A few days ago, I shared with you a few tips and tricks on where to keep fruits. Of course, my quest to find out how to store food has not been limited to fruits. Therefore, this time around I’ve decided to share with you some information I’ve found about the storage of vegetables.
Let’s continue our Rookie Cook lessons with 105 – Storage of vegetables.
As it was the case for fruits, it’s nearly impossible for me to list how to store every type of vegetable available in our groceries. Therefore, I picked five for which I’ve found interesting storing information.
Asparagus – Asparagus should never be washed before storing. The best way to keep asparagus fresh as longer as possible is to trim the ends, put them in a jar with about an inch of water, cover with a plastic bag, then store in the fridge.
Carrots - You can keep carrots up to four weeks in the vegetable section of your refrigerator. If they are in a bag, ensure that there are perforations in the bag because, otherwise, the carrots could start to spoil. Carrots should not be placed next to apples, pears or potatoes because they let ethylene out as they ripen, which would give a bitter taste to the carrots.
Celery - This vegetable can be kept up to a week in the refrigerator if placed in a bag with perforations or put in a moist cloth.
Mushrooms – It is best to partially cover fresh mushrooms and place them in the refrigerator crisper. Many sources state that storing mushrooms in paper bags is the best way to store them. You can also freeze or can mushrooms. If you want to learn more about freezing of mushrooms, Michigan State University has a detailed page on the process.
Potatoes – Potatoes should be placed directly in the vegetable section of the fridge with a moist cloth on top. By doing so, you’ll be able to keep your potatoes for up to four weeks. Potatoes can also be stored in a dry, dark and cool storage area.
As you can see, most fruits can be put in the refrigerator or the freezer. To learn more about storage of vegetables, a quick Google search will provide your with hundreds of tips and tricks. You can also check the book suggestions below.
Clacked by Isabelle Carreau 
on Feb 11, 2009 @ 18:03 EST5EDT
My Mom gave me a tip on a cheap, effective way to store lettuce for a very long time in the refrigerator. After washing the lettuce, shake off any excess water then wrap with 2-3 paper towels (yes, the paper towels will get damp from the moisture left on the lettuce). Place the wrapped lettuce in a plastic grocery bag, tie the handles loosely and toss anywhere in the refrigerator.
This actually works much better than any of the gimmics I’ve tried over the years like “green bags”, tupperware-like keepers and a couple of odd, vented boxes with some kind of chemical packs on top. Best of all, when my lettuce keeper needs replacing I have everything I need to make another already in my home!
Thanks for the tip. I’ll make sure to try it out next time I buy lettuce.
You’re welcome. One of my favorite things about being the cook in the family is sharing recipes and tips with other cooks.
I use a recipe program called Big Oven (recommended to me by a fellow food lover) and it has a nice community feel whereby others can try and rate your recipes, submit tips for improving it and ask questions about it. Sorry this is somewhat off-topic, but it was in keeping with my comment about sharing. I hope I’m forgiven.
(Yes, I can be a nice person when politics isn’t part of the discussion!)
You are definitely forgiven for going a tad off topic as I welcome all suggestions to help improve my cooking skills!