Half the battle of being a good cook is being able to source the best ingredients. We’ve all seen celebrity chefs on TV paying lip service to the importance of the freshest of produce. And the thing is they’re right. From years of experience I know that whenever I cook something delicious, it was only because I was using things that tasted good to begin with.
So I’ve broken this weeks lesson into three parts: planning, shopping or choosing the best ingredients and finally storage. And this weeks recipes are focused on fresh ingredients. Some that will keep for longer than others.
how I plan my shopping
This has varied considerably over the years depending on my confidence levels and also where I’ve been able to buy my food. So I thought I’d share with you a few different scenarios that I’ve used over the years.
the early years
When I was first out of university and working, I spent a heap of time researching what I was going to cook. My confidence levels weren’t that great, so I tended to rely on recipes for inspiration. Each week I would plan what I was going to cook on the nights that we weren’t going out. I’d write my shopping list in great detail and then go hunting and gathering, Ok there wasn’t really any hunting 😉
I’d often be frustrated when I couldn’t find a particular ingredient and would struggle to think of an alternative. I’d also often pay a lot for my food because I didn’t know what was in season or not. I also threw out quite a bit of food because I’d buy something and then our plans would chance and I wouldn’t get to cook it in time.
That being said, I was cooking a really wide variety of things and it was great fun to explore different cuisines, cultures, ingredients and techniques. The more wins I had in the kitchen, the more creative I got. And while recipes were still my focus and leading light, I started to stress less when I couldn’t find a particular ingredient.
the barossa valley country life
Fast forward about 5 years and I’m now a winemaker working in the Barossa Valley. While there is a small supermarket in the closest town, it’s pretty light on for variety. So I tend to do a major pantry shop (with a rough list) in Adelaide, an hours drive away, every 2 -3 weeks. I buy my fresh fruit, veg, eggs, cheese and meat at the Barossa farmers market each Saturday morning.
Market day is the highlight of my week. Grabbing a coffee and a fortifying bacon and egg roll being the mandatory first port of call, I’d usually do a lap, sussing out the best looking produce. Then return to buy whatever takes my fancy. There is no list and I love the freedom of being able to say yes to anything and everything that looks yum.
After coming home and unpacking my treasure, I flick through a couple of recipe books for inspiration. But sometimes I just make things up as I go along. There are successess and some failures but it’s all good fun.
the here and now
These days my shopping and planning habits aren’t exactly normal. When I’m writing a book, or testing recipes for the Virtual Cookery School, I write a list and get a specific set of ingredients. We eat whatever is being filmed and photographed, so things are often tested for their reheating abilities.
When I’m not shopping for work, I embrace the freedom of being list-free. Sometimes I have a rough idea of what I’d like to cook, especially if I’m planning to entertain. But other times I just make it up as I go along. There’s so much to be said for letting the produce inspire you. I keep my pantry well stocked with staples, so I know I’ll be able to find something to make with whatever I buy.
Again, there are (mostly) successes and the odd failure, but it’s very rare that dinner ends up being inedible.
10 tips for choosing the best fresh ingredients
1. check out the specials
The easiest way to tell what’s most likely to be at it’s best and in season is what’s on special. Like most things, price is all about supply and demand, so when something is in season and there’s a heap of it around, the price will be discounted.
Be careful, though, the other reason for discounting is for produce that is at the end of it’s shelf life. If there are only one or two specimens discounted and they look sad, you know what to do.
2. buy what’s most abundant
Big displays of a particular item are another great indicator that they’re in season and at their best.
3. seek out and reward good suppliers
It’s been said many times, but that’s because it’s true. Not all purveyors of food are equal when it comes to quality and price. Even supermarkets vary their range and quality from store to store.
Taking the time to track down the best market, green grocer or butcher is well worth the effort. And developing relationships with your suppliers not only means you’re more likely to be able to make the most of their recommendations, you’ll have more fun shopping as well.
4. look
We definitely eat with out eyes. You can tell so much about the freshenss and quality of produce by the appearance. Look for vibrant colours, glossiness and the absence of wrinkles or bruises.
