How to properly store fruits and vegetables

Psalm 145:8

                 
      Have you ever had trouble keeping those good fruits and veggies you bought from the farmer's market fresh and crisp for at least a week? Well, you are not alone. I myself have faced such situations often. In know that feeling when you reach out for potatoes only to find roots all over it.                             
                     

          Keeping fruits and vegetables fresh for a long time is actually possible by properly storing them. Freshness and aging of fruits and vegetables depend mainly on moisture and the Ethylene gas that they produce. Lack of moisture dries them out whereas excess moisture causes decay. Ethylene gas helps to ripen and sweeten the fruits. Exposure to too much Ethylene gas causes faster ripening of fruits thereby reducing the shelf life. Certain fruits like apple produce a good amount of Ethylene gas. So, if you don't want your bananas to ripen too quickly, keep them away from apples. 

How to store some of the commonly used fruits and vegetables:

Apples: Keep them on counter top if you would use them within a week. Make sure you keep them protected from ants and cockroaches. To store them for more than a week place them in the refrigerator.

Oranges: Oranges usually stay fresh on the countertop for a week provided they are not too ripe. They can stay fresh in the refrigerator longer.

Grapes: Do not remove grapes from the stem. Put them in a zip lock bag and place them in the refrigerator.

  

Watermelon: Watermelon can stay in the room temperature for three to four days. Place it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh for two to three weeks. Cut watermelon can be wrapped in the plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes should better be stored at room temperature so that they retain their good taste. Again, ants love tomatoes. Fill a tray with water. Put the tomatoes in a bowl and place it in the water filled tray to keep the ants away.

Banana: Store bananas at room temperature. In case you want to keep the ripe banana for two more days, refrigerate it.

Mangoes: Store mangoes in room temperature until they are ripe. When ripe, eat it or refrigerate to keep it fresh for two more days.  

Lemon:  I store lemons in the refrigerator. Another option is that you can squeeze out the lemon juice and fill it in the ice tray and freeze it. You can use these lime cubes for cooking or making juice.

Mushrooms: Take mushrooms out of the box that they come in and put them in paper bags. Store them in the refrigerator.

Capsicum: Cover each capsicum with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it. It can stay fresh for a week.

Cucumber: Cover the cucumber with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it. Alternatively, cover the cucumber in a paper towel and put it in a zip lock bag and refrigerate.

Carrots: Put carrots in a zip lock bag or any airtight container along with a paper towel and refrigerate it. This keeps the carrots fresh for at least three weeks. Keep changing the paper towel every week.

Onion and Garlic: Onion and garlic should be stored at the room temperature in a dark place. This prevents sprouting.

Potatoes: Put potatoes in a paper bag and store them away from onions in a dark place to prevent sprouting.

Ginger: Put ginger in a zip lock bag or any airtight container covering with a paper towel and refrigerate it to keep it fresh for at least three weeks or even more. 

Chilly: Put chilly in an air tight container along with a paper towel and refrigerate it. Make sure that a paper towel is kept at the bottom so that the water that settles inside the zip lock bag is aborbed.

Ladies finger:  Keep it in a zip lock bag along with a paper towel and refrigerate.

Coriander leaves: First remove any bad leaves. Cut the roots off from the rest and wrap it in a paper towel. Place it in an airtight container or a zip lock bag and refrigerate it. Make sure it is always dry. Keep changing the paper towel if necessary.

Curry leaves: Take all the leaves off the stem and put them in a container along with a paper towel and refrigerate it.

Broccoli and Cauliflower: Cover them with a plastic wrap and refrigerate. 

Spinach: Like all other greens, wash spinch in water-vinegar solution and dry it completely before storing. Wrap it in a paper towel and put it in a container or zip lock bag and refrigerate. This can keep it fresh for almost two weeks.

                               Let me know in the comment section how you store these fruits and veggies or if you want to know how I store other fruits and vegetables.

 

What to look for when buying jars and containers for kitchen.

1 Corinthians 13:4

                       

                       Two years back my husband and i moved to Coimbatore and as we were setting up the new house, buying jars and containers for my kitchen was something that i put at the bottom of my to do list. Who would even think of these little ones when you have the big budget stuffs like the sofa, dining table, fridge, washing machine, mixer, oven etc. Initially, the absence of these supporting actors in the film managing the kitchen went unnoticed, as i could easily manage the spices or flour straight out of the package they came in. I would seal the packet by tying a rubber band around the neck of the packet. Thanks to the Indian market where almost everything, from sugar to pulses, comes in the kind of plastic packet you get Cheetos in. And for the cooking oil, empty mineral water bottles did the job.Also i used clips to seal the opened bags. For those Indian women who are not familiar with these handy clips i add a picture below. Caution: These clips do not always give an air tight seal. 

                    Now back to the subject. Two months passed. I organized the cupboard once in every week, wiped the counter top every single night before i closed the kitchen. But every morning even after removing the items from the drying rack and placing them in their right positions i felt like the kitchen was still messy. Packets of spices (the Indian daily-used spices are countless :D) piled up on one side and two deformed plastic bottles, all covered in oil on the other side, ants marching in a perfect line into the cupboard where i have stored the flour and sugar very well secured with rubber band. I was curious to know what is so interesting in there for these hundreds of ants. My eyes followed their long queue to end in the sugar packet! The ants have put a hole on the packet to make the entrance to their heaven! So that is it. I checked the flour packets. Yes. As expected there they are, bathing in the ocean of fine pure powder. Do these ring a bell? Hmm..Finally i brushed the dust off from the long forgotten low priority, which is no longer low, list. On the list last but one item was the kitchen container set. By the way, last item was a new cover for my phone. So that was how i decided to get containers and oil dispensers for my kitchen.

