A Home Cook’s Guide to Cleaning, Storing, and Freezing Produce
Like for many of you, the past few weeks have been overwhelming - and grocery shopping during a pandemic is no exception. The lines, the empty shelves, and the fear are all real and confusing. You may have also found yourself plunged into the role of a short-order cook in your quarantine kitchen for all the different eaters in your home - on top of all the responsibilities you already have with work, school, and raising a family.
As we all try to minimize our trips to the grocery store, embrace our pantry, and learn to cook off-the-cuff while staying on a budget, I wanted to share a few simple tips based on my own experience on what produce to buy and tips for preserving it for weeks at a time. I hope that you find the guide helpful and share it with your friends and family.
Leave me a comment below if you have a question about a specific fruit or vegetable and I’ll do my best to get back to you! In the meantime, stay home and stay well, friends!
OVERARCHING ADVICE:
Generally follow how the grocery store would keep produce - room temp or chilled and emulate that at home. Think tomatoes - they last the longest at room temperature on a counter away from other produce, not in the fridge contrary to popular belief!
Wash your produce, rinse, and dry thoroughly with a kitchen towel, colander, or use a salad spinner for herbs and lettuces before storing - too much moisture can lead to mold and slime.
Store produce in the fridge in containers and allow some airflow, or wrap with a slightly kitchen towel to avoid drying out.
1. CLEANING
While we are facing a global crisis that involves a virus, I have been washing produce with soap and water knowing that many hands have come into contact (including your own) with the item before getting into your cart and into your home. I typically use vinegar and water, but have been using soap since the news of the virus began. This does NOT mean spraying an apple with Lysol and then eating it, ok? Those chemicals are not meant for human ingestion and should be left for cleaning surfaces.
Fill a kitchen sink or big bowl with soapy water
Give them a good scrub with a clean brush, and rinse produce thoroughly
Lay out to dry completely over a dish towel to dry on a cookie sheet, pat dry if needed
2. STORING
Once dried, place produce in clean containers and store in the fridge
Avoid chopping things like lettuce and herbs, I have found that they last longer if leaves remain whole
Remember to keep things mostly dry and partially covered - moisture is what induces mold and slime over time
3. FREEZING
Blanch, drain, and squeeze excess water out of any leafy greens like kale, spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, even broccoli before storing and freezing in an airtight container - this will save you the most space
Label your containers with the item and date no matter how good of memory you have
You can chop things like onions, peppers, zucchini before storing - I have found that these do fine without any blanching
LEAFY GREENS
WHAT: Kale, Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Collard Greens, Cabbage, Mustard Greens
FRIDGE: Lasts up to 2-4 weeks when stored in containers, after being washed and dried completely. Chop into smaller pieces and use a salad spinner. Lay dry on kitchen towels to get rid of any excess water. If not chopping, you can also wrap up the entire bundle in a slightly damp kitchen towel after washing and drying and store. You can learn to make your own sauerkraut to really preserve your cabbage and produce some probiotics for your gut as well!
FREEZER: Lasts for 3-4 months or more when blanched/steamed, cooled, and stored in an airtight bag or container. I have also frozen spinach and kale raw and they seem to fair rather well, but just may get a bit icy over time. Once frozen, leafy greens do best reconstituted in cooked items like soups and stews vs. things like raw salads.
LETTUCES
WHAT: Romaine, Green Leaf, Red Leaf lettuce, Arugula, Butter Lettuce, Spinach
FRIDGE: Lasts up to 2 weeks when washed, dried in a salad spinner, and stored in a container with a damp paper towel or kitchen cloth. Allow some airflow into the container or bag so they can breathe. Keep the leaves whole and chop when you’re ready to eat. Think about bagged salad and bagged lettuces - they are washed and dried, and then packed in bags with holes for ventilation.
FREEZER: Not a good idea. Don’t do it if you’re wanting to eating it as a raw salad. It gets far too icy and there is just no going back. If you do want to cook with lettuce, you could freeze it but the texture will not ever be the same.
HERBS
WHAT: Rosemary, Mint, Basil, Parsley, Cilantro, Green Onion
FRIDGE: Lasts for 2-3 weeks if washed and then dried with a salad spinner. Store in a container with a paper towel or a small kitchen towel, pop the lid or bag to allow airflow. I tend to chop up the herbs when I need it and not before. I have seen people also leave herbs in a jar of water in the fridge, but I have not had good success with that myself.
FREEZER: Lasts for 3-4 months or more when dried and frozen in a bag - rosemary, mint, and green onion can do this. For Basil, Parsley, and Cilantro I recommend blending up with some olive oil to make a pesto and then freezing into ice cubes. Pop the pesto cubes into whatever soup, stew, or pasta you’re making and you’re set.
