Veggie Storage Tips

Image by Michelle Millum

Several people this week asked me how they should be storing their veggies to keep them their best, so here are my tips and tricks to do just that.

First, some general advice. The fridge is a very dry environment and most veggies will have all their water sucked out of them very quickly, particularly the softer leafy items. In general, try to keep most things isolated from the air in the fridge by storing them in zip lock bags, or draws designed specifically for veggies. A couple of members have even reported that their delivery box fits right on a shelf in their fridge and works great to keep the produce fresh.

Here are some more specific points.

Leafy greens such as spinach, chard, kale, collards, cilantro, lettuce, bok choy, green onions, etc

Almost all leafy greens should be kept in a bag or Tupperware, even if they’re inside a fridge drawer to keep them at their freshest for longest. I keep a supply of ziplock bags that I wash and reuse over and over again and if I bag-up these vegetables as soon as I get them home from the farm they can stay crisp and crunchy for 7 or 8 days in the fridge, whereas loose in that dry environment they will shrivel up in as little as 24 hours.

Cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, beets, Leeks & zucchini

These hardier veggies will stay fresh for 3 or 4 days loose in a fridge drawer, but if you plan to keep them any longer than that you should also bag or box them. Cabbage is a bit of an exception because the outer leaves will keep the inner leaves fresh for weeks in the fridge, so even if you don’t bag it up, you’ll be able to just peel off the outer couple of layers and it will be perfectly fine underneath.

Peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, melons

These items don’t even need to be kept in the fridge if you’re planning on using them within 3 to 4 days. Eggplant may actually keep better on the counter than the fridge because if it’s in a particularly cold spot it can develop a sort of fridge burn, which turns it brown in places that begin to rot very quickly. However, like other fruits, these items will continue to ripen on the counter, so if you want to keep them longer term, they will need to be put in the fridge in containers to stop them drying out.

Pumpkins and Winter Squash

As long as the skin of these amazing vegetables has been well cured in the sun, they will keep for months on the counter top, all the while developing a deeper and richer flavor. The thicker the skin, the longer they will last, so a butternut might be okay for 2 to 3 months, while an acorn squash or pumpkin can go for as long as 6 to 8 months! Once they have been cut open, if you’re only using part then the remainder will have to be kept in the fridge to stop mold developing, but in a vegetable drawer they will last several more weeks.