozen peas to add to soups and stews all the time and I love frozen spinach to add to meatloaf or to just sautee in a little bit of olive oil.

    Hope some this helps you.
  • Dom_m
    Dom_m Posts: 336 Member
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    You can buy plastic bags that absorb the chemicals vegetables put out that cause them to go off. If you put your vegies in the fridge in one of those bags, they can last more than 4 times longer. I just discovered these this year, and they work like magic ;)
  • FabiolaEnvy♥
    FabiolaEnvy♥ Posts: 730
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    you are welcome :)
  • debhayes
    debhayes Posts: 14
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    I use frozen fruits when fresh is not available. I can use what I need and put the rest back in the freezer. I have talked with nutritionist and frozen is just as good as fresh as far as nutrients go. And you have no waste. They make great smooties or mix with plain yogurt or greek yougurt and a little honey and/or granola-yum-o!
  • merbee
    merbee Posts: 142 Member
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    I feel your pain. I live across the ditch from you in Fort Erie. I have to shop every 3 days or so in order to keep fresh fruit and veggies in the house. I'm o.k. with the prepackaged veggies for the most part - but not the fruit. Nothing like a fresh strawberry compared to the frozen ones. The only fruit I have had any luck freezing is grapes. Whole - just wash and throw them in the freezer. I don;t defrost them - I just pop them in my mouth right out of the freezer. Surprisingly good - especially with summer coming. Oh - and so that I am not constantly making trips to the grocery store - I plan my visits for the ride home from work. Takes but a few minutes to pop in grab some produce, and get back out again and home.
  • ssmom
    ssmom Posts: 128 Member
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    They say that using a plastic knife to cut lettuce helps to keep it from turning brown so quick. It may be silcione--I'm not sure, but it is serated. Pampered Chef or Tupperware has them and I have a plastic container I bought from Tupperware that has vented holes that you can adjust according to what you put inside it that helps keep fresh fruits and veggies fresher longer. You could probably find something similar at Bed Bath and Beyond or a store like that.
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
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    You can buy plastic bags that absorb the chemicals vegetables put out that cause them to go off. If you put your vegies in the fridge in one of those bags, they can last more than 4 times longer. I just discovered these this year, and they work like magic ;)

    Yes, I was going to say this.............

    Debbie meyer Green Bags.
  • NYIceQueen
    NYIceQueen Posts: 1,423
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    Re the green bags -- I saw the infomercials but wasn't sure...I tried that Rubbermaid green container supposed to do the same thing and it didn't really work. I'll go ahead and try the bags if you guys have had good results.

    Re the hydrogen peroxide -- there's nothing dangerous after, right? Do you still rinse the produce before you eat it? (I have a toddler and an 8 yo so I want to be careful with them.)

    As for just stopping home from work, that might be part of the problem. I used to do that before I moved to Buffalo...you know, before KIDS! Now it's such a complete hassle to get ready (with the little ones anyhow) to then go out and do this. My son is just a bruiser. So it's a totally new trip out, which feels lazy but oh well.

    Thanks again for all those tips!
  • July24Lioness
    July24Lioness Posts: 2,399 Member
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    Re the green bags -- I saw the infomercials but wasn't sure...I tried that Rubbermaid green container supposed to do the same thing and it didn't really work. I'll go ahead and try the bags if you guys have had good results.

    Re the hydrogen peroxide -- there's nothing dangerous after, right? Do you still rinse the produce before you eat it? (I have a toddler and an 8 yo so I want to be careful with them.)

    As for just stopping home from work, that might be part of the problem. I used to do that before I moved to Buffalo...you know, before KIDS! Now it's such a complete hassle to get ready (with the little ones anyhow) to then go out and do this. My son is just a bruiser. So it's a totally new trip out, which feels lazy but oh well.

    Thanks again for all those tips!

    I have a couple of the rubber maid container with the green lid and the green liner that sits on the bottom. They work for me with different types of lettuce, spinach, etc..........The key to those containers as well as the Debbie Meyer green bags is you can't have moisture in the container. So you have to blot dry the produce before putting it in the container or the bag.
  • slimkitty
    slimkitty Posts: 418
    Options
    Re the green bags -- I saw the infomercials but wasn't sure...I tried that Rubbermaid green container supposed to do the same thing and it didn't really work. I'll go ahead and try the bags if you guys have had good results.

    Re the hydrogen peroxide -- there's nothing dangerous after, right? Do you still rinse the produce before you eat it? (I have a toddler and an 8 yo so I want to be careful with them.)

    As for just stopping home from work, that might be part of the problem. I used to do that before I moved to Buffalo...you know, before KIDS! Now it's such a complete hassle to get ready (with the little ones anyhow) to then go out and do this. My son is just a bruiser. So it's a totally new trip out, which feels lazy but oh well.

    Thanks again for all those tips!

    Nothing dangerous about the hydrogen peroxide. It gets rinsed away and whatever might be left on the produce breaks down to water and oxygen. Remember the salmonela poisoning in the fresh spinach a while back? If people rinsed their produce in hydrogen peroxide a lot of that could have been avoided.
    If my produce was stored in a well sealed container then I don't rinse it before eating. The fruits that I keep on my countertop, I rinse before eating in case they got sprayed with a kitchen cleaner.

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