Most people live far away from supermarkets where they aften take long drive to go to, you probably purchase a weeks worth of groceries at weekend, so one of the issues you need to consider is the proper way of storing fresh vegetables and fruits in the fridge. As we know that these foods are the important factors to keep our diet well-balanced, eating meal rich in greens can help lower your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and other health conditions. But if these food materials are not stored properly, they can become a source of bacteria, viruses and disease-causing micro-organisms.
But not all vegetables and fruits have the same requirement for their storage conditions, which means there’s no only proper way to store them all, such as that leafy vegetables can’t be stored the same way as radishes, potatoes and other root vegetables. In addition to that, some processes like washing and peeling can keep them fresh for longer or shorter, depending on different factors. Here are some tips for knowing how to keep vegetables and fruits as fresh as possible.
Store Vegetables & Fruits In the Refrigerator
For vegetables and fruits, the proper range of storage temperature is between 0℃ and 5℃. Most fridges have two or more crispers that can allow you to control the interior humidity, that’s for separate storage of vegetables and fruits, as they have different requirements for humidity. Lower moisture condition is best for fruits, when it comes for vegetables, higher moisture is perfect. Vegetables have short storage life, even they are refrigerated. Here are some data of lasting days for each fresh green in the table below:
|
Items |
Lasting Days |
| Lettuce and other leafy vegetables |
3-7 days (depends on how delicate the leaves are) |
| Carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets |
14 days (sealed in a plastic bag) |
| Mushrooms |
3-5 days (stored in a paper bag) |
| Ears of corn |
1-2 days (stored with husks) |
| Cauliflower |
7 days |
| Brussels sprouts |
3-5 days |
| Broccoli |
3-5 days |
| Summer squash, yellow squash, and green beans |
3-5 days |
| Asparagus |
2-3 days |
| Eggplant, peppers, artichokes, celery, peas, zucchini and cucumber |
7 days |
For commercial refrigeration, we often notice that supermarkets or convenience stores use multideck display fridges, island display fridges, chest freezers, glass door fridges, and other commercial refrigerators to store the vegetables and fruits that they are merchandising.
Store In Dry, Cool & Dark Conditions Without Refrigerator
If store vegetables and fruits without a refrigerator, the proper ambient temperature is between 10℃ and 16℃ in the room. For longest storage and freshness, they need to be kept away from the cooking area or somewhere with high humidity, heat, and light, it might be a dedicated container or cabinet to keep it dark. In some situations, keep these fresh greens away from light can avoid starting to spront, especially for potatoes, if store them with onions, they will sprout faster, so potatoes and onions should be store separately.
Things to store in the pantry include garlic, shallots, onions, rutabagas, yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and so on. In this case, they can be stored for at least 7 days, if the temperatures are maintained in a range of 10-16℃, it can last for a month or even longer. The storage time will depend on the season, it can generally last longer in the cooler days than when it is hot.
Store Vegetables & Fruits Separately
It’s not the same case as that fruits are expected to ripen faster, ripening of vegetables just means yellowing, withering, spotting, or even spoiling. Some fruits like pears, plums, apples, kiwi, apricots, and peaches release a gas called ethylene, which can accelerate the ripening process of vegetables and other fruits. So when storing your vegetables, make sure that you keep them away from your fruits, seal them with plastic bags, and place them in crispers separately. Keep vegetables whole before deciding to eat as they will last longer than they are cut or peeled, anything that is cut and peeled should be stored in the refrigerator.
Post time: Jul-07-2021 Views: