Module 2. Maximizing the Life of Fresh Ingredients
Eating real, fresh food is the cornerstone to healthy eating. But fresh ingredients can be expensive so it’s important to make sure they last as long as possible. In module 2 we’ll go much deeper into all aspects of fresh produce including seasonality and optimum storage techniques.
But first I thought I’d followup our first module with another reason to get your healthy habits in order…
Your genetics. A good news story.
Think your genes are something you’re born with? Something you can’t change?
I used to think the same.
But a recent study has shown that changes in our lifestyles such as our diet, our exercise levels and stress levels actually changes which genes are expressed in our bodies.
Amazing stuff.
In the study, 30 men with low level prostrate cancer were tracked over 3 months where they changed their diets, exercised for 1/2 hour every day and engaged in stress management practices such as meditation.
And while the men all improved their health as expected with lower blood pressure and weight loss, the surprising thing was they also changed the expression of around 500 genes. Genes related to disease prevention were turned on and genes known to be linked to disease were turned off.
So next time you’re feeling a bit hopeless with your habits and feel like giving up, remember this study.
Any positive changes you make to your lifestyle aren’t only going to impact your external health, it’s making a difference at the genetic level! [/tab][tab]
Best Practice Storage Techniques to Maximize the Life of Fresh Produce
Before we get into these, you may recognize some of these recommendations from the free video training series. So if it’s doubling up for you, I’m sorry, but this stuff is super important so I wanted to be certain no one would miss out!
1. Select the best storage temperature
Just like the way some people love the heat and others, like my sister Batgirl, are chasing an eternal winter going from ski season to 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 realised 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 do store at room temperature: Everything else pretty much goes into the fridge.
:: potatoes – in a hessian 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 – 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.
And I should mention that fresh fish are 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.
When my brother moved to Darwin last year he gave me his big 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 yourself, 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, like this. 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 (show image or hold up container). 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 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, best to 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.
9. Consider home preservation methods
There are some ingredients I know aren’t going to keep for long in their fresh state. Fresh basil comes to mind. So if I’m not going to be using it within 48 hours, I either make pesto or a basil oil which will keep happily for a couple of weeks.
Of course there are loads of ways you can use different home preservation to minimize waste. And they aren’t necessarily time consuming or difficult. See the next tab for the preservation techniques I use on a regular basis. [/tab][tab]
6 quick and easy ways to ‘preserve’ food at home
i. Freezing
The home freezer is a pretty amazing invention. It gives us access to a really effective food preservation technique right in our kitchens.
Freezing is great for things like meat, bread, cooked food like soups and stews, some vegetables like peas and spinach, pastry, fruit like berries, bananas.
The benefits of freezing is that it usually doesn’t change the flavour of the food. The downside is that it can impair texture, especially in higher moisture foods.
It doesn’t get much quicker than opening the fridge and popping something in. But in effect when we’re using the fridge we are doing a little bit of home ‘preservation’. That meat or cheese would certainly not last as long if you just left it out on the kitchen bench.
iii. Heating
When it comes to destroying two of the biggest causes of food spoilage: microbes and enzymes, high temperatures are the most effective. This is why cooked produce will keep for much longer than fresh. We’ll go into examples of this in module 5, avoiding waste when we cover ‘mise en place’.
iv. Reducing moisture
By either adding salt or sugar, we can reduce the moisture content of foods and decrease potential microbial growth. I tend not to use these at home, apart from making the odd batch of ‘gravalax’ or preserved salmon every now and then. But it is a technique to keep in mind.
Drying in the sun or a low temperature oven. Or a ‘dehydrator’ machine are other ways of reducing moisture. Again, I’m less likely to use any of these apart from the odd batch of oven dried tomatoes. But it is another home preservation technique we can use.
v. Reducing exposure to air
Exposure to air can increase browning through oxidation. If the air is dry, like in the fridge, it can dehydrate food and cause wilting. 2 good reasons to keep food covered.
Keeping fruit and veg whole, rather than chopping is the easiest way to reduce air exposure. But covering cut surfaces with plastic wrap is the next best thing. For liquids or sauces like pesto, popping them in a jar and covering with a layer of oil to protect from air is another good trick.
vi. Adding acid
Reducing the pH of food, or making it more acidic makes it tough for microbes to grown and for enzymes so it can be a win-win. Of course the acid will dramatically change the flavour and sometimes the texture of foods.
The most common example is pickling vegetables. Again, not a technique I personally use on a regular basis but a good one to be mindful of. A piece of fish given a squeeze of lemon, will last for longer than the same fish left untreated. [/tab][tab]
The Biggest Game Changer
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.
My biggest recommendation for this module is that you 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 this module, regular fridge inspections are the biggest game changer for avoiding waste!
A little extra ‘freezer inspection’ can be helpful as well. [/tab][tab]
The truth about seasonality & vegetables
There’s been a lot of talk about food and seasonality over the last decade or so. Maybe too much talk.
While I agree that growing your own veg and eating with the seasons is an admirable goal, and one I’d like to achieve.
