My fridge is no longer empty.
🥦 🍎 🍐🥬 🍄🟫 🍅 🍊 🫑 🥕 🥑
It's restocked with all the fresh veggies and fruits I'll need for some time! So excited to get cooking with them!
Of course, it would be ideal if we could eat our fruits and vegetables almost immediately after purchasing them. However, most of us only go to a store or farmers market once per week, or even once every two or three weeks.
So, I created a cheat sheet for some of the fruits and vegetables I bring home most often. Taking time to do the simple steps on the cheat sheet ensures they are still very fresh when I go to use them. And, I'm sharing it with you here!
Avocado - Store in an airtight bag in the fridge. Don't store by apples, bananas, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, leafy greens, or potatoes. Stays fresh for 2-5 days.
Broccoli - Store loosely in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Or, like flowers in a jar with 1 inch of water. Wrapping the head in a damp paper towel can help with either method. Stays fresh for 3-5 days.
Mushrooms - Store in a paper bag in the fridge. Fold the top of the bag down enough so the mushrooms don't dry out, but not so tight where there is no airflow. Stays fresh for 4-7 days if whole or 1-2 days if sliced.
Leeks - Wrap leeks in a dry paper towel and store in a loose plastic bag in the fridge in the crisper drawer. Stays fresh for up to 2 weeks, but best to use within 5-7 days.
Cherry tomatoes - Line a berry basket or bowl with a dry paper towel and store in the fridge. Stays fresh for 1-2 weeks. These release ethylene so it gets tricky what to put them by. I do tomatoes, leeks, and broccoli together since they are all going to get eaten pretty quickly anyway.
Collard greens - Wrap in a dry paper towel and store in a sealed plastic bag in the crisper drawer. Stays fresh for 1-2 weeks.
Cauliflower - Place a small brown paper bag (or even a piece taken from a larger paper bag) over the head to collect moisture. Store in a loose plastic bag (or the plastic it already came in), stem side yp. Stays fresh 1-2 weeks.
Brussel sprouts - Store in a perforated plastic bag or the mesh bag it likely came in (or that you have saved from receiving other produce items). Keep away from apples and pears. Stays fresh 1-2 weeks.
Peppers - Wrap in a paper towel in a breathable bag (don't zip it all the way) in the crisper drawer. Stays from 1-3 weeks.
Carrots - Dampen a paper towel by spraying it lightly with a spray bottle of water. Wrap carrots in the damp paper towel and place in a plastic bag. Store in the crisper drawer. Keep away from apples, bananas, and pears. Stays fresh for 3-4 weeks.
Cabbage - Store in a loose plastic bag (or the plastic it came in) in the crisper drawer. Once/if you cut it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Stays fresh 1-2 months.
Apples - since these need to stay away from some other produce, I store them on a shelf with my cartons of eggs. I also store oranges on this shelf, I have them.
Pears - Place in a mesh bag that you may have saved from other produce items. Since these also need to stay away from most other produce, I place them on the same shelf as my avocados, tomatoes, and broccoli since I will be eating all of these things fairly quickly anyway.
When planning out my recipes, I rank them according to how long each fruit or vegetable stays fresh using these methods, which will make certain I use up the most tender ones first!
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