If you like stocking up on veggies in your kitchen, one challenge you might already know is how to keep them fresh for more extended periods. Stocking up is crucial to avoid frequent visits to the grocery store and to risk your safety by waiting in long lines amid a pandemic. These are some of the reasons why proper storage is crucial to minimize any wastage, not to mention all the money you’re going to save in the long run.
In this post, we’ll be going over the best kitchen hacks to keep your vegetables extra fresh. We’ll cover some tips and practices on cleaning your veggies before storage and also answer the controversial question, Can you freeze mushrooms? We’re about to find out. So, who’s ready to store some vegetables? Let us begin!
Here are 8 Kitchen Hacks to Keep Your Veggies Extra Fresh
1. Freezing
If you don’t freeze your vegetables often, you should try this option because you can practically freeze anything. You may not be able to freeze and keep your veggies forever, but it’s a practical approach to extending the storage life of your produce. Freezing is ideal for veggies like cauliflower, carrots, green beans, spinach, kale, pepper, corn, peas, herbs, and mushrooms. Although some sources say that freezing mushrooms isn’t a recommendable practice, a guide by Recipes.net demonstrates how you can keep your raw and cooked mushrooms fresh through freezing!
Take note, however, that if you ever decide to freeze a veggie, you may not be able to use some of them for salads or roasting. Also, it may be helpful to keep in mind that freezing may not be best for veggies high in water content like cabbage, radish, or lettuce. Nonetheless, it’s a convenient way to prolong their storage life for other vegetables.
2. Clean Veggies With the Ultimate Cleaning Formula
Leafy greens and skinned vegetables need cleaning before you store them. It’s always best to give them an excellent clean since you don’t know how much dirt, insecticide residue, or pests they still carry. So, what is the best solution to clean your veggies? Try this formula!
- In a bowl of warm water, add a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of turmeric powder (optional), and a splash of vinegar
- Mix the solution and then drench the vegetables
- After 20-30 minutes, discard the solution and rinse the veggies thoroughly with running water
- You may then pat dry the veggies with a clean towel before they air-dry thoroughly
- Once they’re completely dry, you may now store your veggies
The turmeric powder and vinegar will protect against germs and viruses. Now that your veggies are squeaky clean, you can expect them to spoil at a much slower pace!
3. Maximize Those Brown Paper Bags
Don’t take your brown paper bags for granted! Indeed, you have some lying around in the pantry or kitchen. Paper bags help store veggies you plan to consume within the next 3-5 days. If you don’t have room left on your countertop or fridge, paper bags also make a great storage option for veggies that need to be in a cool dark place like potatoes.
You may also want to use a puncher to make around 7-10 holes on the paper bag to promote good ventilation. Brown paper bag storage is excellent for potatoes, onions, garlic, string beans, squash, eggplants, capsicums, and peppers. You will need a thicker paper bag if you have some of these veggies that you want to store in the fridge.
A friendly reminder
Keep your potatoes away from onions! Onions produce ethylene gas, making your potatoes spoil faster–so remember to store them separately!
4. Use Hand Towels to Make Veggies Last Longer in the Fridge
Moisture is a big culprit of fast spoilage when storing veggies in the fridge. That said, you might have seen tips on using paper napkins to control the moisture when storing veggies in a container. Even though it’s pretty effective, a more eco-friendly way is placing a towel at the bottom and the top of the storage container before sealing it. Not only does it stop your veggies from spoiling faster, but it is also good for the environment. With this method, you can expect your cauliflower, broccoli, and other greens to last ten days, while your carrots can last up to 15 days.
5. Roll Your Fresh Herbs to Keep Them Crisp
When you buy leafy greens like lettuce and fresh herbs, you would want to keep them from becoming mushy and slimy when storing them in the fridge. You may want to get a towel bigger than a hand towel for these kinds of veggies. What you want to do is after cleaning, lay them out on the towel and then roll it until you reach the end of the towel. You may then store the towel in a food cloth bag or a breathable stasher bag to keep your leafy greens nice and fresh!
6. Dedicate a Toothbrush to Clean Root Crops
Root crops like potatoes, sweet potatoes, turmeric, and ginger are often clean when you buy them from the grocery store. However, if you happen to buy your root crop veggies from local organic stores or grow them in your garden, it would be handy to keep around a toothbrush dedicated to cleaning your root crop veggies. Brush the veggies under running water to make them more presentable if you plan to store them on your countertops.
7. Shock Those Veggies
Although this part includes some cooking, it’s also an effective way to make the storage life of your vegetables longer. Shock your veggies by doing a nice blanch! You can blanch carrots, broccoli, or cabbage by boiling them in water until they’re ready. By then, be sure to have a bowl of ice cubes and put in your vegetables. You shock your vegetables with the icy water to stop the cooking process–and as a result, you can enjoy the rich color, taste, and texture of the veggies.
Be sure that the veggies are still cold to the touch after the ice bath to ensure that the cooking process is no longer taking place on the inside. Afterward, dry the veggies and consume or store them in an airtight container with a hand towel to remove moisture.
8. Follow the Golden Rule
If your fridge has extra settings that you can use, maximize them! When storing vegetables in the crisper, the golden rule is to set it to Low Humidity for veggies that spoil, while you’d like to use High Humidity for veggies that wilt. It will be beneficial to keep your veggies fresh by giving them the best conditions they need for more extended storage. Also, do your best not to fill the crisper all the way! Three-quarters of its total capacity is the ideal volume you should allot; otherwise, it may not be optimal for your veggies to stay fresh–especially in a crowded space.
Takeaway
Vegetables make an essential part of any diet, so storing them the best way possible will have tons of perks! You save money, minimize waste, and enjoy a much longer shelf life for the veggies you buy. Storing vegetables can seem tricky at first, but knowing and following good storage practices will surely make your life a lot easier. We hope this post has been helpful, and be sure to check out Recipes.net for more tips, recipes, and guides on food!