When your garden is producing fruits and vegetables full tilt (or if you just bought too much at the grocery store), it can be a challenge to eat all that food before it goes bad. If you’re worried about your bountiful harvest (or food dollars) wilting and rotting away, consider these tips and tricks that can help prolong the life of your fresh produce:
Don’t let your bountiful, healthy harvest go to waste!
Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller
Wrap a paper towel around
lettuce before popping it in the fridge to help preserve crispness and absorb unwanted condensation.
Photo Credit: Megan Bame
No matter how you slice (and cook) it, your homegrown produce is meant to be enjoyed!
Photo Credit: Mark A. Miller
Chill It
To slow plant respiration and prolong the crispness of your produce, store your fresh fruits and veggies in the fridge at a temperature around 40-45 degrees F. Just be aware that refrigeration can reduce flavor – and not everything needs a chill (think tomatoes, potatoes, bananas and oranges). That said, don’t feel too bad about giving your freshly picked produce the cold treatment. In fact, most commercially grown produce that’s harvested in summer is chilled to “remove field heat,” because the heat from the sun that’s absorbed by plants is detrimental to fresh produce once it’s picked. (That’s because the fruit or vegetable is continually hydrated while it’s still attached, but once picked, the metabolic processes continue without any energy inputs from the parent plant. Chilling slows those processes and maintains the fruit quality until it can reach the consumer.) Additionally, chilling can slow the growth of any bacteria or disease that might be present.
Cull It
Some produce – fruits especially – naturally emit a gas called ethylene that encourages ripening. In some cases this is beneficial. For example, if you want to ripen an apple or a peach more quickly, just place it in a brown paper bag overnight. The bag becomes an ethylene chamber, causing the fruit to ripen itself thanks to the more concentrated exposure to its own ethylene gas. But if you’ve got fruit that’s already damaged or past its prime, separate it from its healthy brethren. Too-ripe fruit will cause other produce to mature more quickly – this is especially true if fruit is stacked in a bowl or trapped in a fridge drawer. And beware of fuzzy-covered fruit (and I don’t mean fuzzy like a peach). Fuzz that forms on aging fruit can quickly release spores that could infect neighboring produce and cause significant damage.
Curb Moisture
Water can spread bacteria or fungal spores quickly, causing rot or mold growth – typically at a fruit or vegetable’s “wound” location (where it was removed from the vine). Consider wrapping paper towels around greens or lining the crisper drawer with them to wick moisture away from your produce. And to keep your fruits and veggies as dry as possible from the start, wait to wash them until you’re ready to eat – not prior to storing. Don’t forget to also frequently check your fridge for any condensation that can be wiped away.
Consume It
If you know it may be several days before you’ll have a chance to eat the picked produce you’ve got, make some dishes you can freeze and eat later (think cheesy veggie bake or a delicious pie) – or preserve your fresh harvest by canning, freezing or drying it. And when it comes to mealtime, check your fridge to see what needs to be eaten, and prepare your dinner around those foods. Not only will you find your fresh fruits and vegetables much more enjoyable when they’re at their peak flavor, you’ll be reaping the benefits of all that hard work in the garden instead of sending it out to the compost bin!
