Good morning beautiful people, I hope you’re all doing well! Happy Saturday 🙂

I recently shared, over on my IG and FB stories, some info about how I wash and store fresh produce to save time and make them last longer. Many asked for more info so here it is!

Cleaning and Storing

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First, before putting anything away, I organize and clean all my produce. This may take a while – until you get the hang of it and find a system that works for you – however, it’s a big time saver in the long run.

Plus, there’s the added benefit of storing everything clean and ready to consume!

I start by filling a few bowls and / or the sink with tepid water and add a tablespoon of sea salt in the bowls and a handful in the sink. Allow to dissolver and add produce.

NOTE: bicarbonate of soda or white vinegar work well instead of salt here too!

Hard-skinned fruit and veg: for most citrus fruit, broad beans, bananas etc. I do not bother soaking; due to covid (and my OCD) I do often wipe them down a bit but that’s it.

However, I tend to add lemon with skin on to my water / drinks, in juices and use the rind in cooking so I do soak my lemons as I would any other fruit and veg that we consume with skin on. (See below)

Other fruit and veg: I like soaking my fruit and veg individually. Apples in one bowl, pears in the next, peppers in the next and so on. This helps if any produce do have any harmful bacteria, it is not transferred to the next item and so on.

However using the sink is fine also. I tend to place all my veggies and greens in the sink – this saves a lot of time and effort!

Herbs: soak your herbs as you would anything else. Make sure you dry them VERY well afterwords though.

Allow fruit and veg to soak for approx 15 mins. You can do this for longer of course but 15 mins is enough.

Do dry off produce using clean cloths before storing in fridge or on counter tops – moisture may increase chance of developing mould. If you dry them off well, it will not be an issue.

I often add a dry kitchen towel in my fruit and veg drawers to make sure there’s no excess moisture.

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Salad leaves: line your containers with paper napkins when storing leafy greens. This helps keep them dry and fresh for up to a week. It makes a huge difference!

Washed veggies: once washed and thoroughly dried, store your veg in the veggie drawers at the bottom of the fridge or on the bottom shelves.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, squash, garlic, onions, stone fruit (peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots) and pineapple do not need to be refrigerated (when whole).

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Herbs: Many herbs last longer if kept in water (as you’d keep flowers) in the fridge. These include parsley, dill, mint and basil.

On the other hand, chives for example must be kept as dry as possible – so wash, dry, wrap in paper towels, then in a plastic bag / container and in the fridge.

That’s it from me for today – I’ll be back with a new blog post Every Single Saturday 🙂

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Thank you for taking the time to be here and read this ❤️

Until next week, be well xXx