Helpful Food Storage Tips and Tricks To Keep Food Fresh

Who hasn’t bought fresh produce with the best intentions only to let them go bad in the fridge because you forgot about them or just were too busy to eat them? Most adults don’t eat enough vegetables and fruits and for many people, it’s not for lack of trying. American families throw out around 25 percent of the food and beverages they buy. Fruit and vegetables comprise around 22 percent of that total. The topic of food waste has become a fairly hot button issue in recent years due to the growing number of food insecure people in the United States as well as issues with overflowing landfills.

One of the biggest reasons why so many families throw out produce is due to improper storage. Luckily, there are some useful tips and tricks that can help you keep your produce fresher for longer. So say goodbye to moldy fruits and spoiled salads and welcome back healthy foods into your life. These steps should you keep your produce fresher for longer.

Bananas and Plastic Wrap

In order to ripen, bananas release ethylene gas. The more it releases, the riper it will get. Depending on how green the bananas are it can take around 24 hours to 5 days for it to fully ripen. After that it can last around 2-3 days on the counter before it starts to go bad.  

Now, you might have heard that wrapping the tops of the bananas in plastic wrap can reduce the amount of ethylene the bananas emit. While wrapping the stems in plastic can help slow down the process a bit, ultimately the entire banana produces ethylene so you won’t be able to keep the bananas fresh for too much longer. For best results, you should store your bananas on a banana hook. By keeping them off the counter, you’ll increase air circulation thus lowering the concentration of ethylene.

If you don’t have a banana hook, you still have other options. If you don’t want your bananas to ripen immediately, place them in the fridge. The cooler temperature helps to slow their natural ripening process. Don’t be alarmed if you see the peel has turned brown, the banana itself will still be fresh for up to a week. Just make sure you don’t refrigerate green bananas as they will not ripen properly even if you remove them after. If you want to keep the bananas for longer, you can also freeze them. While dethawed bananas lose some of their texture, you can still use them for smoothies or baking/cooking purposes. They’re also just great snacks to have on hand during those hot summer months.

Celery and Aluminum Foil

Celery is one of the vegetables that can easily be forgotten in the back of the fridge. By the time you remember that you have it, it’s become tasteless and limp. If you want to keep them crispy as long as possible, the first thing you’ll need to do is take them out of the plastic bag they come in. Like bananas, celery releases ethylene gas so keeping them bunched up in an enclosed area means that they’ll spoil faster. There are three keys to storing celery: keep them whole, wrap in aluminum foil, and store it in the crisper.

Why does this work? When kept whole, the celery will lose less moisture. Considering celery is roughly 95 percent water, you’ll want to prevent as much water loss as possible to maintain its crunchiness. Wrapping the celery in foil allows just enough of the ethylene to escape while still keeping the moisture in, thus slowing spoilage. As for the crisper, this also lets out some of the ethylene gases and the higher humidity further reduces potential moisture loss.

Lettuce and Paper Towels

One of the keys to making a good salad is ensuring your lettuce is fresh and crisp. How many times have you been disappointed with salads from restaurants or fast food joints that have limp and wilted greens. However, no matter how much you try, you often find yourself with soggy greens in your fridge.

Keeping greens fresh can be a challenge as they tend to last only a few days. Whole heads of iceberg, romaine, butterhead, and red lettuce are readily available at grocery stores because their leaves are the perfect for sandwiches and salads. If you buy one of these varieties, don’t separate the leaves and do not wash until you’re ready to use them. Wrap the heads of lettuce in some paper towels to prevent moisture loss and then store in the crisper. The drawer should provide the ideal humidity and air circulation for lettuce.

For other loose leaf lettuce and other greens, you should first go through and remove any undamaged leaves and wash the leaves thoroughly to remove dirt and bacteria. Like other leafy greens, proper moisture and air circulation are necessary to keep your leafy greens fresh. The easiest way to do this is to line a glass or plastic container with some paper towels and then add your greens. After that, just seal your container and then put it in the fridge. Just make sure there’s some space between the lettuce and the top to promote good airflow.