I also recognise that it isn’t practical, or even desirable for everyone to eat that way. We just don’t have enough space in the world.
seasonality can be a personal preference thing
I’ve been reading Nigel Slater’s fabulous book The Kitchen Diaries and in the introduction, he talks a lot about seasonality. There’s his own kitchen garden, his organic CSA veggie box AND the local farmers markets.
The man isn’t a supermarket fan by any stretch of the imagination.
He talks about seasonality not just in terms of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. To Mr Slater, what we should be eating not only varies by the month, it varies with in months as well.
Wow. That really made me think.
And then the man went and used fresh tomatoes in the middle of Winter. Not once, but multiple times.
What the?
Then it dawned on me. He doesn’t have ‘my rules’ when it comes to seasonality. Like my ‘rule’ that fresh tomatoes are a Summer-time only. He has his own. And who knows, maybe he has access to fabulous tomatoes in Winter grown who knows where.
So rather than preach at you about the seasons, I thought I’d share my personal rules about seasonality. Just to give you a starting place for developing your own.
After-all, it makes sense that these things will vary depending on where you live AND where you shop.
my thoughts about seasonality
1. Some vegetables should really only be eaten at certain times of the year.
And others aren’t so sensitive. For example I can buy pretty decent broccoli any time of the year, but asparagus are something I think are only worth bothering with in the Spring.
To help you with this concept I’ve created a list of seasonal and not-so-season-sensitive veg. Or what I call my ‘year-round’ veg. I’ll take you through these in a moment.
2. Just because something is on ‘special’ doesn’t mean it’s in season where you live.
One of the things that makes it difficult to keep track of seasonality is the global nature of food commerce these days. I’ve noticed that there are two times of the year when cherries are on special. Once during the Australian Summer, when it’s actually cherry season here. And secondly when it’s Summer and cherry season in the Northern Hemisphere.
3. Even if you can buy something out of season, it’s nice to impose your own limits.
I love the concept of seasonality. Limiting availability of different foods to certain times of the year makes life (and meal planning) a bit more interesting. Even though I can sometimes buy relatively decent fresh tomatoes outside of Summer, I tend to choose canned tomatoes or tomato paste. And save lovely fragrant fresh tomatoes for tomato salads only in the height of Summer.
brussels sprouts, cabbage [although I do buy it more frequently than just winter], parsnip, turnip, sweeds [rutabagas], radicchio, celeriac [celery root], horseradish, jerusalem artichoke, kohlrabi
spring
artichoke, asparagus, broad beans
my ‘year round’ vegetables
The brackets denote when the traditional ‘season’ is for these veg.
A hierarchy of fresh produce life expectancy and how to use this to your advantage
The thing is, not all veg and fresh produce are created equal when it comes to how long they generally last.
Just like people…
Some veg fall in the ‘live fast, die young’ category, others will have the average life expectancy of 1-2 weeks, and others are more happy hanging out with the octogenarian crowd. We’ll go into examples of these three categories in a moment. But first, lets talk about how you can use this ‘hierarchy’ of fresh produce life expectancy to your advantage…
When you’re shopping for meat and veg, the type of fresh produce you choose can make a massive difference to how often you’ll have 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!
So here are lists of my ‘james dean’ (less than 1 week), average (1-2 weeks) and long life (2 weeks or more) produce. And a reminder… these will be included in the ebook at the end of the class so you don’t need to take notes if you don’t want to.
the ‘james dean’ produce (less than 1 week)
These are the things I try to eat up as soon as I can. I put them on the priority eating list, if you will. Some will be OK only for a few days, others are fine for 4-5 days.
VEGETABLES
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
PROTEIN
shellfish, fresh fish, all fresh poultry, fresh meat not packed in cryovac, soft cheeses not packed in cryovac
average life expectancy veg (1-2 weeks)
These veg will hang around in the fridge for at least a week without any apparent ill effects. Sometimes you’ll even get more than 2 weeks out of them.
I’ve often kept the produce in this group for longer than a month, sometimes months. Of course if stored incorrectly, they are still perishable so make sure you show them a little care and you’ll be well rewarded.
VEGETABLES
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.
PROTEIN
halloumi, packaged soft cheeses, hard cheeses, packaged smoked fish, eggs (in the fridge), cured meats, dried chorizo, packaged tofu.[/tab][tab]
Your Actions
Remember that insight without action is worthless. If you want to see results you must take action!
1. Complete Step 2. for developing your habits from Module 1. (ie. Choose which habit you want to focus on first.)
2. Choose at least 1 new recipe from the list below to try out this week.
Hi Jules. I buy mushrooms that is stored air tight in a plastic bag. So when I want to use it, I will cut the plastic and get some then fold the plastic bag then put a clip over it. Sometimes I do see the mushrooms getting a bit slimy. Are you saying after purchase, I need to put those in brown paper bag inside the fridge? What are other alternative to brown paper bag? Many thanks for your help and this course!
Great question Elizabeth! It really depends on how long you want to keep them for. If it’s only a few days your plastic should be fine but if you want to keep them for longer the brown paper bag is best because it allows them to breathe without too much drying out. If you didn’t have a paper bag I guess wrapping in a tea towel or other cloth should do the same thing. Will have to experiment myself!
