Storing Vegetables
A vegetable enthusiast’s best practices.
Domino
- Julia Sherman
At
risk of being called a hypocrite, I’ll be the first to admit: On any
given day, my refrigerator is an impenetrable coffer of loosely lidded
jars teetering Jenga-style and a compulsive collection of rarefied
produce on the brink of a silent death. This is an occupational hazard
of a food writer and vegetable enthusiast—someone who behaves at the
farmers’ market the way most women behave at sample sales. My goal for
the year is to create systems around food storage, to effect less waste,
and to get my money’s worth out of my perishable investments. (And to
encourage my husband to find his way around his own kitchen once again.)
Even
those of us who consider cooking a form of relaxation can be deterred
by the chaos of an unruly fridge. How can we make it more inviting to
eat at home and combat the impulse to order in rather than spend the
evening decoding the mysteries of one’s own pantry? Any professional
cook will tell you that the kitchen is a place where rules are taken
seriously—and with a little method to the culinary madness, you can
clear a path to creativity when you least expect it. Here’s my strategy
for keeping things in order when I return home from the market.
Prep
Wash Everything
The
first commandment requires the most discipline and makes the greatest
impact. Instead of waiting until five minutes before dinner needs to be
on the table, I clean and prep my veggies the moment I return from the
market. It can be a little painful to tackle it all at once (depending
on the size of your haul), but ultimately, it cuts down on cleanup and
prep time, since you’re only getting the salad spinner out once. It’s
important to do everything in one go so there’s no question later as to
what has been washed and what still needs attending to.
Get Chopping
If
there are items you know you like to prep a certain way, get ahead of
it. I de-stem my kale and slice it in a chiffonade, so all it needs is a
nice massage in oil and salt or a flash sauté. This time of year, I am
stocking up on colorful heirloom radishes, like Purple Ninja and
watermelon. I slice them into thin disks on the mandoline and store them
in a glass food storage container submerged in water—just be sure to
refresh the water every few days to prolong freshness. The icy-cold
water keeps them hydrated and crunchy as hell for up to 10 days, and the
minimal amount of prep means they are ready for salads or a crudité
platter. To make them last even longer, pickle them with a quick brine
of red wine vinegar, salt, sugar, water, bay leaf, and mustard seed.
Just heat that mixture up and submerge the sliced radish, and they will
keep in the fridge for two weeks or more.
Store
Tender Greens
The world (aka my world)
is divided on how to store salad greens. The goal is to keep them from
drying out but also from getting swampy. I wash and spin greens in my
OXO salad spinner, using cold water and veggie wash.
If your greens have suffered in a hot car on the way home and seem a
little limp, just add a few ice cubes to the spinner water to soak
before draining. I lay them out on a paper towel in roughly a single
layer, and gently roll them up into a loose burrito. For storage, I blow
air into a thin plastic bag and tie the ends into a loose knot (you
should have a salad balloon).
I do my
best to avoid paper and single-use plastic products, but for storing
vegetables, damp paper towels and plastic bags can’t be beat. I reuse
and wash grocery store produce bags, and I use a variety of reusable
plastic bags to reduce waste.
Ripe Fruit and Avocados
I
will lose my mind if you put my summer tomatoes or ripe berries in the
refrigerator. But in the winter months, there are exceptions to my
no-fruit-in-the-fridge rule. Citrus can sit on the counter for about a
week, but it will begin to mold if left in a bowl without air
circulation. If the peel starts to desiccate or shows signs of
softening, I throw super-ripe citrus loose in the fridge. If I happened
to be blessed with a glut of ripe avocados, they join the citrus in the
fridge once soft—a wasted avocado is a tiny tragedy my heart cannot
endure. Just be sure to bring both to room temperature before serving.
Herbs
I
spritz my herbs with a fruit and vegetable wash and rinse them well
under cold running water. I shake them and let them dry on the dish rack
for a few minutes, before wrapping them in a lightly dampened paper
towel. I store delicate herbs in an OXO GreenSaver
storage container. It’s designed with a replaceable carbon filter that
absorbs ethylene gas (released by produce as it breaks down), retarding
spoilage. It works.
Organize
Label It All
An
invaluable tip from the professional kitchen: A Sharpie and masking
tape should have a permanent home in your drawer. Label everything from
glass jars and leftovers to those plastic bags with veggies camouflaged
in paper towels. You would be surprised how much more inviting the
crisper drawer can be when its contents declare themselves to you upon
opening.
Keep Things in Place
Think
of the fridge as your studio. If your tools are in their rightful
place, you can maximize efficiency. With designated zones, you know
where to look when searching for that particular ingredient you need right now.
For example, I keep dairy (besides cheese) clustered together on the
top shelf, and keep the bottom shelf designated for prepared food only.
The top crisper houses delicate greens and ripe fruit (things I want to
eat sooner rather than later), and the bottom is the home to hearty
veg.
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