If  you notice your lettuce is already wilting, you can revive it. Submerge the leaves in a bowl of ice water and leave it for around five minutes. Remove it from the cold water and pat dry. The low temperature will shock and crisp up your leaves. Just make sure to use the leaves immediately after as it will wilt again in a couple of hours.

Berries and Vinegar

Berries are nature’s candy and, in many houses, probably don’t last long enough in the fridge to actually go bad. On the rare occasions that you do have leftovers, you might notice that berries tend to go bad relatively quickly. You’ve probably heard from someone that you shouldn’t wash berries unless you’re about to eat them as the moisture shortens their shelf life. In truth, berries carry mold spores that cause them to go bad quickly. Once one berry gets mold, the rest will contrat it soon enough.

The good news is that you can kill mold and bacteria with a quick vinegar and water bath. This method works best for strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries. For softer berries, you should follow the classic ‘rinse before eating’ treatment. To properly store berries, the first thing you want to do is pick out all the ones that already have mold growing. You cannot save them with the vinegar bath. From there, combine three cups of cold water and one cup of white vinegar into a large bowl and then immerse the berries and swish them around for a minute.

After that, drain and rinse the berries with cold water to get rid of any trace of vinegar aroma and taste. Set the berries out on a clean cloth or paper towel and then lightly pat them dry. Make sure to dry them well! If the berries came in a ventilated plastic container, wash the container thoroughly with soap and water, dry properly, and then line it with dry paper towers. Don’t forget to leave some ventilation holes in the top for proper air circulation. If the paper towels get damp, switch it out with dry ones.  

If you properly rinse the berries, there should not be any vinegar taste residue. However, if you’re worried about it, you can also give the berries a hot-water bath for about 12 seconds. This can also inhibit mold growth. The water must be around 145 degrees Fahrenheit in order for the hot-bath to work. Do not use boiling water as this will cook the berries.

Once you’ve ‘inoculated’ the berries, you should be able to keep them in your fridge for at least three to five days. If you don’t plan on eating them immediately, put them into a plastic container and freeze them. Frozen berries are perfect additions to smoothies, pancakes, muffins, and more.

Potatoes and Apple

Potatoes are some of the best vegetables to have on hand. They’re filling, you can store them for a long time, and they’re versatile. Whichever way you cook them, they’re delicious. As long as their shelf life is, you’ve probably noticed that if you keep them for too long, they’ll start sprouting. While still edible, sprouted potatoes will have lost a lot of their nutrients as the spud is putting its efforts into creating a new potato plant.

The best way to prevent your potatoes from sprouting is to store them in a cool, humid, and dark place. Light and heat encourage sprouting while a dry environment leads to withered potatoes. The optimum temperature falls between 45-50 degrees Fahrenheit and the humidity should rest at around 95 percent relative humidity. Unheated basements or insulated sheds/garages are the best places for potato storage. You should never store your potatoes in the fridge as the temperature is too cold and will turn the potato starch to sugar.

What about storing the potatoes with apples? It could help, but only in the short term as apples release ethylene, which can cause sprouting. Unless you want to sprout your potatoes, you should keep them separate. Similarly, keep potatoes and onions away from each other as both will cause sprouting in the other.

Mushrooms and Paper Bag

Mushrooms might not be a fruit or vegetable, but it does provide the body with some essential nutrients. Plus the hearty texture means it’s often used to substitute actual meat in recipes. It’s also just as unappetizing as meat when it goes bad as it turns into a slimy, mushy mess.

Keeping mushrooms fresh is all about proper storage. Unlike with vegetables, you’ll want to forego the plastic and opt for paper instead. You want to avoid trapping moisture in with the mushrooms as that will lead to mildew. Instead, store them in paper bags as this will allow moisture to escape, which will slow the rate of decay. In the same vein, don’t store mushrooms in the crisper as the environment is too moist. Mushrooms can last up between 7-10 days in the fridge, but for best results you should try to use them as close to your purchase date as possible. You can also keep them in the original packaging and then wrap it with another layer of plastic wrap for additional protection. Just make sure to poke some holes for air circulation.

