Store Your Food The Right Way, Keeping Them Nutritious & Healthy!

How should food be stored? In fact, for maximum retention of nutrients, fruit and vegetables should be labeled ‘handle with care’. It’s best to buy locally grown fruit and vegetables, which retain far more phytochmicals than anything that must travel a long distance to reach you. Opt for organic produce if you can; it is often grown in better soil, so it has a higher mineral content. Wash fruit and vegetables only when you’re ready to use them. That way, the protective oils and other barriers that lock in freshness will stay intact. Proper storage is important too. Many nutrients lie in or just beneath the skin, where light and heat can break them down, so eat the skins whenever possible.

Anyway, here are some tips on buying and storing your fresh ingredients:

These should be kept on cool benchtops:

• Avocados, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, melons,  grapefruit, nectarines, pawpaws, peaches and plums. Keep them in the coolest benchtop areas of the kitchen. Refrigerate only if fully ripened.
• Tomatoes. Never refrigerate unless you live in hot places or during very hot weather. Cold temperatures destroy the flavour and texture of the pulp. Instead place stem-side down away from direct sunlight.

These should be kept in the crisper drawers of the refrigerator (where it’s humid):

• Apples. Buy tight-skinned fruit and refrigerate in an open plastic or paper bag to stop ripening and prevent mushiness. Will keep for up to three weeks.
• Asparagus. Choose small stalks that are uniform in size so that they will cook evenly. Use within four days as asparagus loses its Vitamin C content fairly quickly, especially if stored at room temperature.
• Carrots. Store in a loosely sealed plastic or paper bag. Will keep for up to a week.
• Celery. Choose bunches without cracks in the outer stalks and only buy half bunches if they are freshly cut. Store in a plastic vegetable storage bag or lidded container for up to a week. Celeriac will keep in the crisper drawer for up to a week.
• Cucumbers. Store in the crisper section of the refrigerator or in a plastic bag. Do not store with other fruits as they will yellow and age more quickly.
• Fennel. Store tightly wrapped in plastic clingwrap. Best used with four or five days.
• Green beans. Store unblemished, unwrinkled beans for up to four days in a zip-top plastic bag.
• Lettuce. Keep lettuce away from all fruits. Apples for example, give off ethylene gas, which can cause brown spots on lettuce.

These should be kept in open shelves of the refrigerator (where there is more air circulation):

• Berries. Loosely cover with plastic or place the punnet in a paper bag. Use as soon as possible.
• Corn. Wrap unhusked ears in a damp cloth and use as soon as possible – within a day or two is best.
• Green, red and yellow capsicum. Keep in loosely sealed plastic or paper bags. Use within four days.
• Herbs. Wrap in a damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Herbs will keep for up to five days.
• Mushrooms. If you buy them packed in a container, remove the outer layer of plastic and wrap the container with paper towels. If you buy them loose, store them in a brown paper bag. Clean mushrooms by wiping them with a damp cloth or rinsing them quickly just before you use them.

These should be kept in a cool dark place, away from sunlight:

• Garlic. Store in a dry and ventilated area. Will keep for up to 10 weeks. When garlic sprouts it loses much of its pungency, but it’s still edible.
• Onions, potatoes and root vegetables. Store them in open baskets where circulating air will keep them fresh, preferably somewhere away from light.

This article is filed under Healthy Foods.