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I store my produce depending on what it is. I keep my potatoes under the sink near the baking pans so it's dark and cool. I keep my onions/shallots/garlic in another cabinet near my pans. I have a triple basket hanging thingie where I keep the rest of the produce like limes, tomatoes etc. Lettuces I buy in bulk so I just buy enough for that night dinner.
I keep all produce in the fridge except bananas , I even keep onions and garlic in the fridge. If I buy a cantaloupe I keep it on the counter a day or two before cutting it up, then it goes in the fridge.
Apples, Oranges, Limes, Lemons, and less perishable fruit - fruit basket on the counter, reminds me to eat more fruit. (I keep the overflow in the fridge)
Veggies - crisper drawer
I usually don't buy much produce at a time, I work within walking distance of a Whole Foods and a nice little organic produce market so I often zip over and pick up produce on my lunch hour or on my way home.
I think the biggest mistake people make with produce is putting tomatoes in the refrigerator. It ruins their taste!
Seriously!
They are kept cool, but not refrigerated at the grocery store. The boxes they are shipped in say "Do not refrigerate!" and sometimes "Refrigeration ruins the flavor!"
But in spite of that, a lot of people I know seem oblivious to the fact and just dump their tomatoes in the fridge, ignoring the fact that tomatoes have more flavor at room temperature, and that refrigerating them permanently changes their flavor... for the worse.
I only put tomatoes in the fridge if they are on the edge of going overripe and I can't use them right away, or if I have cut a few slices of a big beefsteak tomato for sandwiches and want to keep the rest for another day.
oh... I have whole system when it comes to store fresh produce. Those are the most popular:
- apples sealed and stored separately ( they produce ethylene gas )
- bananas, separated, way away from any other produce for the same reason ^^^
- tomatoes in cool, dry place, connected to the vine. They hate refrigerator!
- potatoes, cool dry place, away from onions!
- lettuce, washed and wrapped in paper towel, stored in a paper bag. Refrigerated( crisper)
- garlic, I separate the cloves - they last longer that way
- celery, washed, wrapped in paper towel, then in an aluminium foil, in the fridge (crisper)
- carrots, cut the green ends, wash, wrap in paper towel, then put in plastic zip. Also store in crisper.
- mushroom, unwashed, in paper bag and crisper.
- avocados, on the counter top till ripe, then in a paper bag in a crisper.
- bell pepper, use as needed then clean the rest, wash, and freeze.
- citrus fruit on the counter top, on a table platter, as a reminder to eat!
I like cold fruit, so all fruit but bananas are kept in the fridge. Lettuce, cucumbers, scallions, etc. - fridge, in the crisper. Tomatoes out. Potatoes and onions in the "kitchen", on the floor in an opaque reusable shopping bag. Garlic on the shelf - I use it up pretty fast.
Everything in fridge except:
Tomatoes (except maybe romas or tomatoes I'm going to use for cooking.)
Bananas.
Cantaloupe or melon.
Potatoes and onions.
I have a closet pantry with some baskets for storing potatoes, onions, and such. Grab and go fruits (apple, peach, orange, banana, etc) are kept on the counter and sometimes in a decorative bowl. This like berries are kept in the refrigerator.
I only buy what I'm planning on consuming in the next few days, because I live in walking distance to a produce store and two supermarkets. Bananas I buy enough for the whole week. They're ALWAYS green, I hate it, no matter where I get them from. Drives me nuts. They go on the counter, with one in a paper bag to ripen for the next day.
Tomatoes go on the counter until they're fully ripe (as in - one more day and they'll get mushy), or until they've been cut. Once they're fully ripe or been cut, they go in the fridge. Cut ones with saran, whole ones as is.
I buy Olivia's organic greens, they come pre-washed, ready to serve, in a sturdy plastic container. They go in the fridge.
Fruits always go on the counter til I either eat them, cut them, or toss them. If I cut a grapefruit in half, the other half goes on a plate, covered with saran, in the fridge.
Oddly, lemons and limes I keep out on a small teacup plate, even after I've cut them. It's a hold-over from my grandmother, who always kept a wedge of lemon out for her tea.
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