Crisper space - when you have too much produce

[Anna N]

Do you have any creative solutions for storing fresh produce when the crisper drawers are full? Shopping only once a week has presented quite a challenge with just a standard-size fridge with smallish crisper drawers.

I have had some success in putting fresh produce in zipper bags along with a paper towel or two and storing these on the shelf above the crisper drawers. I have wondered about using a large plastic box with a lid on that same shelf but it would seal all the air out - is this a good or bad idea?

Thank you

[ahr]

I stand my various lettuces, celery, asparagus, and similar vegetables capable of water uptake in the refrigerator door shelves, each in its own plastic bag, open at the top with an inch of water in the bottom. On the rare occasion that anything goes uneaten for a week -- I try to buy only what I need for the next day or two -- it stays absolutely fresh as new.

I hope this helps.

[fifi]

I don't do this often, usually only for big events, but when I have a lot of produce to deal with, I put the Igloo coolers to use. If you have those available they work quite well. I put those blue gel packs that you put in the freezer in there to add cooling. I put extra gel packs in the freezer to rotate them out.

[Pickles]

It's not necessary to put all fresh produce in the crisper, is it? Nah. I think it actually spoils some things faster. I put my cabbage, radishes, carrots, beets, etc. on the bottom shelf above the crisper. I cut up and prepare my radishes, celery, etc. for snacks and store them flat in the main part of the fridge in ziplocks or for easy grabbing. Lettuces I wash, and spin and then store loosely rolled in paper towels in ziplocks that I have punched some holes in---those go in the crisper. I have had older refrigerators get very temperamental on me, and when the fridge part is properly cold enough for other foods, my greens have sometimes frozen up on me. THAT is frustrating...losing food like that. So I am cautious with crispers.

[CompassRose]

Some things, the sturdier things, I put in a picnic cooler and store in my basement pantry.

However, it is VERY IMPORTANT, especially if some of those things are of the Brassica family, to REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE DOWN THERE!

There's nothing to match the experience of whipping open the cooler lid and encountering something that once was a broccoli.

[Hest88]

I wet my hand and flick the water into the plastic bag two or three times then tie off the bag. The trick, like the paper towel method, is to get just enough water in there to keep the veggies moist without so much that they'll rot.

[Pickles]

I dry my lettuce as much as possible. According to our little buddy Alton Brown..it's those droplets of water in the bags that manage to drip on the lettuce and cause the rot. Of course, I eat it so fast it doesn't have a chance...

[andiesenji]

This may seem a bit simplistic, but if you remove the crisper drawers, put a thick terry towel on the bottom of the fridge, you can get a lot more produce in that space, you just have to be sure and put the heavy stuff on the bottom.

[fifi]

Don't forget about the Evert Fresh bags. They really do work. There are also these little green disc things that I have gotten at Bed Bath & Beyond. You put the discs into the crisper drawer. They are particularly effective with lettuces and other greens. (No, I can't remember the name of them.) They do the same thing. They all have a catalyst that does away with the ethylene gas that causes veggies and fruits to ripen on the way to rotting.

Forgotten cabbage==>cooler to the dumpster. EEEW!

[Pickles]

remove the crisper drawers, put a thick terry towel on the bottom of the fridge, you can get a lot more produce in that space, you just have to be sure and put the heavy stuff on the bottom.

That'd be great exercise for me. I live in an old building...the floor tilts...and everything'd be rolling all over the floor everytime I opened the fridge door. I could be a Champion Casaba Chaser.

[winesonoma]

Buy a rabbit and store the produce in it for terrine de lapin mon oncle

Edited June 21, 2004 by winesonoma (log)

[fifi]

Buy a rabbit and store the produce in it for terrine de lapin mon oncle

That is the ultimate solution to the problem of prodigious amounts of produce.

That reminded me of the suggestion I made one time on the long running gardening thread. One of the posters was wondering what to do with prodgious amounts of basil. I suggested getting a lamb and feeding it up.

But, if your excess produce is turnips, I just might pass.

[jhlurie]

Don't forget about the Evert Fresh bags. They really do work. There are also these little green disc things that I have gotten at Bed Bath & Beyond. You put the discs into the crisper drawer. They are particularly effective with lettuces and other greens. (No, I can't remember the name of them.) They do the same thing. They all have a catalyst that does away with the ethylene gas that causes veggies and fruits to ripen on the way to rotting.

