frugalraw

Proper treatment and storage of raw and living foods is critical in keeping your lifestyle successfully frugal.  I have often heard people, especially singles, say that their produce goes bad on them before they use it all.  There are two basic principles to bear in mind with regard to the raw and living foods lifestyle:

1.                              When purchasing time-sensitive raw fruits and vegetables such as some greens, tomatoes, bananas, peaches, etc. buy only what you will use within 3 or 4 days. 

2.                              Store each item properly.  Below are my recommendations for maximizing the shelf life of your raw and living foods:

1. Bananas:  Store at room temperature only if planning on eating fresh.  Refrigeration will turn the peels black.  Don’t bother with the banana stands – I once had an entire bunch that committed mass suicide on one and had to use the lot of them in smoothies!  Instead, store on a dry shelf or in a colander to allow for air flow.  Prime time for eating bananas is when they just begin to freckle.  If freezing for ice creams or smoothies, peel and cut them up beforehand and store in a freezer-safe container to avoid freezer burn.
2. Peaches, Plums, Nectarines, and other pitted thin-skinned fruits:  Store at room temperature, and rotate daily if kept in a bowl, basket, or colander.  These can also be prepped (stones removed and cut up) and frozen if placed in proper containers.  These fruits will ripen quickly and consequently have a higher spoilage rate, hence the need for rotation.
3. Grapes:  Always in the refrigerator, and preferably in a crisper drawer.  They will dry out easily and begin to shrivel if left sitting in the open air.
4. Lemons/Limes:  Store in the refrigerator.  They will keep longer and won’t dry out as fast.  Before cutting, press and roll the fruit on a hard surface to break up the juice cells.  If zesting, do so prior to cutting and juicing.
5. Oranges/Grapefruits/Tangerines:  Store at room temperature and keep well ventilated to allow them to continue to ripen.
6. Melons:  Are fine at room temperature until serving.  Watch for any development of weak spots in the rind.  Once cut open, they must be refrigerated.
7. Tomatoes:  NEVER refrigerate tomatoes if you can avoid it.  Tomatoes lose flavor and become mealy and unappetizing when refrigerated.  Instead, store them in a cool, dry place at room temperature and cut up or prepare only what you will realistically use that day.  Buy ripe tomatoes in small quantities, and a few less ripe for later in the week.
8. Lettuces:  Buy by the head, not the bag – and wash it as soon as you get it home. Leave it in whole leaves or tear it into salad and spin it predominantly dry before putting it away.  Lettuces that have been broken up for salads can be stored in Ziploc-style baggies in the refrigerator – air tightness is key.  Leaves are best stored in oblong sealable plastic containers wrapped in a clean kitchen towel to reduce moisture.
9. Greens (collards, kale, spinach):  Store in airtight containers or leave produce bagged and in crisper drawers to avoid wilting/drying leaves.  I use collards most often for veggie wraps, so as soon as I bring them home, I like to wash each leaf and store them with paper toweling between the layers of leaves in a large plastic container in the fridge.  This really speeds up making meals of tacos, veggie wraps, dolmas, and the like when you don’t have to wait for your wraps to dry! 
10. Mushrooms:  Best stored in the refrigerator in brown paper sacks.  If bought in a cello pak, remove them from it and pace into a paper sack.  Too much air will cause them to wrinkle and dry, and too much moisture will cause them to sour and mold.  The paper sack will equalize their environment for a maximum shelf life.
11. Onions/Garlic/Potatoes/Yams:  Are best stored dry.  I keep mine in wicker baskets on shelves in my kitchen.  Leftover onions are put in Ziploc-style bags or air-tight containers and refrigerated.  Do not place onions on the top shelf of the refrigerator, as the high water-content of onions will cause them to freeze.
12. Peppers:  Keep them in plastic bags and store in crisper drawers.  These also have a high moisture content, so store cut peppers in the same fashion as onions/garlic.
13. Ginger root, Carrots, Parsnips:  Refrigerate to keep them from getting limp and dried out. I prefer to keep my ginger root in the closed butter keeper shelf in my fridge door. Carrots and parsnips I place in the crisper drawers.
14. Avocados:  Store at room temperature.  Avocados ripen best when not in the refrigerator.  If you happen to cut an avocado open before “its time,” close it back up and place it in a brown paper sack for a couple of days.  If you only use a half, “paint” the exposed flesh with raw mayo and store in an airtight container to retard discoloration.  When selecting avocados, grasp the fruit firmly and press on the stem end with your thumb.  A ripe one will be firmly soft – not mushy.  If the sides give easily, it is too ripe. 
15. Salads:  Are best stored separately as components in air-tight containers.  If making a tossed-type of salad, only take from the containers what you are going to realistically use for that meal.  You can always toss up a little more in seconds if you need to.  For non-tossed salads, build them directly onto each serving plate from the separate components.
16. Sprouts:  After successfully sprouting seeds, grains, or beans, dry them and place in air-tight containers (I use zip-loc type bags) in the refrigerator if you are not going to use them immediately.  They will (in some cases) continue to mature but at a slower rate.  Always smell them before use.  If they have a sourness or acridity to them, do not use, as they have gone rancid due to improper rinsing/drainage during the sprouting phase, or they have been merely kept too long.
17. Nuts:  Dry nuts can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated.  I prefer to keep mine in an old bread box.  Soaked nuts can be drained and stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator for a few days prior to use. 
18. Young Coconuts:  ALWAYS store in the refrigerator.  Leaving them out will accelerate spoilage.  When purchasing, take care to look for spots of mold on the outer husk. If molding, do not buy.  Young coconut flesh will vary in color from a translucent jelly-like pinkish-beige to purple, to full-on white as it begins to mature and the flesh thickens.  If grey and malodorous, do not use, as it has gone rancid.      
19. Mangoes:  Store well in or out of the refrigerator.  I have bought these cheaply by the case, and have successfully stored some for up to a month in my refrigerator.  Look for fruits that have deep color, firm, smooth skin, and only a faint softness.

Tomorrow I’ll let you in on a few of my shopping tricks and tips!  See you then! 

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