How to Make Fresh Produce Last Longer
When I go to the grocery store I like to stock up. I am not one of those people who enjoy going a couple of times a week. So when I do go shopping, we buy enough to last us at least a week, even two. That means I need to make sure I take the time to properly store my fruits and vegetables so they last.
Keeping your produce fresh for a week or two can be tricky.
This still happens to us, sometimes you don’t buy enough, and then the next trip you stock up only for it to go bad before it gets eaten. In efforts to try and balance, buying enough to feed us for a while and not buying too much I have a very specific way I like to prep my produce and store it. Y’all, this isn’t rocket science though, but I thought some of you may find it helpful.
First thing I do, is wash all the produce. I like to use cool water and vinegar. I was all the veggies and fruits, all the berries (except raspberries, wash raspberries right before you eat them; they do not store well once washed), apples, oranges, peppers, lettuce…all of it.
Then I set it all out to dry. You do not want to store produce while it is wet. Moister will cause most produce to get soggy and mildew/mold very quickly. There are a few foods, like carrots, that like a little moister, but most like to be stored once dried.
After everything has completely dried, I will cut everything up and store it in individual containers and add a paper towel or two. The paper towels really help to soak up any extra moister. I think this is what makes the produce last so much longer. And, throughout the week I will replace paper towels as needed.
Tips for keeping your produce fresh longer:
Wash produce with a 1:4 ratio of vinegar and water
Thoroughly dry all of the produce
Store in containers with paper towels to absorb extra moister
Replace paper towels as needed
Told you this isn’t rocket science, but it is always such a disappointment when you spend good money on food and it goes bad before you eat it.
I have found that when I take the time to wash and prep all of our produce we are 100 times more likely to eat it, which makes this mama very happy.