Soft veg storage

frugglewump

I am tired of throwing away soft veg after a week - we can't even compost it as the landlord has paved over all the garden bar 2 paving stones worth. I know the usual stuff about storing in a cool dark place but that's not possible in this flat - top-floor 2 bed flat, with no garage or airing cupboard.

Potatos seem to be ok in one of those stackable plastic thingys, onions & peppers do ok loose in the veg box of the fridge. The problems are mushrooms, tomatos, spring onions and lettuce. Under clingfilm in the fridge they get loads of condensation and go icky, without clingfilm in the fridge they shrivel. Stored outside the fridge they go moldy practically overnight. I must be missing something obvious.

It was never a problem when living with my parents as they didn't last very long. I buy loose tomatos & spring onions to reduce the amount, but the loose mushrooms are moldy the next day and there's only one size of lettuce.

I feel stupid.

Magentasue

I keep as much of that sort of stuff as I can, in the fridge. I do have this in the salad box which helps. I take it out every week or so and there's often water underneath it. Just washes out and dries on the line or over a radiator. Apart from that, I get rid of plastic and don't use cling film. Good old Lakeland!

frugglewump

Magentasue wrote:

Good old Lakeland!

Yes I keep reading things about lakeland. For somewhere that is allegedly in london there is nothing of any use in uxbridge - especially without a car.

Savvy_Sue

frugglewump wrote:

Yes I keep reading things about lakeland. For somewhere that is allegedly in london there is nothing of any use in uxbridge - especially without a car.

But Lakeland do mail order ... and you are bound to find a few more things you would like to order at the same time!

Magentasue

Savvy_Sue wrote:

But Lakeland do mail order ... and you are bound to find a few more things you would like to order at the same time!

Have never found it to be difficult finding things I'd like to order from Lakeland, on the contrary ...

AussieLass

Washed potatoes keep very well in the fridge. If you wash and pat dry your lettuce & store in between layers of paper towel in a container in fridge it also lasts for a while. I store my mushrooms in a brown paper bag (in fridge), that stops them sweating.
HTH

Magentasue

Paper bags are best but they're increasingly hard to find. Supermarkets don't have them, Aldi shrink wrap or plastic bag their stuff and even our market greengrocer has abandoned paperbags.

homersimpson_3

this may sound harsh but you can't expect salad items to last more than about 5 days. make up single portions of salad and put them in airtight sandwich bags if you have the money. if not make up a bowl of salad and put it in a salad spinner in the fridge with the lid left on. it stays nice and crisp for 5 days. tin foil (any cheap one) is better than clingfilm (no idea why)

pol

Mushrooms and spring onions will freeze very well, you can even chop the green tops of the onions first for using in soups. Lettuce will keep a little longer if you put it in a plastic/cellophane bag with a couple of sheets of kitchen roll and change them when they're wet. Tomatoes will stay dry if you lay them in a bowl lined with kitchen roll. Salad stuff will only keep fresh for about a week or so anyway, after that, most the vitamins will have been lost.

squeaky

I'm tending these days to have a feast or famine type thing with salads, and for veggies - if I'm fairly sure I'm not going to be able to use them all up before they get past their best I'll have a cook-in for the freezer and make up the soups and casseroles I was going to use them with anyway while the veg are still in good nick.

frugglewump

homersimpson wrote:

this may sound harsh but you can't expect salad items to last more than about 5 days.

I'd be happy with more than 2 days to be honest.

a salad spinner in the fridge with the lid left on. it stays nice and crisp for 5 days. tin foil (any cheap one) is better than clingfilm (no idea why)

Going by what i found googling a salad spinner is a plastic tub with a spining thingy in the middle? Looks like i could get away with tupperware (i need some more anyway for all the extra freezing i've been doing)