If you don’t intend to use them for longer than a week, you should either freeze or dry them. Mushrooms freeze surprisingly well, but you should get them into the freezer as soon as possible before they start deteriorating in the fridge. You’ll also need to cook them before freezing in order to preserve their quality. Drying is another great option for when you don’t have enough freezer space. You can use a low-temperature oven or food dehydrator to dry them. After that, keep them in an airtight container until you need them.

Tomatoes and Room Temperature

There’s nothing worse than making a delicious sandwich or salad only to have it sullied by flavorless tomatoes. So how do you ensure tasty tomatoes each time? It all depends on how ripe your tomato is. If it’s under-ripe as most are, you can leave it on the counter for a few days. Don’t put under-ripe tomatoes in the fridge as tomatoes are very sensitive to the cold. Cooling the tomatoes before they are ready can lead to membrane damage which results in minimal flavor development, a soft texture, and blotchy coloration.

When ripe, store your tomatoes at around 55 degrees F as this is the ideal temperature that prevents further ripening while preserving the integrity of the fruit. Most fridges are cooled between 35-38 degrees F, which is a good 20 degrees below ideal temperature. On the other hand, room temperature tends to fall around 70 degrees, which will lead to further ripening. So what can you do? Your best bet is to store the tomatoes in the fridge. While it will lose some flavor, you can recover some of it by letting the tomatoes warm up at room temperature for a day or two.

Leftover Bread

Bread is a common staple in the kitchen. It’s a great breakfast side and you can even turn somewhat stale bread into croutons, bread crumbs, or even bread pudding. Still, if you want to keep your bread fresher for longer, the number one thing you should avoid doing is putting it in the fridge as it actually goes stale faster due to the low temperature. Instead, store your bread at room temperature.

Different kinds of bread will last longer than others. For example, store-bought bread comes with ingredients that extend shelf life so they should last around a week or even two. Homemade bread will get stale within a couple of days if not stored properly. While you can always freeze portions of bread to keep it fresh, you might not want to deal with the hassle of reheating it afterwards.

There are a few tricks that can help keep your bread fresh without freezing. You could invest in a ceramic bread box for storage as it will provide just enough air circulation to keep it moist. If you don’t have one, you can place your bread on a wooden cutting board cut-side down. Plastic bags are also a good option, just make sure you remove as much air as possible before sealing. This method will soften your crust, but your bread won’t dry out. If you live in a very humid environment, you might want to take an extra step and add some sugar cubes to the paper and plastic bags. The cubes absorb moisture which can fight staleness and prevent mold from growing.

Follow These Tips To Get A Longer Shelf Life On The Foods You Enjoy The Most

Reducing food waste doesn’t just help the environment, it also helps your wallet. The more you can increase the shelf life by following these food storage tips of the ingredients you buy, the more chances you have of actually using them and not having to replace them because they went bad. You can also make sure you go through all of your food by figuring out ways to utilize all the ingredients you have on hand in different meals. Soups and salads are great ways to go through leftover vegetables while smoothies are a great option to go through excess fruit.

Ultimately, it takes a bit of planning and preparation to keep your produce fresher for longer, but it’s worth the effort. After all, everyone wants to eat healthy foods. It’s just about getting around to eating them before they get mushy that’s the problem. With these tips, you should be able to extend the shelf life by a few days at least giving you more time to plan your meals around the items you have in your kitchen.

Karen A Mulvey is a personal social blogger and mom with 14 years of experience in the every day world of motherhood and sustainable product research. Karen is on a mission to help everyday families select sustainable, non-toxic organic products, stop stressing about uncertainties on sustainable home goods and apparel, and start living the life they’ve always wanted.

Follow Karen at @karenAmulveycs | Karen A Mulvey

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