We're starting to round a corner where maybe, just maybe, we can sense spring in the air. We've had a few hopeful days here in Seattle, and I'm eagerly awaiting spring produce at the farmers' market. So now is a great time to start thinking and planning for things you can do around the house to keep your food fresher for longer.
I find there's a delicate balance between being realistic about how much time I have in the kitchen to really prepare, rinse, and store ingredients when I bring them home and what it's common sense to increase shelf-life. Here are a few things I do at home that you may already do, or you may find helpful.
5 Habits to Keep Food Fresh
1. Keep Fruits and Veggies Separate: Some fruits give off high levels of ethylene and can speed up the ripening (and spoiling) of nearby vegetables. If you have the refrigerator space, you can designate one crisper drawer for veggies and one for fruits.
2. Store Fresh Herbs Smarter: Place your fresh herbs in a little glass of water (as though they were a bouquet) and use them as you need them.
3. Snip Those Leafy Stems: Cutting the leafy stems off of beets and carrots when you bring them home increases their shelf-life exponentially. I generally leave about 1 1/2 inches to ensure the vegetable won't dry out. If you use the stems, great! But snip them and store them separately.
4. Consider Refrigerating or Freezing Breads: Depending on how quickly you go through sliced breads, baguettes or bakery items, it may make sense to store them in the refrigerator to increase shelf-life. Or even the freezer. I love having a baguette around to make sandwiches and have with soup, but there's only two of us and we can't usually eat an entire baguette before it goes bad so I buy one, pre-slice it and throw it in the freezer and we just thaw a few pieces as we need them.
5. Grind Your Coffee Per Pot: I don't always adhere to this rule. There are weeks when we buy pre-ground coffee to make life easier. But I do notice that when we grind our beans fresh each morning, the coffee tastes better. Sure, it's not going to go "bad" if you don't, but you'll likely be able to tell a difference with your morning cup of joe.
Do you have any great tips for keeping food fresher and tastier as we slowly creep towards spring?
Related: Are There Any Foods that Should Never Be Stored in the Fridge?
(Image: sarsmis/Shutterstock)
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Storing bread in the refrigerator actually makes it go stale/mold faster. Better to just leave it at room temperature (or freeze it).
Re. #1, won't high-ethylene-producing fruits, like apples, also speed up ripening/spoilage of other fruits (not just vegs)? Lately I've been completetly segregating my apples in their own drawer, even though it's a waste of space--because I thought they might have adverse effects on my lemons, oranges, pears, etc.... Also, something I've always wondered: does ethylene have any bad effects on NON-produce foods? For instance, could I safely store my apples in the cheese drawer, because the cheeses would be unaffected? Anyone know? (I have tried Googling this with no success...)
I only found this out recently when I started reading about making my own bread. Apparently bread goes off six times faster in the fridge! It's counter-intuitive, but the cooler temperature increases a process called retrogradation, and that's what makes bread go stale.
Much more information on the subject here: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/08/bread-goes-stale-about-six-times-faster-in-the-refrigerator-than-at-room-temperature/
In my experience, bread goes stale faster in the fridge but is less likely to get moldy. It's a trade-off.
Recently I came across advice to store potatoes and apples together and away from other fruit/veg. The apples inhibit the potatoes from sprouting and potatoes...oh I can't remember what they are supposed to do. But it seems to work. I store bags of each together in one crisper and my potatoes don't sprout and apples seem fresh longer.
Yes, put your fresh herbs in the glass of water like a bouquet, cover it with zip-lock bag and keep it in the refrigerator. Remember to trim off the herb stems first.
An herb vendor at my local farmers market told me to save a jar with lid to use for herb storage. Put small amount of water in jar, add herbs, screw on lid, and refrigerate. I've tried it a couple of times, and it seems to work.
This is lame (and I'm not a shop-every-day-for-what-I-need) but I generally just try to only buy what I need, and keep my impulse buys to a minimum. Yes, those cucumbers/berries/spinach look glorious, but I already have all the produce I need for the week.
Also, I don't buy those bags of potatoes even though they're cheaper. They always go off before I can finish them, and rotten potatoes are the nastiest thing you ever did smell. ;-)
Bread in the fridge? No, thank you. If you have to much, freeze it, but please, please don't put it into the fridge.
There's a typo in the last item... "ground your coffee per pot."
There are lots of things we refrigerate that don't need to be, like apples, oranges and just about any fruit. Just chill them as you want them if you like to eat them cold.
root veggies don't really need it either.
And tomatoes and bananas, as I'm sure most people know, NEVER need to be in the fridge. (unless you're freezing bananas to make them soft for baking)
Really, @RussB?! I had no idea! I store it in the fridge and always felt it increased shelf life, but we certainly haven't done any conclusive tests around here, so that's great to know. Thank you.
@becster.henrich: nah, not lame. Smart, really. That's what we do for the most part, too.
I agree....never refrigerate bread. Freeze it if necessary. Tastes just as fresh when thawed but will get stale much sooner in the fridge than at room temp.
I don't refrigerate most fruits as I find it detroys the flavor. I once returned from running errands to find a bag of apples I'd bought earlier in the day missing. My thoughtful sil says, 'Oh, you left them on the counter so I put them in the fridge for you.' Let's just say that bag of apples got sent home with him that day & leave it at that.
Nothing frustrates me more than to find my sun-ripened tomatoes tossed in the fridge *ick* And don't get even get me started on refrigerated condiments. There's nothing nastier than cold catsup. Before this leads to a rant, I will just say, I've never actually known ANYone who stored potatoes or onions in the fridge.
And then there's eggs.... *chuckle*
Ethylene is produced by all plants. Here is a helpful list of what is sensitive to it and/or produces it http://www.subzero-wolf.com/kitchen-design-plans/tipsdetail.aspx?productid=23&tid=1&oid=9 - Apples and bananas are the worst offenders.
#Nthing the "don't put bread in the fridge" thing, it will go stale way faster: http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/08/bread-goes-stale-about-six-times-faster-in-the-refrigerator-than-at-room-temperature/
I wish I had room for a coffee grinder, that one is 100% true.
I don't get the advice to freeze bread rather than refrigerate it. Any time I've tried to eat bread from the freezer, I've needed to toast it to get rid of any sogginess or staleness from the thawing process. Now I go straight to toasting it unless it's going in a recipe. But ditto bread that I've refrigerated. It gets toasted and that takes care of any staleness. IME, it's one of those "old wives tale" type bits of advice.
And not refrigerating or chilling fruit or root veggies? Maybe if you are eating them shortly after bringing them home, but for long term storage dark cool, or even cold, places are essential. As for only buying what will be eaten in a week, some people are storing what they grow or what they stock up on at local farmers markets. Storing at room temp just won't work for everyone.