how do you store your veggies?

[amberelizabeth]

I know I keep a lot ofveggies on hand for layla, and I only have one rabbit! So I was just curious how everyone else keeps their veggies so that you have efficient space in the fridge, and they last longer.

right now i'm cutting and cleaning the veggies and keeping them in 1 gallon zip locks. for the most part it is working well and I only buy enough to last me usually around 1 week- a week and a half.

Any other great ideas?

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

I have some Tupperware, their line of FridgeSmart. They're supposed to make the fruits/veggies last longer. They have vents on one end and a list of fruits/veggies and it tells you on the side panel for which ones to keep the vents closed/open to reserve freshness. In my experience in using them, they do make the produce last a little longer, but not much.

Here's the link:

http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_show_item.show_item_detail?fv_item_category_code=25000

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Hmmm... I wonder if that would help with cilantro and Italian parsley. Those are my babies' favorites, but they only last two days for me.

I lay my veggies in the crisper on top of paper towels. The Romaine lasts a long time that way.

 

[amberelizabeth]

cilantro and parsley are layla's favorites too! that's mainly what i'm trying to get to last longer. they sure do smell bad when they start to wilt!

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

Certainly couldn't hurt to try them and see. What you guys could do is have a party, then after all your sales go through, you get to order free stuff. When I got mine, a friend of mine had a party, she ended up getting tons of free stuff!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Snuggys Mom wrote:

Hmmm... I wonder if that would help with cilantro and Italian parsley. Those are my babies' favorites, but they only last two days for me.

I lay my veggies in the crisper on top of paper towels. The Romaine lasts a long time that way.

Mine love cilantro too and I have the same problem. I like to keep it on hand since they can have all they want within reason.

I also have the problem that my crisper freezes stuff :X

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I'm at the store, buying produce every 2-3 days.

Sometimes there's more bunny food in my fridge than people food.

Once my husband was making a sandwich and asked if there was any lettuce, then started laughing hysterically. Stupid question.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I wash them then put them in daily rations. I keep veggies in plastic bags and don't have problems. For lettuce, I wash, wrap in paper towels and put in a plastic bag and tie it up, keeps for about a week.

If I don't wash when I get them, they wilt and can go bad.

 

[clarzoo]

Somebody posted a link for 'Green Bags' on here the other day. They are a tv infomercial type product that claim to really increase the lifespan of refrigerated produce. I can't find the link right now, but you might try googling it. They sounded neat and if they work, they'd be awesome!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

After having to content with picking out rotten pieces of veggies for years, I have learned a few hings by trial and error. One, pick dry veggies at the store. They often spray them and keep them fairly wet and that moisture makes them go rotten faster in plastic bags. If you can't get dry veggies, spread them out on a towel and let them dry. I've had the most problems keeping cilantro, it seems to go rotten in 3 days if its wet. I let it dry fairly well and while it does go limp, it doesn't go bad. I prepare meals for them the night before so when I do that I wash the cilantro with cool water and over night in the fridge it crisps back up and is good as new.

With lettuce I break the leaves off and letit dry, then place a paper towel in the bottom of the Ziplockbag to absorb any extra moisture.

Another tip, don't use metal to cut veggies up, it makes it go brown fast. If you have to break it up, do it by hand without a utensil.

 

[Johncdn]

amberelizabeth wrote:

right now i'm cutting and cleaning the veggies and keeping them in 1 gallon zip locks. for the most part it is working well and I only buy enough to last me usually around 1 week- a week and a half.

Any other great ideas?

That's pretty much my plan too.

I have good luck keeping parsley over a week most times. Actually most stuff will stay fresh over a week except dandelion.

All I can think that I might do differently is I have an awesome centrifugal salad spinner that gets ALL the cleaning water off the greens.

It looks like this one

http://www.electricshopping.com/shop/shop.do?pvSKU=a313&dealtime

 

[Pipp]

Here's an oldBuck Jones post that reiteratesJohn's spinner method:

Buck Jones wrote:

We've always washed our salad greens by soaking in the sink and/or running under cold water, depending upon type of green, then spinning in a salad spinner. Spin, drain, spin again, drain! Greens are spiffy clean and less apt to wilt. By storing them in a tupperware container, they often last a week or more without spoiling. The key is the salad spinner's ability to get rid of the excess moisture, then the cold ofthe refrigerator just seems to crisp them.

If you've never used a salad spinner, they are more than worth the effort in terms of the results they produce. We often see them at yard/tag/garage/flea market sales going for a pittance because people usually classify them as not worth the effort, along with banana stands, thigh masters, and blooming onion cutters. Not so, for those of us who enjoy a lot of greens, bunnies too!

Of course, easier way is to buy the pre-washed mesculin mixes, some of which are tasty, but we like things like, arugla, mustard greens, dandelions, spinach, escarole, bok choy, cilantro, etc. in our own salads. The buns most frequently get the salad "bones" after cleaning and tearing off the leafy bits of the greens.

Buck

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi, I've used Glad Vegetable bags. They have tiny, tiny holes in so the veggies can breathe. The only problem is they are hard to find and a little expensive. However I reuse them many times.

Susan:bunnydance:

 

[Spring]

I sometimes keep parsley or cilantro on the counter ina cup of water with the stems trimmed and it lasts quite awhile, unless it's quite warm out. I put my veggies in the fridge in the plastic bags and have the bags just a tiny bit open, and they usually keep. I usually try touse them before they spoil, so less waste!

 

[tonyshuman]

[align=left]my tony loves cilantro and parsley too. i just put them in the crisper in the bags that i get from the store...they last at least a week for me that way unless someone eats them all up first!
i think it's important to keep really aromatic herbs separate, however. i had some mint in with some basil, and the basil all turned black!
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