Organic Produce Storage Tips

As we've covered here before at :simple:balance:, one key to finding balance is through what we put into our bodies - our food and nutrition. Most experts recommend that we eat organic food whenever possible to maximize vitamins and nutrients and minimize toxic chemicals. Because organic food can be more expensive than non-organic, it is important to ensure that we get the most out of our money and our food - both important for feeling balanced! Aundrea Tucker is back with us today to share some of her ideas about how to make our organic produce last longer.

Photo by Imapix

Did you know that if placed in the refrigerator while firm kiwifruit will last up to six months?!

Want to ripen your pears? Place them in a plastic bag with a couple of ripe bananas. Bananas give off ethylene gas, which ripens other fruit.

Don’t you hate it when you when you buy all the right foods, but it goes all wrong when you’re unable to eat them before they go bad? Here are some tips to keep your organic produce ready to eat for as long as possible.

APPLES
Apples ripen quickly at room temperature; ten times as fast as an apple kept at 32* Fahrenheit. Store apples in a plastic bag in the refrigerator away from strong odored foods such as cabbage or onions to prevent flavor transfer.

BANANAS
Do not refrigerate bananas until they are ripe. When you put them into the refrigerator they will turn black, but the insides will ripen slower. To ripen green bananas, put them into a plastic bag, seal it and place the bag in a warm place like on top of your refrigerator. This will cause the bananas to heat up which speeds the ripening process.

GRAPES
Grapes are harvested only when fully ripe. Before storing, remove any spoiled grapes with broken skins or browning from the bunch and keep refrigerated; they should keep up to a week. During storage, continue to remove any and all spoiled fruit. Grapes can also be frozen, extending their storage life up to three months.

KIWI
Very firm kiwifruit can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. Kiwifruit won't keep for nearly as long in the refrigerator after it begins to ripen. To ripen firm kiwis, leave them at room temperature, but away from heat or direct sunlight, for a few days to a week. Hasten ripening by placing them in a paper bag with an apple, pear, or banana. Once a kiwi fruit is ripe, however, store it far from other fruits, as it is very sensitive to the ethylene gas they emit, and tends to overripe even in the refrigerator. Ripe kiwis should keep for about one to two weeks.

MANGO
Leave under ripe mangoes at cool room temperature for a few days to soften and sweeten--very warm temperatures can cause an off-flavor to develop. Place two mangoes in a paper bag to speed ripening (or, if you don't have two mangoes, put another fruit such as an apple or banana in with the mango). Ripe mangoes will keep for two to three days in the refrigerator.

MELON
Whole ripe or cut melons can be stored in the refrigerator for about three days. Cut melons should be wrapped tightly in plastic. Leave the seeds inside a cut melon until you're ready to eat it to help keep the melon moist.

PEARS
Ripen pears at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag with a couple of ripe bananas. When the pear is ripe, refrigerate until you are ready to eat it. Product that is extremely hard will ripen best at room temperature.

ORANGES
Store oranges in a cool place outside the refrigerator and try to eat them within a few days. If you need to keep them longer, refrigerate in a plastic bag or in the vegetable crisper section of the refrigerator.

STRAWBERRIES
Strawberries are extremely perishable and should be refrigerated immediately. Store unwashed strawberries in the refrigerator by stacking them on paper towels (between the layers as well), in a moisture-proof container. Eat them within 48-72 hours, or freeze them.

BROCCOLI
Store broccoli in the high-humidity vegetable crisper of your refrigerator for up to three days. Refresh broccoli in ice water to maintain its bright green color if you're not using it right away or are making a cold presentation.

CABBAGE
Head cabbage stored in a plastic bag in the refrigerator's humid vegetable bin will last at least a week. Savoy and Napa cabbages should be consumed within three or four days.

CARROTS w/TOPS
Before storing carrots, remove their green tops, rinse, drain, and put the carrots in plastic bags and store them in the coldest part of the refrigerator with the highest humidity. They'll last several months this way.

CAULIFLOWER
Cauliflower should be placed in a plastic bag and stored in your refrigerator crisper. When stored properly, cauliflower will last up to five days; however, it is best when eaten within three days.

CELERY
To store celery, trim the base and remove any leaves or ribs that are damaged or bruised. Rinse, place in a plastic bag, and keep in the refrigerator's humid vegetable bin, and it will last about two weeks.

CHARD
Refrigerate in plastic wrap up to 2 days. Rainbow Chard is pretty colorful Chard with yellow, pink, orange, white, and red veins.

COLLARDS
Wrap unwashed greens in damp paper towels. Refrigerate in a plastic bag, in the crisper, up to 5 days.

CORN
Corn is best eaten immediately. However, it can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days in plastic bags with the husk still on.

GREEN BEANS
Place green beans in a perforated plastic bag or paper bag and store them in the refrigerator crisper for up to five days.

LETTUCE
Refrigerate unwashed leaves in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer. A plastic bag from the grocery store is sufficient. Lettuce will keep for up to 5 days. Do not store lettuce with melons, apples, pears, or other ethylene gas-emitting fruits as they will cause the lettuce to turn brown.

ONIONS
Store onions in a dry, dark, well-ventilated place; not in the refrigerator.

PEPPERS
They can be stored for at least a week if placed in a plastic bag and kept in the refrigerator. The riper the pepper is when harvested, the less time it will maintain its freshness.

POTATOES
Potatoes like cool (45* F to 50* F) humid (but not wet) surroundings, but refrigeration can turn the starch in the potatoes to sugar and may tend to darken them when cooked.

SPINACH
When you get bunched spinach home, untie it, remove any blemished leaves, trim off the stems, and wash it thoroughly in cold water. Repeat if necessary until you're sure all the grit is gone. Spin dry in a salad spinner or drain well, then put into clean plastic bags very loosely wrapped with paper towels. It will last only two to three days, so plan on eating your rinsed spinach right away. Cold, moist surroundings, as low as 32*F and about 95% humidity are the best for storing spinach.

SUMMER SQUASH
Place in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 3-5 days.

WINTER HARD SQUASHES
Butternut, Acorn, Spaghetti Store squash in a cool, preferably dark, well-ventilated area for up to one month. Wrap cut pieces in plastic and refrigerate up to five days.

TOMATOES
Keep tomatoes at room temperature until ripened. Once ripened, tomatoes will last for two to three days. If necessary, tomatoes can be refrigerated in vegetable bin for approximately one week. Try to avoid refrigerating tomatoes whenever possible. Tomatoes will lose their flavor once stored below 55.