Tried two recipes successfully last week (goat cheese omelet and magic sausage supper) and am looking forward to trying a couple more in the next week. Module 2 is good encouragement to check my fridge more regularly to see what needs using up. I generally have a pretty good idea of what’s in there, but some of the veggies end up i trouble. I found it interesting that for you scallions are a long-life veg. I find they don’t last well for me, maybe because they aren’t real fresh when I buy them.
Great Susan!
Thanks for reporting in.
Interesting about your scallions… are you keeping them wrapped in a bag or something to stop them dehydrating in the fridge? That tends to make a big difference 🙂
Jx
We have a chest freezer in an outdoor shed, so one idea we’ve had is to put a write on / wipe off board on our fridge in the house with a list of things in the freezer. It’s a variation on the daily fridge check, without having to go outside to look.
Hi All,
I’m a bit behind in the course. We’re currently displaced because of the bush fires, but I think this might be a nice distraction to everything going on. Feels a bit normal in a very abnormal situation. Cooking will obviously be a bit difficult, but I’m still interested in evolving my habits.
My first habit is to do more mise en place & work out the best ways to incorporate it into my weekly routine. For the first week I made Magic Sausage Supper, but doubled the pumpkin so I could then make some Roast Butternut Hummus for the kids snacks (& mine!) and I had a bit on hand to add mashed pumpkin to another meal for the kids. I find breakfast difficult as I’m not much of a morning person, especially with hungry kids at me from the moment I get up
Really great module! Food waste has become an issue in my home, and it’s distressing. I love the idea of a daily fridge/freezer check to help minimize the waste.
On a slight side note, I’ve gotten in the habit of dating the foods I put in the fridge, particularly the jars of condiments that languish on my fridge door for weeks on end. It is a habit that has been enormously helpful to me and my husband; it’s a quick way to answer the question, “How long has this jar of X (salsa, jam, hoisin sauce) been in here?”
Hi Jules. I buy mushrooms that is stored air tight in a plastic bag. So when I want to use it, I will cut the plastic and get some then fold the plastic bag then put a clip over it. Sometimes I do see the mushrooms getting a bit slimy. Are you saying after purchase, I need to put those in brown paper bag inside the fridge? What are other alternative to brown paper bag? Many thanks for your help and this course!
Great question Elizabeth! It really depends on how long you want to keep them for. If it’s only a few days your plastic should be fine but if you want to keep them for longer the brown paper bag is best because it allows them to breathe without too much drying out. If you didn’t have a paper bag I guess wrapping in a tea towel or other cloth should do the same thing. Will have to experiment myself!
Tried two recipes successfully last week (goat cheese omelet and magic sausage supper) and am looking forward to trying a couple more in the next week. Module 2 is good encouragement to check my fridge more regularly to see what needs using up. I generally have a pretty good idea of what’s in there, but some of the veggies end up i trouble. I found it interesting that for you scallions are a long-life veg. I find they don’t last well for me, maybe because they aren’t real fresh when I buy them.
Great Susan!
Thanks for reporting in.
Interesting about your scallions… are you keeping them wrapped in a bag or something to stop them dehydrating in the fridge? That tends to make a big difference 🙂
Jx
We have a chest freezer in an outdoor shed, so one idea we’ve had is to put a write on / wipe off board on our fridge in the house with a list of things in the freezer. It’s a variation on the daily fridge check, without having to go outside to look.
Very organised Marjory!
Whoops it cut off my message. Anyway basically I started preparing my breakfast at night time & it’s made my mornings a lot easier.
Glad you’ve found a solution Nic!
And glad to hear you’re ok with the fires
Jx
Hi All,
I’m a bit behind in the course. We’re currently displaced because of the bush fires, but I think this might be a nice distraction to everything going on. Feels a bit normal in a very abnormal situation. Cooking will obviously be a bit difficult, but I’m still interested in evolving my habits.
My first habit is to do more mise en place & work out the best ways to incorporate it into my weekly routine. For the first week I made Magic Sausage Supper, but doubled the pumpkin so I could then make some Roast Butternut Hummus for the kids snacks (& mine!) and I had a bit on hand to add mashed pumpkin to another meal for the kids. I find breakfast difficult as I’m not much of a morning person, especially with hungry kids at me from the moment I get up
Really great module! Food waste has become an issue in my home, and it’s distressing. I love the idea of a daily fridge/freezer check to help minimize the waste.
On a slight side note, I’ve gotten in the habit of dating the foods I put in the fridge, particularly the jars of condiments that languish on my fridge door for weeks on end. It is a habit that has been enormously helpful to me and my husband; it’s a quick way to answer the question, “How long has this jar of X (salsa, jam, hoisin sauce) been in here?”
Great info. I found out I have been storing garlic in the wrong place! And potatoes. Can’t wait to try to beet and goat cheese salad.
Great Shannon!
Beets and goats cheese are two of my very favourite things 🙂
Jx