Produce ideally should be purchased every few days and consumed as soon as possible.  However, our busy modern lives do not always permit this.  The tips that appear below should help you store produce and other foods for longer periods of time, so you don't have to shop quite as often.  In addition, these steps encourage you to clean, and to some extent cut, your produce before storing it, which will help you assemble meals more quickly and efficiently.

If you have any comments, suggestions or experiences of your own relating to storing foods, please e-mail me.
 

Fruit

Apples - Enjoy crisp, cool and refreshing apples !!

• First, wash the apples and dry them thoroughly.
• Place the apples in a zip-lock bag, remove the air and seal it completely.
• Every time you take out an apple, be sure to remove the air and re-seal the bag properly before returning it to the refrigerator.

Vegetables

Lettuce - Keep it Fresh and Crisp

• Wash the lettuce, leaf by leaf.  Discard any undesirable leaves.
• Place the washed leaves on a clean towel to absorb some of the excess water.
• Take a very clean cotton dish towel (or similar) and slide the leading edge of the towel into the bottom of a tuperware or other sealable container, with the remainder of the towel sticking out.
• Place several lettuce leaves on the towel inside the container.
• Fold the towel over those leaves to create another layer of towel inside the container.
• Continue placing layers of lettuce leaves divided by folds in the towel until the container is full or until your run out of towel.
• Cover the container, removing the air from it as much as possible.
• Place the container in your refrigerator.

Leeks and Scallions - Keep them Fresh for Days, Even Weeks !!

• Obtain a tall canning jar with a wide mouth.
• If you are preparing leeks for storage, cut off the hard portions of the leeks and discard them, or save them to make a bouquet garni.
• If you are preparing scallions for storage, you may wish to separate the white part from the green part, if only so they will fit in the jar.  Both parts can be used in cooking.  The green part can be used to flavor soups, for garnishes, or even as string to tie together vegetables that are being steamed.
• Cut the remaining portions of the leeks or scallions so they are short enough to fit inside the jar.  Do not cut off all of the hairs on the end of the leeks or scallions, to preserve their freshness.
• Wash and thoroughly clean the leeks or scallions.  With leeks, make sure you remove as much soil as possible (soil always collects inside).
• Pat them dry with a clean dish towel or paper towels.
• Place them in the jar and seal it!