Yes, they do--although I think using them goes against the idea of keeping some water in the bag. For me, that's been the cause of the only serious rot I've ever seen inside these bad boys. The instructions on the packaging agrees with this--they talk about the fact that they bags inhibit moisture build up. To me, that means the reverse is true as well--any moisture you allow into the bag isn't going anywhere--so adding water is overkill (although I still have for herbs with intact roots--for example, cilantro--it seems to work for that).

I'm pretty sure that the bags don't work the same way as the discs though. The package for the bags basically says it allows the gasses released by ripening out through the bag. My memory of the packaging for the discs is that it actually metabolizes the ethylene, whereas the bags just vent it.

The discs never really seemed to work for me anyway. I think they require a nice airtight crisper drawer.

[fifi]

Jon... You are correct about the water thingy.

Yes... The discs require a pretty well sealed space. In such a drawer, I have kept tender salad greens at least three times as long as without the discs.

The Evert Fresh bags do have the catalyst impregnated in the plastic and the plastic breathes. So, in a way, they do act somewhat like the discs. But, they are not as dependent on a well sealed space. They also, because of breathability, prevent some of the moisture and condensation build-up. (I have to make a disclaimer here, though somewhat removed. My nephew has done lawyering for the guy that invented the Evert Fresh bags.)

[Richard Kilgore]

I use the disks and they do work well...about 3X as long, as Fifi said. Ihave been meaning to try the Evert Fresh Bags, but haven't gotten around to it. It's on my grocery shopping list now.

[Anna N]

This may seem a bit simplistic, but if you remove the crisper drawers, put a thick terry towel on the bottom of the fridge, you can get a lot more produce in that space, you just have to be sure and put the heavy stuff on the bottom.

Simplistic? If it works it's the best possible solution for me! My crisper drawers are so darned awkward that I am more than willing to give this a shot! Thanks.

[Anna N]

I am not saying they are right - I trust egulleteers more - BUT

the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated (August 2004) gives both the disc and the bags failing grades claiming that the discs don't do a thing and the bags buy you only a day or so.

I have tried the bags and I think they DO work and do buy me more than a day or so for greens.

[andiesenji]

I have never tried the greens bags, however when I have a lot of leafy greens from the garden, I wash them, then tuck them)5{-washed and bleached pillow case and place them on a plastic filing tray (just a grid, to allow air to circulate under the bag) on a middle shelf in the fridge (fridge has glass shelves.) I do dampen the bag with a spritzer if it dries out completely because of the fan in the fridge. They keep very nicely for at least three days.

For iceberg lettuce, I have an ancient Tupperware lettuce keeper with a spike in the bottom which keeps the lettuce crisp and good for a very long time. I had a larger no-name one that worked even better, but a friend "borrowed" it and it has yet to find its way home again.

Edited June 21, 2004 by andiesenji (log)

[kpurvis]

On the same idea as the pillow case, I have a cotton salad bag that I bought in a kitchen supply store somewhere along the way. It seems to work well. I wash the lettuce and shake it dry as soon as I get it home from the farmers market, then put it in the bag. The bag "breathes" but is also absorbs excess moisture, and since the lettuce is washed and ready to go, it's fast for making salads and sandwiches. I've kept lettuce for more than a week that way.

On a related note, though, a lot of the lettuce I buy in the farmers market now comes with the root attached. Has anybody noticed a difference in whether removing the root before you store effects the time the lettuce will keep? Common sense seems to dictate leaving the root on, and yet I've noticed that when I do, the leaves seem to get limp faster. After all, roots need to be in a growing medium and in my refrigerator, they aren't.

[fifi]

I am not saying they are right - I trust egulleteers more - BUT

the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated (August 2004) gives both the disc and the bags failing grades claiming that the discs don't do a thing and the bags buy you only a day or so.

Well... Being an SSB, you know I had to try a controlled experiment.

My refrigerator had two crisper drawers. For the discs, I moved everything else out of the drawers. I put mesclun, rinsed, in the usual bags (lightweight plastic so it would have some permeability) with the paper towels. I put a disc in one drawer and left the other without. The greens without the disc were brown mush within 5 days. The greens in the drawer with the disc were still good when I finally started eating on them and finished them up 12 days later.

