Zucchini Laksa recipe here.
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Ingredients can be expensive so it’s important to make sure they last as long as possible.
Today we’re delving into all aspects of fresh produce including shelf life and optimum storage techniques.
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:
- 8 best practices to maximize the life of fresh produce.
- Fresh produce life expectancy and how to use this to your advantage.
- The Biggest Game Changer for avoiding waste.
8 FRESH PRODUCE BEST PRACTICES
1. Select the best storage temperature
Just like the way some people love the heat and others are more excited about ski season, different vegetables have different preferences for climate.
Some things like avocado, tomato and banana are actually sensitive to the cold and keeping them in the fridge causes browning known as ‘chilling injury’.
I used to give my students a pdf that lists a whole variety of vegetables and their optimum storage temperatures.
But I’ve since realized it doesn’t need to be that complicated.
Basically I now go with the rule of thumb that
‘If in doubt, keep them in the fridge’.
The reason for this is that most chemical reactions slow down at cooler temperatures. Same with micro-organism growth.
So in general cooler = longer shelf life.
There are, of course, exceptions. Here are the produce I store at room temperature: Everything else pretty much goes into the fridge.
- potatoes – in a hessian (burlap) sack – allows them to breathe & protects from light.
- whole avocado (sensitive to chilling injury) once cut though I tend to keep in the fridge.
- garlic.
- onions – in a hessian sack (burlap) – allows them to breathe & protects from light.
- tomatoes (sensitive to chilling injury) refrigeration changes their texture and dulls their flavour.
- bananas (sensitive to chilling injury).
- lemons – I love having a big bowl of lemons on the dining room table. They’re fine in the fridge too.
- eggs. Eggs will last for longer in the fridge but I like to have them at room temperature so they cook more quickly. If you don’t eat eggs on a regular basis best to keep them in the fridge.
- anything that is under ripe.
NOTE: Fish is super sensitive to temperature. Even more so than meat or poultry.
This is because when the fish are alive swimming in the water, their body temperature is much lower than say cows roaming around a field. That’s why fish shops keep their produce on ice.
When you buy fish or seafood, ask the fishmonger to wrap up a bag of ice with them and then keep the fish wrapped with the ice in your fridge until you’re ready to cook.
2. Invest in a good fridge.
A few years ago I got a new fridge. I was really surprised how much longer most produce seemed to last.
So if you suspect your fridge isn’t doing its job, it might be worth while putting a new one on your wish list and investing when you can.
Of course if that isn’t possible, there is something you can do now. Just have a look at your fridge settings. Basically you want the fridge section as cool as possible without it freezing your veg. So try tweaking the settings until you get to that sweet spot.
3. Minimize dehydration
After temperature, one of the biggest contributors to aging in fresh produce from vegetables to meat to cheese is loss of moisture.
The refrigeration process removes moisture from the air inside your fridge, making it particularly drying. Because veg and fruit tend to have high water contents, they are very sensitive to drying.
You’ve probably noticed if you leave a lettuce in the fridge uncovered, it will wilt pretty quickly.
The solution is to keep your veg wrapped in plastic bags.
You can buy bags specifically designed for storing veg but I haven’t bothered trying them. I just save and reuse the bags I buy my veg in.
And as extra protection I keep as many veg as possible in the crisper section with it set on the ‘veg’ setting.
Its a good idea to keep your other fresh produce like meat, fish and poultry well covered either in containers or the bags they came in.
4. Avoid condensation & sweating
Of course too much moisture can also be a bad thing and can encourage produce to go slimy. Paper towel can be useful to absorb excess moisture without allowing things to get too dry.
If I’ve purchased loose salad leaves, or picked excess from the garden, I wash them and spin dry in a salad spinner and then wrap them in paper towel and store in a plastic bag with the air removed as much as possible. This makes a huge difference to their shelf life.
I don’t do this with bags of salad from the supermarket because they are usually packed with nitrogen gas which removes oxygen needed for spoilage organisms to grow and extends the shelf life that way.
Its also the main reason these leaves go bad so quickly when you open the pack.
Mushrooms are probably the most sensitive 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.
For cheese, I wrap it in baking (parchment) paper and store it in a container like this. So I avoid sweating AND dehydration.
5. Protect from exposure to light
Sunlight can promote sprouting in things like potatoes and garlic. It can also destroy light sensitive vitamins, like Vitamin E. So, it’s best to store them in the dark.
I keep my spuds in hessian (burlap) sacks in the pantry. I’ve had my garlic hanging on a plait because it looked so pretty, but come to think of it my garlic started sprouting much earlier than I’d expect so I should be following my own advice!
6. Minimize cutting or bruising
Cuts and bruises damage the cell walls of fruit and veg and open them up to spoilage by microbes. Exposed surfaces also increase the risk of drying out or oxidation from exposure to air.
This is why a whole cabbage or cauliflower will keep for much longer than a cut piece. The same holds true of meat, fish and even cheese.
So a whole chicken will keep for longer than chicken mince (ground chicken). It’s best to leave trimming and chopping until the last minute if you can.
And its also important to remember that once you have one rotten piece of veg, it passes on the decay to it’s mates. So if you do notice any damaged vegetables, get rid of them ASAP.
7. Be aware of ethylene gas
Different fruit and veg are either sensitive to ethylene or ethylene producers. Rather than trying to remember which is which, the easiest thing to do is to keep everything in separate bags in the fridge.
A special case to note is Bananas which produce heaps of ethylene gas when they are ripening. This gas stimulates ripening in anything they snuggle up to. So if you want your avocado to ripen more quickly, put it in a paper bag with a banana.
But if you don’t want it to over ripen keep them in separate spaces.
8. Select the freshest produce
One of the biggest factors that determines how long your produce will keep is how old they are when you take them home. If you find yourself often throwing out ‘veg gone bad’ it might be time to change where you shop.
Sometimes it’s worth paying a little more for super fresh veg from the markets if it means they’ll last longer than tired old supermarket produce.
FRESH PRODUCE LIFE EXPECTANCY
Not all veg and fresh produce are created equal when it comes to how long they generally last.
The type of produce you choose can make a massive difference to how often you’ll have to throw things out.
If you only buy ‘short life’ produce, you’re making it really difficult for yourself to use everything before it goes bad.
The trick is to choose a mixture of produce so you have some that need eating ‘now’ and others that are fine if you don’t eat them this week, or even the week after.
When I first figured this out, there was a dramatic reduction in the amount of food I wasted.
It’s one of those simple ideas that makes a really big difference!
SHORT LIFE VEGETABLES
(less than 1 week)
coriander (cilantro), basil, mint, lettuce, loose salad leaves, avocado, tomatoes, spinach, baby spinach, chard (silverbeet), corn (more for loss of flavour – will still be edible for a week or so), peas (more for loss of flavour – will still be edible for a week or so), broad beans (more for loss of flavour – will still be edible for a week or so), asparagus, mushrooms
SHORT LIFE PROTEIN
(less than 1 week)
shellfish, fresh fish, all fresh poultry, fresh meat not packed in cryovac, soft cheeses not packed in cryovac
AVERAGE LIFE VEGETABLES
(1-2 weeks)
flat leaf parsley, woody herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano), broccoli, broccolini, snow peas, sugar snap peas, fresh beans, bok choy, other asian greens, capsicum (bell peppers), eggplant (aubergine), zucchini, summer squash, chillies, brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens
AVERAGE LIFE PROTEIN
(1-2 weeks)
smoked fish (salmon / trout), eggs (room temp), cryovacced fresh meat, cryovacced fresh chorizo & bacon, cooked meats
the long livers (more than 2 weeks)
LONG LIFE VEGETABLES
(more than 2 weeks)
cabbage, cauliflower, celery, carrots, beets (although the leaves will wilt), potatoes, parsnip, celeriac (celery root), kohlrabi, sweet potato, onion, green onions (scallions), garlic, ginger, pumpkin (winter squash), swedes & rutabagas.
LONG LIFE PROTEIN
(more than 2 weeks)
halloumi, packaged soft cheeses, hard cheeses, packaged smoked fish, eggs (in the fridge), cured meats, dried chorizo, packaged tofu.
I’ve often kept long life produce for more than a month. Of course if stored incorrectly, they are still perishable so make sure you show them a little care and you’ll be well rewarded.
The Biggest Game Changer for Avoiding Waste.
The trick is to pay attention to when food is in danger of going bad, and taking some action to prevent that actually happening.
Remember you have the power to stop spoilage!
My first tip is when I bring home my new veg, I quickly gather up all the old veg and ‘rotate’ them into the smaller chiller drawer in my fridge.
I then know to look there first for things that are going to need eating up.
Develop the habit of having a good look in the fridge every day or so, just to keep in mind how everything is progressing.
For me ‘out of sight is out of mind’, so I’m always looking in my fridge to keep on top of it.
If you only remember one thing from today, regular fridge inspections are the biggest game changer for avoiding waste!
A little extra ‘freezer inspection’ can be helpful as well.
SUMMARY
Here’s what we’ve covered:
- Choosing the best temperature and keeping things covered are the most important practices for maximizing the life of fresh produce.
- If in doubt keep it in the fridge.
- Different produce will last for different amounts of time. It helps to buy a mixture of short and longer life produce to make it easier to manage.
- Regular fridge inspections are the biggest game changer for avoiding waste!
ACTIVITY
Set a daily reminder to look in your fridge. OR plan how you can build the habit of really looking in your fridge every day. If you need some help with this review our habits from day 9.
See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
Jules x
ps. If you have any questions or comments from today’s lesson definitely head over to the Ask Jules page. Or leave a comment below.
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