I have 5 of these fruit and produce keepers in my kitchen. Three large for produce and two others (large and medium I’d guess) for berries. I eat a lot of berries so the littler ones are consistently in use in my Fridge. Depending on what veg I have in the fridge and the timing of use etc. determines what veg goes into the larger veg containers.
I love these containers… My friend Marie told me about these containers originally. I was very skeptical since I’d tried a different brand of containers that didn’t do diddly. She heard the skepticism in my voice and ordered up a few for my Bday. Ok – I’ll try them, since they are here… Yeah – about a week later I’m online ordering more. Yep – they WORK. They will extend the life of your fruit and vegetables by about a week – if not more! I’m obviously telling everyone who will listen to me that these things work!
Financials : Cost of Food !
Everyone is being impacted by increasing food costs. This past year or two we have been experiencing the most inflation many of us can remember for a long long time. I’m a frugal gal – and I’m shopping the bargains (evermore!) and trying to plan my meals so that we can get through our fresh produce and fruits as to waste less. Better for our checking accounts – and better for the environment.
Environmental Impacts of Food Waste
Did you know that food waste is responsible for 8% of our overall global greenhouse gas emissions? To compare, cars and their emissions are estimated to be 12% of overall global greenhouse gas emissions. So food waste is a huge component. I didn’t know that previously… Because California has just instituted a new law that we must compost food waste so I’ve been learning more about it while I try to figure out how to best work through this in my kitchen…
Extending the Life of Food…
This is where these containers come into play. I swear that these containers keep my fruit and veg fresher by about a week – maybe more. One time we went on a trip – and I didn’t clean out the containers and I came home and most of the veg was still GOOD. I couldn’t believe it. Had I left the veg in the drawer I woulda found a puddle of decomposed ick. I even take these berry containers with us in my teeny tiny van fridge so … definitely worth the space !
What to watch out for
The first containers I’d bought have a green bottom separator that keeps the fruit / veg up off the bottom of the container (where condensation sits) and some of the newer ones I bought have instead these bubbles or ‘built in’ separators. I prefer the ones with the green bottom parts. Not entirely sure they work better or not – it’s just a preference of mine.
When you bring your containers out – and grab something to chop / eat – look to see if there is condensation in the container. I often use a kitchen towel and wipe out the lid and the sides of the container where condensation might be forming. Condensation 100% will cause spoilage of your fruits and veg so get it out of there !
Do not wash your fruits and veg until you are going to eat them. One pet peeve I have is when I pickup something at the grocery (i.e. Cilantro) and it’s soaking wet. If I put that into a bag and toss it into my produce drawer I’m guaranteed to have mush in about 2 days. You have to dry your veg / not wash your veg before putting into the fridge. Sometimes I’ll wrap my veg in a paper towel and then put it into a container… or even the drawer.
Drawbacks
There are a couple of drawbacks regarding these containers. They don’t generally fit all your veg. For example – a stalk of celery is much too big for these containers – my celery still goes into a paper towel and then is wrapped in Tin Foil. This keeps celery the best IMHO. A head of broccoli will not fit in a container – with much else. Not exactly an effective use. I don’t like putting a new fresh bunch of green onions into the container as they have to be curled or folded. So consider what you buy and what you are storing. I sometimes play tetris with my veg to pack them into my 3 containers… 🙂 But – it’s worth it!
I hope this helps someone extend the life of your fruits and vegetables! Let me know if you have any cost savings or food extension tips to share !