And don’t forget to look at the surrounds as well. Fruit flys hanging around are not a good indicator. Be wary of unclean floors and anything else that indicates the proprietors don’t care.
5. feel
This can be a little more tricky in some situations but there are somethings you need to feel to know whether they’re good or not. I wouldn’t think of buying an avocado without first having a squeeze. And I know that a hard lemon isn’t likely to have much juice.
But it’s not only whether something is soft or firm that we need to look for. The weight can tell us a lot as well. Most things veg that feel heavy for their size tend to be better quality.
6. smell
Not every buying decision is going to benefit from getting your nose involved. Even the best potatoes smell like, well earth. But a ripe melon will smell heavenly, and ripe mangos the same so don’t be afraid to have a good sniff from time to time.
7. get to know the seasons
There’s a wonderful new seasonal produce diary by Allan Campion and Michelle Curtis. While the diary is focused on Australia, they also have a list of the fruit and veg in season for Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring that is applicable all over the world (except I guess for the tropics). I highly recommend downloading a copy of the free printable document and having a look every now and then.
8. think local but don’t obsess
While I agree flying asparagus half way around the world is a waste of resources, I also don’t think that just because something has been grown locally that it is necessarily the most sustainably produced nor necessarily the best quality.
As Maggie Beer, the Australian food writer, producer and TV personality said in a talk at the Sydney Library earlier in the year, produce that has been grown unsustainably and transported in an empty truck, is not necessarily better for us or our our environment than something from further away that has been grown responsibly and shipped efficiently.
9. trust your instincts
If you look at a vegetable or a piece of fish and you can feel it in your bones that it’s going to be delicious, trust your instincts and go with it. But if something is making you hesitate, give it a miss. For me shopping for food is simlar to shopping for clothes. Unless it makes you feel like doing a little dance, it’s not worth buying at any price.
10. grow your own
I’ve only recently planted a veggie garden with tomatoes, zucchini, peas and broccoli and I’m super excited about it. And while I know that’s not practical for everyone, I’ve always had at least a little pot of rosemary on my window sill. It makes a whole world of difference being able to add something that you’ve grown yourself. No matter how small.
how to maximise the shelf life of fresh ingredients
1. select the freshest produce
Stating the obvious here but the fresher and better quality your veg and other produce, the longer it’s going to last. See the 10 tips above to help you get started.
2. minimise physical damage
Cuts and bruises damage the cell walls of your fruit and veg and open them up to spoilage by microbes. The bad news is that once you have one rotten piece of veg, it passes on to it’s mates so if you do notice any damaged veg, best to get rid of them.
Physical damage is also important for meat, fish, eggs and even cheese. And a squashed loaf of bread is always a disappointment.
3. dirt is good
Leaving dirt on root veg like carrots and jerusalem artichokes is said to increase their shelf life, although it can make a mess of your fridge. I find unscrubbed potatoes tend to be longer lasting and hope one day to be growing my own to really test out the dirt theory.
4. avoid cutting or trimming
A whole pumpkin or squash will keep for much longer than a cut piece. This is all about exposure to the air and to microbes. So best to leave trimming and chopping until the last minute.
5. select the best storage temperature
Just like some people love the heat and others, like my sister batgirl, are chasing an eternal winter going from ski season to ski season, different fruit and vegetables have different preferences for climate.
The other thing to consider with temperature is that lower temperatures, like the fridge, slow down microbial growth and decrease enzymic activity. So if your veg isn’t sensitive to the cold, generally the lower the storage temperature, the longer they’ll last.
I’ve pulled together a pdf that lists a whole variety of produce and their optimum storage temperatures. You can download it here:
6. protect from exposure to light
Sunlight can promote sprouting in things like potatoes so unless you’re trying to encourage ripening in your veg, best to store them in the dark.
7. minimise dehydration
One of the biggest contributors to aging in vegetables is loss of moisture. The air in your refrigerator tends to be very dry. So higher moisture things like celery or spinach or lettuce are best stored in plastic bags or containers to minimise moisture loss and wilting.
