Sometimes, it’s hard to use up vegetables before they get old. However, not only is minimizing food waste essential for the environment, but it also makes good financial sense. Over the years, we’ve discovered some clever tricks to prolong the freshness of our vegetables. In this article, we’re excited to share our best hacks with you.
Give Baking a Shot
Ever found yourself with vegetables that have lingered in the fridge a bit too long and are starting to lose their luster? Don’t fret; baking can come to the rescue. By baking these vegetables, you can effectively extend their freshness for a few more days. This allows you to incorporate them into your meals before they go to waste.
The Power of Blanching
Blanching is another excellent technique for extending the lifespan of your vegetables, much like the baking method we just discussed. Blanching is scalding/cooking vegetables in hard boiling water for a short amount of time. It is typically followed by quick cooling in very cold or ice water. Blanching stops enzyme and bacterial activity. These enzymes otherwise cause loss of flavor, color, and texture.
Use your freezer and cooling wisely
A cold temperature slows down just about anything. This also goes for our vegetables, so keeping them in the fridge can be a good idea. However, this is not the case for every vegetable. Tomatoes, as an example, will lose their structure and taste if they’re kept too cold. This is also why most tomatoes sold in the West are relatively tasteless compared to the Mediterranean.
The freezer is extremely cold, it will break the structure of most vegetables, so that’s the downside, but it can be effective in keeping things you want on hand fresh, examples follow:
- Chili peppers
- Lemongrass (and leaves)
- Peas
- Fresh herbs like Rosemary and Thyme can handle the freezer fairly well. It even makes stripping the leaves from the twigs later easier.
These simple yet effective strategies will help you make the most of your vegetables, reducing food waste and keeping your wallet happy.
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