Tips and tricks to max out flavor and nutrients
Karla’s tips for storing produce will help you get the most out of your delicious, nutritious, fresh local produce.
On June 18th, she was asked to share her know-how on WTKR NewsChannel 3’s Coast Live.
Click here to watch Karla’s latest Coast Live interview
Karla shared some great tips and tricks for storing produce, including:
- Store tomatoes on the counter. They may last longer in the fridge, but the texture turns a little mealy. They’re also not as flavorful when they’re cold. But if you gotta chill ’em down, just give them time to warm up to room temp before you eat them. The flavor, if not the texture, will be almost as good as before.
- Wait to wash your produce until you’re ready to use it. The moisture and bruising that comes with washing will make the produce turn mushy and moldy faster.
- Avoid crowding. Fresh produce needs its space, especially fruits. Cramming them tightly together allows moisture to build up, and once again the produce will turn to mush more quickly.
- Feel free to freeze. Frozen produce lasts up to a year in the freezer, and hangs onto almost all of its original nutrients and flavor. Frozen blueberries make a great snack or addition to smoothies and pancakes. Simply wash them, let them dry, and store them in a single layer in a resealable bag. Then you can grab a handful anytime.
- Put stems in water. If your greens, herbs, or asparagas have started to wilt, cut off the tips of the stems and put them in a jar or vase of water. They’ll perk right up like a bouquet of flowers.
- Eat sweet corn right away. It’s best when eaten within a few days of harvest because it’s mostly sugar, so it breaks down fast into starch. You can tell when sweet corn is fresh-picked because the silk tassels are still green-gold and the husks are still green. It also has some weight to it because the kernels haven’t dehydrated yet.
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About Seasonal Roots
Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our neighborhood market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grass fed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.