Keep Fruits and Vegetable Fresher Longer

If you're looking to keep fruits and vegetables fresher longer, there are three words to keep in mind. Refrigeration, respiration and ethylene!

We all know about refrigeration. The refrigerator is where you find that puddle of rotting produce when you go looking for salad fixings for dinner! What you may not know is that there is a direct correlation between refrigeration and respiration. The colder the temperature, the slower your produce will "breathe", also known as respiration. But although you want to keep your fresh fruits and vegetables cold, you don't want to seal them in plastic bags. That stops respiration all together, and the decay process actually speeds up.

But with all this talk of refrigeration, did you know that there are some fruits and vegetables that should not be kept in the refrigerator? The fruits- including tomatoes, peaches, avocados, bananas, pears, nectarines, and plums, - do better out on the counter than in the refrigerator, especially until they are fully ripe. You can refrigerate them after they are ripe, but put them out to warm again before eating - to improve their flavor.

And the vegetables - winter squash, potatoes, garlic and onions - should be stored separately in a cabinet that is dry, cool and dark. All of this "cold sensitive" produce tends to dry out and lose its flavor if stored in the refrigerator.

Finally, we need to discuss the colorless, odorless gas known as ethylene. Given off by some fruits, ethylene speeds up the ripening process. It can also cause the early decay of vegetables that are sensitive to ethylene. You do not want to store fruits that give off ethylene in the same bin as fruits and vegetables that are sensitive to ethylene.

So, what can be stored together? For the most part, except for ripe bananas, tomatoes and watermelon, you are safe if you store fruit together in one crisper and vegetables together in a separate crisper. Tomatoes should be stored with the fruits, however, and ripe bananas and watermelon should be stored with the vegetables.

The fruits that give off ethylene include: melons (cantaloupe, honeydew), apples, figs, avocados, nectarines, pears, plums, peaches, tomatoes (which most people consider a vegetable) and unripe bananas.

The produce that is sensitive to ethylene (mostly vegetables) include: ripe bananas, cucumbers, carrots, Brussels sprouts, lettuce and other leafy vegetables, squash, parsley, peas, watermelon, peppers, cabbage, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and carrots.

Other tips for keeping produce fresher longer include picking up your produce last before you head to the checkout lane, and bringing a cooler to keep it in if you are going to be making several stops before going home. And don't do anything to your fruits and vegetables until you are ready to eat them. Washing them, or pulling off stems, will speed up the growth of microorganisms.

Last but not least, if you do find yourself with produce that is ripening more rapidly than you can use it up, think soup, sauces and pies!

A great soup recipe, called Garbage Soup, can be found at:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Garbage-Soup/Detail.aspx

Throw all those fruits together into this Mix and Match Fresh Fruit Pie:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1619,150170-235203,00.html

And here is a great pasta or primavera recipe using mixed vegetables:

http://italianfood.about.com/od/vegetablesauces/r/blr0024.htm

Sources:

"Spoiled Rotten" by Shelley Levitt - Optimum Wellness Magazine, August 2007

"Make It Last - Tips to keeping fruits and vegetables fresh", Be Well Stanford website,

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/gardening-article/make-it-last-tips-to-keeping-fruits-and-vegetables-fresh/521512