storing fruit and veg

basil01_2

Thanks for your help.

It was the root mainstays, potatoes, onions etc I was thinking of.

freyasmum

Hiya,

Onions can last for up to six months if kept in the correct conditions; i.e, a cool, dark place

Potatoes should also be kept in a cool, dark place - sorry, don't know exact keeping times.

Other veg, in my experience, is best kept frozen. I think the longest I have kept carrots for is about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks, but they were very mouldy on the outside - beautifully fresh on the inside, but they just didn't look nice on the outside.

HTH, Lx

paddy's_mum

Onions are best strung in a cool, airy, dark place. You can string in the French onion-sellers traditional plait or place carefully into suitable containers. Old tights with a knot tied between each onion and then hung up on a nail does the job as do those orange knit nets that some oranges and suchlike come in.

Things like carrots, swede, celeriac can be stored in a dry medium such as fine sand, clean sawdust etc.

However, most veg (even from a good farm shop) have already been fairly well handled, both through the actual mechanics of harvesting and the sorting afterwards. I would be inclined to find other ways of preserving, such as home made soups (then freeze) freezing of prepared veg, pickles, chutneys etc - in short, all the old ways that your grandmother used.

shona_2

Hi
Can people tell me how they keep their vegetables after they've bought them so they don't go bad/sprout or whatever. We thought we were really smart building a cupboard into our new (IKEA!) kitchen to store them, but it must be too warm as everything has gone black/brown/ soft. Again.

Any suggestions would be welcome!
Many thanks
Shona

noonesperfect

Ideally, I would think, vegetables need to have air circulating, potatoes being the exception - best kept in dark to prevent sprouting of course. My mother always had a wire vegetable rack. And they still seem fairly commonplace.
I tend to keep veges in the fridge. If I've got a glut of anything (bar mushrooms) I keep it in "Stay fresh" bags from Lakeland (in the fridge).

shona_2

noonesperfect wrote: »

I tend to keep veges in the fridge. If I've got a glut of anything (bar mushrooms) I keep it in "Stay fresh" bags from Lakeland (in the fridge).

Thanks - very quick reply!

Do these work then? I did have carrots in the fridge, but so many things have to go in the fridge these days that you run out of space!!

I think our cupboards must be too warm - and as you say the air won't be circulating.

noonesperfect

Yes they do for most veges/unprepared salad. They seem a bit pricey but you can wash them out and reuse. I find the "middle" size are most useful.
Stuff doesn't last indefinitely, but much long than it otherwise would.

Seakay

Do you have a porch or other unheated room? This is as good if not better for most veg, and it also helps if things are in paper not plastic.

Sassamac

definitely keep it in the fridge. My parents store their fruit adn veg on the kitchen surface and Mum always complains about how manky it goes. They come to visit me every other Sunday and my Mum often brings her fruit and veg that needs eating, only to find lots in my fridge that was there on the previous visit.

susank

I bought the lakeland stayfresh bags and the sprouts I put in there on 22nd december as just as I put them in there - we have about 10 left!