Choosing the right container

                     
                    Properly storing oils, spices, flour, pulses, sugar and other similar items is very important. It not only makes your kitchen look well organised but also keeps the flavour intact and also preserves the food items from pests. Most importantly, not using the right container can cause many health problems. 

Are plastic containers good?

               When we think of containers, the first option that comes to our mind is mostly PET bottles or such plastic containers. They are lightweight, easily available and cheap. They come in microwave safe version making it easy to store and reheat the leftovers.

But have you ever wondered why your food tastes like plastic sometimes? Yes, you guessed it right. Plastic from the container does migrate to the food stored in it. Heating food in plastic containers seems to increase the amount that is transferred to food.

                    
                Using plastic containers to store food can lead to many serious health problems.  BPA or bisphenol A, a harmful chemical used to make certain plastics (Type 7 plastic with symbol 'PC' or 'other') seeps into the food stored in it leading to many health issues when consumed. It can disrupt the functions of hormones especially estrogen. Studies have showed that BPA has an adverse effect on the brain development of fetuses and young children. The European union and Canada have banned BPA use in baby bottles. PET (Type 1 plastic with symbol 'PET' or 'PETE') is also found to yield endocrine disruptors under conditions of common use. Type 2 (HDPE), Type 4 (LDPE) and Type 5 (PP) plastic containers are considered to be relatively safe for limited use as they are more stable (or release less chemical into food!).

              
                   How many times do you wash your plastic tiffin box after eating a spicy delicious biriyani out of it? Once?! Please do not lie. You wash it, smell it. Smells like biriyani. You wash it again, smell it. Smells like biriyani. The third time you wash it, smell it. 'Mmmm not much of that smell, bearable'. You leave it on the drying rack. Plastic can absorb traces of food which is why the smell or even the reason for the degradation of the flavour of spices which is stored in a plastic jar. So even after you wash three times, there is enough biriyani left on your tiffin box for  harmful bacteria to feed on! You don't want that.

 

Summary: I do not recommend plastic containers for kitchen. 

That's my old plastic container.

What about glass containers?

                One of the best choices of food containers is the glass containers. Glass containers not only add beauty to your kitchen but also they do not have a bad effect on your health. Glass is non reactive. So no fear of chemicals migrating into food. You can heat your leftovers safely in a glass container. Glass is also non porous which helps to keep the food fresh with flavours intact.  

           Today in the market we get glass containers in different shapes and sizes. My personal preference is a glass container with screw lid. I use them to store cookies, spices, flour etc. I feel like, with a screw lid, the container is completely air tight. I also prefer plastic or stainless steel lids to metal ones. Metal lids can corrode over time and get holes on them. Sometimes it's difficult to find a spare lid. When i use plastic lid i always see that the content of the jar doesn't touch the lid. 

  

Summary: I strongly recommend glass containers.

Are Stainless steel containers a good option?

   

            Yes they are. Stainless steel is also non reactive (be careful with acids though) and non porous like glass making it a good option to store food. It is light in weight compared to glass containers and easy to handle and clean.They can be put in freezer without hesitation.

                 Stainless steel oil dispensers are also available. Using glass oil dispensers is also a good option but be very careful. In case the oil drips and spreads on the bottle, there is a chance of bottle slipping off from the hand unless it has a silicon coating. So to be on the safe side you can use stainless steel oil dispensers. Be sure to get a wide mouthed dispenser for the ease of cleaning. The opaque nature of stainless steel also protects the oil from sunlight giving it a longer shelf life.  You can also store cookies or muffins in stainless steel containers so that kids can handle it safely.

If you need to store anything , for eg: rice, in bulk amount, big stainless steel containers are a good option.

             When using stainless steel containers be sure not store foods that are highly acidic.

Summary: I strongly recommend stainless steel containers.

Are there other options? 

           Another option available in the market is the ceramic containers. They are similar to glass. They are non porous, non reactive and very easy to clean. Ceramics are basically safe to store food. But usually ceramic wares are glazed and the only health concern about using these are the components that might come from the glazing like pigments, lead or cadmium.These materials are harmful when taken into the body, so the risk of them entering food is controlled during the manufacturing process. In Canada ceramic wares cannot be sold if it releases more than the allowed amounts of lead and cadmium. I am not aware of any other country having this strict regulation. So if your relative in Canada offers you a gift, you can undoubtedly ask for ceramics.  

              There are containers made from metals like aluminium and copper. I suggest not to store food in such containers as they are very reactive and corrode easily. It can mix with the food stored in it.

              Another option available in the market is the silicon made containers. But recent studies show that they are not leach proof either. 

Summary: I recommend ceramic containers which has no lead in it.

Conclusion

            My favorite is containers made of glass. They are simply pretty. Almost anything can be stored in it. It can be recycled and above all, i feel safe to store food in it.

               So that's it friends. I hope this article was helpful. Next time when your hubby tells you "What's the big deal about buying containers for kitchen?" , show him this post.   

Leave a comment. Tell me what i have missed out. Share with me how you store things in your kitchen.