We've
posted this information before, but we get a lot of questions about how
best to store your organic produce to ensure it lasts longer. Organic
fruits and vegetables can sometimes go bad a little faster than their
chemically-treated equivalents, so storing them correctly becomes all
that more important. Correct storage can also ensure that their flavours
are at their peak.
Most of the time it is best to store unripe
fruit at room temperature but out of direct sunlight until ripe, then
refrigerate until ready to use. Store both fruits and vegetables without
washing them first and clean them only just before using.
Generally,
fruits and vegetables should be stored separately. Fruits are usually
high ethylene producers, which means they let off a lot of the natural
chemical that cause produce to ripen and, eventually, to rot. Vegetables
are usually more sensitive to ethylene, so they will keep better if
stored away from fruit.
Here are some other helpful storage tips:
Apples:
Remove any bruised or soft apples promptly – one bad apple really can
spoil the bunch. Store away from onions and garlic, as apples will
readily absorb their odours. Also store away from potatoes, as they will
spoil each other more quickly.
Apricots: Store at room temperature until ripe. Once ripened, store in the refrigerator.
Avocados:
Store unripe avocados at room temperature out of direct sunlight. To
hasten the ripening of green avocados, close them in a paper bag with a
ripe tomato or apple. This takes advantage of ethylene to trigger
ripening, so check the avocado every day. Once ripe, avocados can be
moved to the refrigerator, where they will last up to a week, depending
on how ripe they are when refrigerated. Once cut, sprinkle the exposed
surface with lemon juice, lime juice, or white vinegar, and store in an
airtight container. Use within two days.
Bananas:
Bananas also should not be refrigerated, as they will not ripen
correctly if they get too cold. The paper bag trick that works with
avocados can also be used to speed up the ripening of bananas.
Beets: If
beets arrive with their greens still attached, cut the greens off and
store them separately, preferably in the crisper section of the fridge.
Eat greens within a few days; beets will last much longer, if separated
from their greens.
Eggplant: Eggplants are easily damaged by severe cold, so try storing them in the refrigerator door instead of the body of the fridge.
Garlic: Store
in a dark, cool, dry place with lots of ventilation; stored correctly,
garlic can last from several weeks up to one year. Ideally, however, use
fresh garlic within a few weeks and do not refrigerate unless the
garlic has been peeled or chopped.
Potatoes:
Potatoes should be kept in a cool, dark place in a paper bag or other
breathable container (not in a plastic bag). They shouldn't be
refrigerated, as that will turn the starch into sugars and make them too
sweet. Don't wash them until it is time to cook them. Don't store them
with onions, as the ethylene put off by onions can cause potatoes to
sprout and even spoil. Remove any shriveled, soft, or sprouted potatoes
promptly.
Tomatoes:
Refrigerating tomatoes will decrease their flavour. Store whole ripe
tomatoes at a cool room temperature – away from heat sources - in a
breathable container. Store cut tomatoes in the refrigerator and use
soon.
Pumpkins,
like all other squash, are native to North America, though now, of
course, they can be found growing happily in many parts of the world,
including Australia, where the word "pumpkin" means any variety of
winter squash, not just the round, orange-fleshed varieties that we tend
to prize over here in Canada. In fact, pumpkins are now so prevalently
grown around the world that the only continent without any pumpkins
grown on it is Antarctica (for obvious reasons, perhaps)!
Pumpkin leaves are a popular green vegetable in parts of Kenya -- they're called seveve and are a main ingredient in the traditional Kikuyu dish mukimo.