ROOM TEMP: Lasts for 2 weeks or more in a jar of water. Change the water frequently and tear off any stems that may be submerged into the water. You can propagate a few stems and then plant them in soil to flourish into a new plant outside. Green onion bottoms with roots grow new stems in a matter of days when placed in water.
DELICATE VEG
WHAT: Peppers, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Zucchini, Tomatoes
FRIDGE: Lasts 2-3 weeks. Keep these super dry and in the crisper drawer of your fridge with the exception of tomatoes.
FREEZER: Lasts 3-4 months. Chop and store in bags or containers. Once frozen, these do best in cooked foods vs. raw salads. You can also roast and then freeze for easy and flavorful additions to your dishes!
ROOM TEMP: Tomatoes can last 2 weeks when left at room temp on the kitchen counter in a dark, cool corner. If you have a crate of baby cherry tomatoes, leave it in the crate at room temp as well. I keep them away from bananas, onions and potatoes as they emit gas that could speed up their ripening process. I do not recommend leaving peppers at room temp any longer than a few days.
HARD VEG
WHAT: Carrot, Onion, Celery, Radish, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Spaghetti Squash, Fennel, Garlic
FRIDGE: Lasts for 4-6 weeks or more - I generally keep Carrot, Celery, and Fennel in the fridge in the crisper and they last forever. The others I keep at room temp. You can also cut up carrot, celery, and radishes and store then in a jar of water to keep them crisp and fresh. Learn to pickle carrots, onions, and radishes - that can last you even longer and enhance your pantry meals.
FREEZER: Lasts 3-4 months. You can chop carrot, onion, celery, and garlic raw and freeze. I would recommend roasting the spaghetti squash or fennel before freezing. Blanch and cut sweet potatoes and potatoes first, cool, and then store and freeze.
ROOM TEMP: Lasts for 3-4 weeks or more - potatoes, spaghetti squash, acorn squash, onions and garlic are super resilient and do just fine sitting in a cool, dark place in crate with lots of airflow. Don’t store onions and potatoes together - they release moisture and lead to spoiling each other fairly quickly.
CITRUS
WHAT: Oranges, Lemons, Grapefruits, Clementines
FRIDGE: Lasts for 4-6 weeks in the fridge - I keep mine in the crisper and they look don’t look like they’ve aged a day after a few weeks.
FREEZER: Lasts for 2-3 months in the fridge - freeze lemon or orange zest in little bags, remove air. I would recommend juicing citrus first and then freezing it into ice cubes. Freezing the fruit without the skin and pith and then separating the segments would be my next recommendation, but the texture will change slightly and you will need to thaw before consuming or add to smoothies.
ROOM TEMP: Lasts 1-2 weeks on the kitchen counter before they start getting dimply and deflated. Fridge storage is best if you have the space.
BERRIES
WHAT: Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
FRIDGE: Lasts 2-3 week. Wash, rinse, and dry thoroughly on kitchen towels over a cookie sheet. Store in clean containers with a paper towel to absorb any excess moisture and avoid mold. If they are dry enough, I sometimes don’t even use a paper towel and just don’t close the lid all the way to allow airflow and they still do well.
FREEZER: Lasts 4-6 months. After washing, store in an airtight container and freeze. You can freeze on cookie sheets prior to putting into containers so that the fruit freeze individually before being store and you’re not stuck with a frozen block of berries to pull apart when you need them.
TROPICAL FRUITS
WHAT: Bananas, pineapples, mangoes, avocado
FRIDGE: Up to 4-5 weeks for unripe avocados in the fridge - I will take one out as I need one and let it ripen on the counter for a couple of days while the other ones stay in the fridge. Once avocado is cut, store so that the cut side is covered as much as possible whether in a bag or container. Air exposure is what makes them turn brown, so protecting the surface area is crucial. 2-3 weeks for pineapples, mangoes if they are not cut yet. You can chop the pineapple crown off before storing to save storage space. I don’t usually refrigerate bananas, but you can if you have the fridge space. It will buy you a few more days and slow the ripening process down some.
FREEZER: 2-3 months for bananas, pineapples, and mangoes. Peel, chop up and store in airtight bag or container, throw in smoothies or oatmeal, and defrost as needed. Mangoes seem to maintain their texture once defrosted, bananas seem mushier but can still be repurposed for things like banana bread and smoothies. I don’t see the need in freezing avocados unless you want to put them in smoothies as the fridge method works extremely well. ROOM TEMP: 5-7 days for bananas if they are separated from each other with a little bit of plastic wrap wrapped around the stems.