5 Methods to Keep Your Veggies Fresh Longer
Heading to the grocery store (or, even better, a nearby farmer’s market) to select some fresh, ripe produce is an exhilarating summer activity. With the warm weather, strolling through a farmer’s market can be particularly delightful, as many are situated outdoors. Yet, the challenge with purchasing fresh, organic produce lies in its tendency to wilt and lose nutrients and flavor quickly.
Fortunately, we're here with some strategies to help you savor your fresh produce for an extended period. Explore these five tips for prolonging the freshness of your vegetables:
1. Refrigeration Method
Many people believe that simply putting vegetables in the refrigerator ensures fresh veggies at hand anytime, anywhere. However, proper vegetable storage in the refrigerator requires some attention to detail, as incorrect methods can lead to rapid spoilage. Each time you stock up on veggies, the tricky part is preserving leafy greens. Many have encountered similar frustrations where leafy greens turn rotten in the fridge overnight. The solution is quite simple.
The correct method is: Do not wash the vegetables! First, remove any rotten or dirty leaves, then wrap them in absorbent cotton cloth, place them in a sealed plastic bag, and refrigerate.
This method can also be used for storing potatoes, carrots, bok choy, kale, broccoli, and more.
Two reminders: Always spread out bunched vegetables; otherwise, those in the middle cannot dissipate heat, leading to quick spoilage and contamination of surrounding vegetables. Additionally, some vegetables have high water content, so let them air-dry a bit before refrigerating.
If you don't have highly absorbent cotton cloth at home, you can use kitchen paper towels instead. Unlike regular tissue, kitchen paper towels are thicker and highly absorbent, ensuring vegetables stay dry without losing moisture.
2. Sun-drying Method
Sun-drying is suitable for vegetables with low water content. Exposing them to sunlight quickly dehydrates them, extending their shelf life. Vegetables suitable for sun-drying include mushrooms, bamboo shoots, sweet potatoes, eggplants, green beans, coriander, and more.
For example, mushrooms contain rich vitamin D, and after sun-drying, their nutrients not only remain intact but may even increase. Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the body, making it an essential nutrient.
Furthermore, during sun-drying, mushrooms accumulate a large amount of guanosine monophosphate, the main source of their umami flavor, which is dozens of times stronger than ordinary monosodium glutamate (MSG). The image below shows mushrooms dried for a week; soak them in water before consumption for a taste even fresher than fresh mushrooms.
It is important to choose a good weather period for sun-drying vegetables to quickly dehydrate them under the sun, retaining more nutrients.
3. Freezing Method
Some say frozen vegetables lack the nutrition of fresh ones, but if you buy a lot of vegetables, the nutrients in fresh vegetables may be lost during storage. Conversely, by correctly freezing vegetables suitable for freezing, you can enjoy a longer shelf life and more nutrients.
After thawing, frozen vegetables retain their original color, and aroma, and taste almost perfectly. Suitable vegetables for freezing include peas, leafy greens like amaranth and water spinach.
Freezing vegetables essentially involves killing microbes and enzymes. In the freezer at minus 18°C, there is no chance for food to spoil. If stored properly, frozen vegetables can last for six months to a year, not just one month.
4. Planting Method
Nowadays, vegetables are relatively expensive, and some even cost more than meat. Learning to grow vegetables at home allows you to eat harvest after harvest, saving money and ensuring food safety. Don't think that growing vegetables is difficult; here's a convenient and simple method that everyone can use. Don't throw away the roots of leftover vegetables. Plant them in flowerpots or soak them in water bottles, and soon you'll have a new crop of vegetables. Suitable vegetables for this method include celery, scallions, ginger, and bok choy.
This planting method not only preserves vegetables but also allows them to grow again, a delightful surprise. It's worth noting that, under normal circumstances, watering once a day is sufficient, but if the environment is dry, water twice a day, and remember to spray water on the leaves.
5. Soaking Method
If you want to minimize trips outdoors and need to stock up on vegetables, you need to buy more, but the refrigerator has limited capacity. Additionally, some vegetables have strong odors, like garlic chives and scallions, or high water content, like lotus roots. How do we store these vegetables? Let me tell you another great preservation trick.
Some vegetables can be stored by soaking them in water. Let's take garlic chives as an example.
Remove any rotten leaves from the garlic chives, then place them in a clean small bucket, add water, just enough to cover the roots of the garlic chives; the water level should not be too high. This way, the garlic chive roots can absorb moisture, and the chives can stay fresh for up to ten days, maintaining their lush green color and growing taller.
When soaking garlic chives in water, remember to change the water frequently. If the weather is hot, change the water daily to maintain its freshness. With this handy trick, garlic chives can be stored for a longer time. You can also directly soak garlic in cooking oil, and then scoop out a spoonful directly when cooking.
Storing vegetables requires attention to detail, but if stored properly, they can last a month without spoiling. This not only prevents vegetable spoilage and loss but also makes cooking more convenient, eliminating the need for frequent grocery shopping.