For the bags, I removed everything from one of the drawers. I put the same mesclun (different batch though) into a regular bag and an EvertFresh bag. (Yes, I should have kept them in separate drawers but I had other stuff I had to store at the time.) As I recall (my notes aren't as clear as they should be) the mesclun in the normal bag went maybe 6 days while the EvertFresh bag went maybe 10. I concluded that the results weren't identical to the disc for several possible reasons: The presence of the EvertFresh bag in the same drawer may have extended the life of the mesclun in the regular bag a little. The EvertFresh bag may not be quite as effective as the disc but still good. The variablilty could be due to the fact that this was a different batch of greens.

The tests were not as well controlled as they should have been but I only took as much trouble as I was willing to at the time. But, this little exercise confirmed to me that what I had been seeing anecdotally was in fact true. My stuff kept longer. In a crisper drawer of mixed veggies and fruits, the results will vary quite a bit because different things emit ethylene gas at different rates. And, at some point, the catalyst poops out. I have access to some catalyst experts and intend to pick their brains to find out what the stuff is and how long it should last under those conditions.

(Yes... I keep notes on this sort of thing. I have a "Journal of Interesting Phenomenon". I just finished writing up the exploding carnitas. Chalk it up to SSB weirdness. )

[andiesenji]

On a related note, though, a lot of the lettuce I buy in the farmers market now comes with the root attached. Has anybody noticed a difference in whether removing the root before you store effects the time the lettuce will keep? Common sense seems to dictate leaving the root on, and yet I've noticed that when I do, the leaves seem to get limp faster. After all, roots need to be in a growing medium and in my refrigerator, they aren't.

Two or three years ago I used to shop at the Farmers Market in Woodland Hills, CA. on Fridays, and one vendor sold lettuce, looseleaf, butter or Bibb, Romaine and oakleaf, with the root attached and wrapped in wet newspaper. He said to set the head lettuces in a shallow bowl of water and cover it loosely with a plastic bag but not close the bag, just invert it over the lettuce, and with the longer leaf lettuce place it in a taller, narrower bowl as one would a boquet of flowers and also cover with the plastic bag. These kept very well, on the counter, without refrigeration (but in an air-conditioned house) much longer than cut lettuce would keep.

I no longer work Fridays so have no occasion to drive the 70-some miles down below and we have no Farmer's market here, at least for now. We do have an excellent produce market but this is not like independent vendors.

I gathered quite a bit of purslane this morning and have it in a vase next to the sink. This is one of the large leaf varieties and behaves much like any succulent, drinks water like a camel but it does stay fresh much longer this way.

[kpurvis]

Thanks, Andie. I'll try that.

[Anna N]

... I have access to some catalyst experts and intend to pick their brains to find out what the stuff is and how long it should last under those conditions.. ..

Interesting experiment and so long as it works for you - it works. I have never seen the discs spoken of so I can't say anything about them.

Zeolite is the active ingredient that neutralizes ethylene according to the same issue of CI (August 2004).

[Toliver]

Interesting experiment and so long as it works for you - it works. I have never seen the discs spoken of so I can't say anything about them.

Here is a FAQ page from the maker of the green discs. According to their info, Potassium permanganate is the ingredient that takes care of the ethylene gas.

The price listed on the page for a set of four disks is a little more expensive per disk than buying the disks individually in your local Bed, Bath & Beyond store (which is where I found them). But if you have no other source, then it's a good deal, I guess.

I just Googled "Potassium permanganate"...wow, that's some dangerous stuff! No wonder there's a California Prop 65 warning (hazardous materials) posted on Amazon's page about the disks (they no longer sell them so I won't post a link...you can find the expired page by doing a Google search).

One interesting side effect from prolonged exposure to the chemical: fixed facial expressions.

[Anna N]

I have been putting some of the suggestions in this thread to the test. So far, a thick terry towel on the bottom of the fridge, careful packaging of produce and stacking so that the heavier items are on the bottom is working very well. My crisper drawers were so small that even a long cucumber would not fit and forget completely a bunch of celery.

I have some kale in a vase on my counter and will test that out - have to say - it looks wonderful and I might adopt the idea for decorative purposes! Much cheaper than cut flowers.

Thanks so much for all the suggestions. Don't know what I would do without all of you.