Any produce gurus out there?!
Any produce gurus out there?
I need to know something about produce....which last longer in the fridge and which last longer out of the fridge??? I love fruits and vegetables and I have a variety.....but I've noticed that some stuff goes bad really quick in the fridge but some stuff goes bad if you don't put it in the fridge. Please help.....I need my fruits and veggies to last so I can eat them...i'm tired of stuff going bad before I have a chance to eat it !!! Thanks
Answers:
Good question. Here are a few reasons that will explain your observations. I am sure you noticed depending on what time of year, sometimes the same items weather it’s lettuce or berries will last long time. While other times they seem to go moldy overnight. If your handling and refrigeration stays the same, what you are experiencing is off season produce that has been either kept in storage for a long time or an item that has traveled a long distance before it got to your store. Know your seasons and try to buy in season. Usually the quality and price are the best.
Concerning general storage, you need to break in down into commodities.
I will start with the warmest and get cooler
Tomatoes never go under refrigeration. They loose sweetness and get soft under refrigeration. Only buy 1 to 3 days out.
Bananas also never go under refrigeration because skins breakdown and go black. Again you are buying 1 to 3 days out. If your bananas get ripe on you and since you cannot stop the ripening process try peeling and freezing.
Obvious items like garlic, garlic, shallots, yams, hard squash, ginger and assorted root vegetables need no refrigeration yet could be to extend shelf life. Buy a week out and store in cool and dry storage area. The operative work is dry. Refrigerators with high humidity will make a lot of items rot. Citrus and apples when in season are in this class where they need no refrigeration. Out of season it is recommend that you buy less and use faster and refrigerate. Also when keeping items in refrigerator drawers know what the air flow is so things do not dry out or things get wet and slim out.
The items like lettuce, corn, berries and green bean have the highest respiration rates of fruits and vegetables and always needs to be refrigerated if not used right away.
Refrigerated or not they can go bad quickly.
Source(s):
My 25 years in specialty produce.
no fruits really need to be refrigerated at all.
same goes for veggies...however most keep better in a cool place. keeping your vegetables in the fridge should prolong their life and help keep them fresh.
if it is possible i would suggest only buying enough vegetables to last you 2 days. this ensures that you are eating the freshest possible food which has a higher nutritional content
What I tell my students in Foods class is to store it the way the grocery store does. They want produce to last as long as possible also so if they have it on a cold table or display case then you should refrigerate. Also pay attention if they have it wrapped in plastic or left where it can "breathe". This makes a difference also.
Generally though potatoes, onions, garlic and bananas are best out of the fridge. I personally do not store tomatoes in the refrigerator because I like the taste better room temperature.
Go to The Sharper Image (usually in your Mall somewhere?) and buy those containers with the gold hue to them... (im too lazy to get up and look at the name) They have some kind of silver alloy in them that preserves food and they really do work excellent!
out of fridge stuff,potatoes and onions although sometimes i leave onions in cause it makes them not so strong don't put bananas in they turn black basically when you put in the fridge the sugars start ripening things breaking it down make sure that they are in the bottom drawers thats what they are made for its not so cold down there
The main problem most folks have with keeping produce from rotting in the fridge is that they have the thermostat set too high! Use a cheap thermometer to get it under 45F. and you'll find stuff keeps much longer in there! This happens because people get a big electric bill and save money by turning it up, rather than cleaning the dirty coils.
The only things that should never go in the fridge is tomatoes that show color (green ones are fine) as they turn mushy and potatoes as they'll get sugary. I'll brook no dissent on this as every produce warehouse keeps everything cold. Even potatoes, but in a produce warehouse potatoes are kept near freezing in a low oxygen environment to prevent the starch turning, there isn't a practical home way to do that. And yes, ripe banana peels turn black in the fridge, but the edible part inside lasts another week!
Rather than give details on "how to" for each item here's a couple of links to the USDA's suggestions on the subject. The first link is the simplified 'home version' and the second is a *much* more detailed listing aimed at industry, but it helps for us regular folks also.
you got to make sure it's dry and it gets air, usually fruits and veggs don't need to go in fredge, but you can put stuff in your crisper, just er like don't buy too much at once. so you won't have to store them for a long time?
I follow the "do as I see and feel" rule, that is: if it's refrigerated or feels like it's being refrigerated at the store, I refrigerate it at house.
What do I mean? Some stores may look like they are refrigerating their tomatoes, avocados and garlic in the same cooler with packaged herbs and bagged salad but the equipment is highly sophisticated and one display case can have many different temperature ranges. So if you're not sure, feel the fruit or vegetable. If it feels cold then put it in the refrigerator at home.