01/12/2013
3 simple steps to keep your fruits and veggies fresh:
1. Chilling slows down the metabolic activity. Most fruits and vegetables store best at refrigerator temperatures of 30-40F / -1 to 4C. A few like it warmer: potatoes like 40-50F / 4-10C. Pumpkins, winter squash, and sweet potatoes like 55F / 13C, and tomatoes like room temperature.
2. Limiting oxygen reduces oxidation-tissue breakdown. This is most often accomplished by storing in an air-tight container. Place the fruit or vegetable in a plastic bag and gently squeeze out all the air before closing. Or vacuum seal: Close the bag except for a small space into which you insert a straw, use the straw to suck out all the air, quickly remove the straw and close the bag. If, however, the fruit isn’t completely ripe, you will want to allow it to be warm and breathe. Store ripening fruits at room temperature in a paper bag. Add a piece of already ripe fruit, such as an apple, which gives off ethylene gas.
3. Maintaining moisture avoids wilted and limp fruits and vegetables, most of which are 70 to 95 percent water. However, excess moisture can cause mold growth and rot. So remove excess surface moisture for example, with a lettuce spinner and then store in a tight plastic bag to avoid additional evaporation.
(http://www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/season/guide/general.html)
A Fruit and Vegetable Guide from the Simply in Season cookbook. World Community Cookbooks are a series of cook books developed by Mennonite Central Committee to bring together consumption and a concern for justice.
