Tips to maximize summer produce
Blueberries are on sale—2 pints for $2. You can’t resist such a bargain, but will you be able to eat all those berries before they go bad? Here, Russ Parsons, food writer for the Los Angeles Times and author of How to Read a French Fry (Houghton Mifflin, 2001), offers tips on how to keep your produce fresh.
Be choosy at the store. Be on the lookout for signs of improper storage. Avoid wilting greens, advises Parsons. Also, soft spots, nicks, or punctures on fruits are obvious flaws that will cause these items to rot sooner.
Store vegetables in an airtight container. Because vegetables continue to take in oxygen and give off moisture, keep them in an airtight container or plastic bag when refrigerated to preserve humidity around the produce (adding a paper towel to the container or bag helps absorb excess moisture). “There’s nothing magical about the crisper drawer,” explains Parsons. “It’s just a smaller, tightly sealed compartment.”
Don’t wash vegetables right away. Although you want to retain moisture in the air around the produce, moisture on the surface can lead to rot. “Washing puts more water on the surface,” says Parsons. “Water on the surface leads to cellular breakdown, which then leads to rapid spoilage.” Parsons advises against washing produce when you bring it home from the grocery store or chopping it up prior to storage.
“An intact skin is the best way to ward off spoilage of either fruits or vegetables,” says Parsons.
Know what fruits to refrigerate. Fruits are delicate and may suffer cold damage if stored in the fridge. The decision to refrigerate depends on the fruit. For example, Parsons advises against refrigerating tomatoes and bananas and recommends refrigerating peaches and nectarines only after they’ve ripened. (For more, see “Where to Store Produce,” below.)
Store some vegetables separately. Some fruits and vegetables are best kept on their own. Onions, for example, give off a gas that encourages potatoes to sprout roots. Instead, Parsons says, store potatoes at cool room temperature, away from onions, and stash away from light to avoid greening. Also, keep bananas and apples apart from other fruit because both produce a gas that promotes ripening.
Where to store produce
Ripen, then refrigerate
Store only at room temperature
apples (if more than 7 days)
apples (if fewer than 7 days)
basil (in water)
nashi (Asian pears)
potatoes (away from light to avoid greening)
herbs (not basil)
Note: Cucumbers, eggplant, and peppers can be kept in the refrigerator for one to three days if they are used soon after removal from refrigerator.
Source: Postharvest Technology Research & Information Center, University of California, Davis (http://postharvest.ucdavis.edu)