Top veggie storage hacks
4 min read
So you make healthy shopping choices – lots of fresh fruit and veg. You’re even shopping locally to reduce the emissions caused by transporting your groceries longer distances and supporting local farmers in the process.
Great work! Good for you and good for the planet.
But doesn’t there always seem to be that annoying vegetable that’s dead before you get around to using it? The sad lettuce, a mouldy potato, maybe a couple of liquified tomatoes …
And you’re not alone.
In fact, us Aussies waste a mind-boggling equivalent of 312kg of food per person every year1. To put that in perspective, the amount of land used to grow wasted food is bigger than the whole state of Victoria.
What’s rotten with this picture?
Well on top of making our weekly grocery bill more expensive than it needs to be (roughly $2000-$2,500 more per year3), what you might not realise is that growing, packaging, transporting and disposing of food all requires carbon-emitting energy. From farmer to fork, our food emits CO2 at every stage.
And when this food ends up rotting away in landfill, it produces even more climate change-causing emissions in the form of methane2.
But here’s the good news…
Since the majority of this wasted food comes from our fridges at home3 then the solution to this methane mess is also in our hands.
Marie Kondo’ing the veggie crisper
The way we store our fruit and veg has a big impact on how long they stay fresh. Not only will they last longer, but some may even taste better with a little bit of TLC.
So bring some joy to your veggie crisper and the planet at the same time with our favourite Greener hacks
Tomatoes
We get it. You get home from the shops and just need to unload everything and get on with your life. Fresh stuff goes in the fridge, right? That’s how to keep it … fresh.
Well, not necessarily. There are exceptions.
And tomatoes are one of those exceptions. Keeping them in the cool temperature of the average refrigerator can make them go soft much more quickly. It also changes their flavour – and who wants tasteless tomatoes?
This is why supermarkets don’t display their tomatoes in the chiller section. For best results you need to keep them comfy, at room temperature.
Another problem with tomatoes is that if one goes bad, everything around it suffers. For this reason it's best not to keep them in fruit bowls – a little social distancing doesn’t go astray when it comes to toms.
Spuds
Like tomatoes, fresh potatoes should never go in the fridge. The cool air can turn a spud's starches into sugar and ruin the taste, and speed up its deterioration.
And if there weren’t enough reasons to avoid plastic bags already, potatoes kept in plastic may turn green and sprout prematurely as a result of the warmth and moisture trapped by plastic.
Instead, potatoes should be kept in a dry, dark space like a cupboard or pantry where it doesn't get too warm.
You can increase their storage time from a couple of weeks to a couple of months this way.
Onions and garlic
Much like the vampires they ward off, onions and garlic enjoy a dark space that isn't too cold, so no fridge and no sunlight is the go. Do it right and you’ll be able to store your garlic for up to six months.
When it comes to onions however, be careful not to store these with your other veggies, potatoes for example. Onions release a gas that can bring on sprouting in vegetables like spuds.
Speaking of onions, did you know spring onions have an amazing self-regenerating ability? Once you chop off the bits you want for your salad, stick the roots in a small container of water and the green stalks will quickly regrow.
Lettuce and leafy greens
Excess moisture makes lettuces and other leafy green veggies wilt, and look sad and unappetising. To combat this, wash the leaves and dry them thoroughly in a salad spinner. Put them into an airtight container with paper towels or a tea towel (to absorb any moisture in the air) and you'll find they last a lot longer.
In a bizarre twist, you can also revive wilted lettuce using more water. Submerge the leaves or the head in cold water for 15 to 30 minutes and then spin it dry. You'll find it becomes a lot more palatable as a result.
What to do with the leftovers?
There always comes a time when there's an odd carrot, half a zucchini, or part of a head of broccoli left over. Every little bit counts, so rather than throwing them away, chop them up, blanch them in boiling water, drain, label and store in the freezer in bags or containers until needed. Perfect to add to:
- Stir fry
- Pizza topping
- Soup
- Slow cooker recipes and casseroles
- Scrambled eggs
- Frittatas/omelettes
- Roasts
Looking for some leftovers foodspiration? Add Best Leftovers Ever to your Netflix watch list.
And if you want an even easier way to keep your veggies fresh for longer, why not check out The Swag.
Want to shop the freshest produce and make sure it's carbon neutral? Check out these Greener picks.