Strategies For Developing A Plastic-Free Refrigerator
Notoriously quick to wilt and rot, leafy vegetables will keep fresh for pretty much per week when stored properly-and the easiest method to do this doesn’t involve just one plastic bag. Besides as being a significant type of pollution on the planet and oceans, plastic doesn’t break lower. Not just that, but BPA-the toxic chemical present in plastic, can leach out into our produce-eventually making its distance to our physiques.
What’s promising? There’s more awareness than in the past about plastic’s impact on our food, therefore the real challenge is deciding which other storage choice to choose. Never fear, looking after your vegetables plastic-free is straightforward, easy, and budget-friendly as well.
Here’s how you can store your vegetables without plastic, to ensure that scrumptious farmer’s market haul doesn’t be wasted. (Out on another miss our complete help guide to zero waste home items.)
Cloth Choices for Plastic-Free Food Storage
Multiple-use organic cotton bags have grown to be a well known plastic alternative for purchasing and storing produce along with other food products, since they are extremely effective. These cost-effective bags are simple to store inside your grocery totes or handbag for immediate access, and they’re also pretty awesome to keep food fresh sans plastic.
Listed here are a couple of sustainable choices:
ORGANIC COTTON BAGS
Lightweight, versatile and sturdy, cotton produce bags like Ecobags are ideal for food shopping and food storage in your own home, especially because of the drawstring. Rely on them while walking the aisles and select your produce-but they’re not suggested to keep vegetables fresh within the fridge.
CLOTH MESH BAGS
Like the organic cotton bag, this mesh version has large woven perforated holes to permit ventilation. Again, these are a good choice for transporting leafy vegetables in the store for your fridge-but they’re not suggested for storage. However, you can hardier produce during these!
FRENCH TERRY BAGS
Vejibags constitutes a french terry cloth bag that’s a plastic-free alternative to keep leafy vegetables crisp and flavorful. The Swag is yet another brand we like for unbleached and unseeded machine-washable produce bags. Simply run the bag underneath the faucet to have it moist, then store your produce inside for ultimate freshness through the week.
FUROSHIKI KITCHEN TOWEL
A kitchen area miracle, the Furoshiki kitchen towel is really a sturdy cloth towel designed to replace single-use products inside your kitchen. Apply it cleaning, being an apron, or storing produce within the fridge. It’s well suited for overall bread and sandwiches too.
OTHER PLASTIC-FREE FOOD STORAGE OPTIONS
Stainless or glass containers
Beeswax wrap
Multiple-use Ziplocs/storage bags (like Stasher bags)
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How you can Store Leafy Vegetables Without Plastic
Leafy vegetables-including lettuce, arugula, mustard vegetables, dandelion vegetables, watercress, green spinach, kale, chard, and cabbage-would be best stored in the loosely closed bag or sealed glass container, uncrowded and totally dry.
To organize:
Remove all stems, twist ties, rubber bands, along with other packaging products.
Wash your produce completely. Besides a great wash clean off any dirt or debris, it rehydrates your vegetables to keep them crisp.
Once you wash your vegetables, permit them to dry completely-moisture will encourage wilting. Make use of a salad spinner (such as this one) or air dry your veggies before storing them.
Then, select from among the three options below for storing.
Option one: Wrap your lettuce loosely inside a tea towel or bento cloth and tie a knot to shut. Don’t pack the vegetables tightly (provide them with room to breathe), as that induce these to rot. Once wrapped, put it inside a glass food storage container inside a cooler a part of your fridge, just like a crisper or for the back. This is not merely preserves your lettuce but additionally keeps it fresh.
Option two: Put your washed and dried vegetables inside a loosely sealed multiple-use food storage bag. Again, provide some room and make certain the foliage is completely dried before storing. As with method one, you’ll wish to ensure that it stays inside a awesome place inside your fridge.
If you are using Vejibag or even the Swag bag, you are able to rinse and get rid of the vegetables-you don’t need to dry completely. Store them moist within the refrigerator for ultimate freshness.
Option three: Freeze your vegetables! In case your CSA box included enough arugula to last until next summer time, consider freezing your vegetables to secure the freshness and flavor. Here’s how:
Blanche the vegetables by getting a pot water to some moving boil. Then use tongs to place vegetables inside, one at a time.
Boil for a maximum of thirty seconds and add these to a bowl of ice (this shocks them and keeps them from wilting).
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Totally dry the vegetables inside a colander and pat gently having a towel.
Roll them up right into a ball, wrap them tightly in beeswax wrap, after which transfer these to the freezer for 2 to 3 minutes.
After they have frozen, you are able to transfer these to a multiple-use food storage bag and then leave them within the freezer until the next meal.
While you might not desire to use frozen lettuce to organize the next salad, this process is ideal for preserving vegetables to make use of in soups and stews through the winter.