8. avoid condensation & sweating
Of course too much moisture can also be a bad thing and can encourage things to go slimy. Paper towel can be useful to absorb excess moisture without allowing things to get too dry. Avoid covering cut pumpkin (winter squash) surfaces with cling wrap as they tend to sweat. Just leave it uncovered and let the surface dry out and then trims and discards this before the next use.
Mushrooms are probably the most delicate petals when it comes to sweating. Best to store them in a brown paper bag in the fridge. If you do have to buy them from the supermarket in a plastic tray, take them out and free them when you get home.
9. ethylene gas can be friend or foe
Bananas produce heaps of ethylene gas when they are ripening which stimulates ripening (and over ripening) in anything they snuggle up to. So if you want your avocado to ripen more quickly, let it shack up in a paper bag with a banana. But if you don’t want it to over ripen keep them in separate spaces.
Different fruit and veg are either sensitive to ethylene or ethylene producers. I’ve listed the category for different fruit and veg along with the temperature preferences in a pdf. Best to keep ethylene producers away from ethylene sensitive things.
10. think about transfer of odours
A smelly cheese can overtake everything in your fridge, as can super garlicy sausages. Try to keep smelly things in closed containers and also keep things that are likely to absorb odours, like butter in separate enclosed spaces.
11. keep meat, poultry and fish as cold as possible
It’s simple, the colder your proteins, the less bacteria can grow and the less spoilage occurrs. I read somewhere that a piece of fish will keep fresh for days at 0C but at 4C it will degrade in a matter of hours.
12. freeze asap
If you’re going to be freezing something, the fresher it goes into the freezer, the better quality it will be when it comes out.
13. consider other preservation methods
There are somethings which I know aren’t going to keep for long in their fresh state. Commercial basil comes to mind. So rather than let it quickly brown, I make pesto asap which will keep for a couple of weeks.
14. shop more freequently
This depends on your circumstances, but buying smaller amounts more frequently is the best way to ensure your fruit and veg are as fresh as possible.
a tour of my fridge part II – post shopping
Natalie asked the question on flickr about what I normally have in my fridge. Since my last video was just before I shopping trip. I’ve reshot the tour straight after a shopping expedition. I’ve included it here because it also demonstrated how I store my fridge things.
weekly recipes
This weeks recipes are focusing on fresh ingredients and in particular highlighting which ones are the most forgiving. I like to prioritise and cook the most perishable ingredients asap while leaving things like celery, cabbage and fennel for later in the week.
– tuna pate with celery
– ‘healthy’ green goddess soup
– green bean, dill & mustard salad
– shaved cabbage & white bean salad
– black quinoa & broccolini salad
– fresh pasta with wilted greens & almonds
– canned salmon with zucchini & brown rice
– minimalist tofu sang choi bau
– minute steak with chilli oil & broccolini
– fresh pineapple with mint sugar
If you have special dietary requirements, please still explore all of the recipes, even if the title doesn’t sound like it would be a match for you. Mostly there is a way to adapt the recipe to suit your situation.
homework
1. Thing about your current shopping habits. Are you a list maker and a planner? Do you prefer to be inspired by the produce you find at the market?
2. If you’re a list maker and planner, choose 2-3 recipes OR MORE from the list of recipes this week. Write a a shopping list and make plans to try them out this week.
OR
If you prefer to be inspired. Have a read through each of this weeks recipes for background knowledge. Go shopping and buy whatever you think looks best. Come home and choose 2-3 things to cook. You may have to look beyond the recipes from these 2 weeks. Checkout the index in the ecookbook 5 ingredients 10 minutes OR try searching on stonesoup for other 5 ingredients recipes that use your chosen ingredient.
3. Choose one fresh produce item that you most often have to throw out because it’s gone bad. Think about how you currently store that item and plan a little experiment. Buy 2 of the particular item. Store one in your usual manner and store the other in the recommended manner from this week’s video or the notes above. Observe every few days and see how they compare. Report your results in the flickr discussion group.
4. [optional] Take a photo of your creation and upload it onto the flickr group OR share you experience of what you cooked in the comments under the corresponding photograph. Was it a success? Is there anything you’d do differently next time?
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links & further reading
on stonesoup: 7 golden rules of freezing food.
back to Solve Your Dinner Dilemma Overview page
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