Need help keeping them fresh
Jaysodd
Posts: 1
I have no clue if this is even the right place to post this,
My name is Jay and I travel the world for a living, I am currently based in Guatemala on Lake Atitlan, one of the cool things here is the many varieties and ways to buy fresh veggies, whats not cool however is how fast they go bad.
The house I am staying in has no power to it, it does have gas for the stove and refridgerator however so cooking is more then possible.
The issue is when I go to the market and buy all these great veggies, and then a couple days later they are a pile of rotten mush, My hope is someone here can give me some helpful hints. I have broken down the veggies and what happens and how I am handling it below
PINEAPPLE: This is not the greatest offender but sometimes when I get it home I notice the rings are dark around the outside edges, I am not sure if they are bad or not, i usually cut the rings and put them in a baggie and refridgerate them until eating
BANANAS: For these I have tried everything, I put them in the freezer and in 4 days they are frozen mush, leave them in the fridge and they go brown right away, leave them out with baggies wrapped around the stem, same deal, I make chocolate fruits so I need them to last at least a couple days.
ONIONS: I just recently started putting them in a bag hanging over my counter like a net, so far so good on that
PEPPERS AND TOMATOS: I noticed if i seal them in a bowl and DO NOT CUT them they last for days, if I leave them out they turn to mush
GREEN BEANS: I bought like three pounds of these last week and kept them in a bowl on my counter, some of them have turned bright purple, not even sure if they are still good to eat
CARROTS: For the most part these are pretty hardy guys, but the recent batch has started to get brown spots on the skin, again they are in a bowl on the counter
LETTUCE: It doesnt matter what I do with this, its usually shot in two days.
POTATOS: If I put them in a bowl the water turns brown, if I leave them out in the air they turn green, cant seem to win with these guys.
I know I am crying alot but even at these prices losing a load of veggies sucks, I am still trying to find a way to balance the amount I really need for a week,
I have started taking them home and cutting them fresh and sealing them in baggies as a mix, then I just get one out of the fridge and throw it in the pan, this seems to be working but I find I can only do about 4 days ahead
I have included a few pics for you gardeners, i hope this is the right place for help
BTW in Guatemala they do not know of such things as freezer seal bags, best I can find are sandwich baggies (bolsas)
Thanks for any help!
Posts
Hi Jay
What an adventure you're having.
As you're discovering, lots of fruit and veg don't keep long in the heat, but we'll try to help
Pineapple - I think you're doing the best thing with it - slice and core and keep it in it's own juice in a covered plastic box or dish in the fridge.
Bananas go brown in the fridge - just keep them somewhere cool and don't wrap them. You can freeze bananas if you're going to make smoothies or milkshakes with them or bake them in a cake. When you use them don't thaw them, peel and chop and put in the blender.
Peppers and tomatoes you seem to be doing fine with. Or they could go in the salad drawer of a fridge. But whole, not sliced.
Green beans will keep whole in the salad drawer of your fridge. If they're turning purple they're just ripening - some varieties do that - nothing to worry about.
Carrots - can you get any sand - you can keep them in a cool place in a box of dry sand. Otherwise just put them in a cool dark place. If they have dark spots just cut these out when you prepare them.
Lettuce doesn't keep long once harvested but the best thing to do is cut across the base of the stem and put it in a bowl with a little water in the bottom and keep it in the fridge. Don't have your fridge turned down too cold ... 4C is fine.
Potatoes - just keep them in a thick cloth sack or box in a cool DARK place. As you have discovered if they are in even a small amount of light they photosynthesise and produce chlorophyll and turn green. Green potatoes are poisonous - do not eat them. Prepare them as you need them. Do not keep in water.
The best thing you can do is to leave your fruit and veg whole and prepare it only when you're going to use it - and in warm climates shop at least twice a week, or daily if you can.
Hope that helps.
Enjoy
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
If asparagus goes flabby, cut a bit off the ends and put them in a glass of water like a bunch of flowers and they will become fine again.
Dove, funny how we take things for granted, put the fruit in a blender, very easy for us, just plug it in!!
Well, if he has a fridge he must have access to electricity - even with a generator - or solar powered
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Wrap lettuce in kitchen foil and put in fridge - will last for at least a week depending on variety (iceberg lettuces will last for 2 weeks like this).
Hi
if you have the time shop daily and you will not waste food and you will buy it fresh always
The great thing about having access to fresh fruit and veg is to buy it and eat it in variation daily
enjoy
don't think there's an electricity supply where he lives - just LPG - which means you can have a cooker and a fridge, just as you would here in the UK in a touring caravan.
In my student days, before I had a fridge, I used to keep lettuce fresh by cutting the base off the stem and putting the whole lettuce in a saucepan with a little cold water in the bottom, and the lid on.