Vegetables: Keeping greens fresh

[blackarrow]

OK, I'm frustrated with keeping my greens fresh. I've been using those green storage bags specifically for veggies that are supposed to vent gases that make them get slimy, and that does appear to work better than the plastic bags you get in the grocery, but certain of my greens (notably the cilantro and dandelion) seem to turn to ooze within three days regardless. And if I try to make sure they're dry before going in the fridge, then they're so wilted the piggies aren't interested in them anyhow! Am I doing something wrong? I hate to waste their veggies!

[lissie]

I have the same problem, so I buy their veggies every 3 days.
Sorry, no help here. I'd like to know the answer to this too.

[blackarrow]

Yes, I wish I could buy smaller bunches! They only sell the dandelion in this huge bundle I can't possibly go through with two pigs, and I don't think I could persuade my husband and son to eat the rest!

[ShaunaMuse]

So I haven't ran into this at all. I get all my piggy food on Fridays and make up a weeks worth so that way if something happens I still have their food ready for someone to give them. I have pretty good luck with putting the cilantro inside a roll of lettuce and then I put everything into one of those sandwich bags THEN into a zip top bag which gets closed up, only a little hole left at the top of the ziplock to let out the extra air when I smush it down into the crisper bin in my ice box.

[Peggysu]

I wash all my cilantro and then put it into a zip lock bag with a paper towel. I usually have three bunches in each bag and it usually lasts five days because thats when all the piggies finish eating it. I do the same with leafy greens and they last just as well.

[JD In Van]

Having your crisper super cold helps a lot I've found. my greens on average last a week too.

[Tessa Bea]

I have some specialized storage bags too, they work just fine... maybe they're a different brand? Mine are clear and say "PEAKfresh" in a green rounded block on the front. I've had lettuce stay good for an entire week. They cost me $3.79 for a box of them, if I recall correctly.

[princesspoppy]

Cilantro,carrot tops and parsley i stand in a glass of water and keep in on the window sil out of direct sunlight. I use to put it in the fridge but it just wilts after a few days.

[azalea]

Keeping greens and things fresh can be a challange because of the whole Goldilocks moisture stuff. It can't be too wet, it can't be too dry, it has to be just right. Green/red peppers and cukes have given me problems also.

I wrap in cotton tea towels or paper towels depending on the size and leaf shape of the bunch and how much moisture is clinging to the leaves and tuck the bundle back in the plastic bag from the grocer. With the paper towel I can tell how things are going if on the second or third day the towel is sopping wet and needs replacing. Cotton toweling tends to hold more and give up more moisture as needed but it also takes up space in the bag. Cos and kale take storage better than looseleaf types.

Rarely do I purchase the pre-washed and mixed bagged greens so this method has only been tested on heads, bunches and bundles.

I am still having to purchase cilantro and parsley. They get a different treatment. I rinse, remove the band holding everything together, try to stand the bunch upright in a 2 quart pitcher and add about an inch of water. A plastic bag is draped loosely over the top and the contraption is placed in the ice box. Like cut flowers, the water should be changed every 2 or 3 days. If you live in a mild climate you may be able to leave this on a counter out of direct sunlight. (I hope this works)
My rig looks like this:

[NicholsS10]

I've had this problem for quite some time, but I finally found a method that works for me in regards to: romaine, green leaf, red leaf, radicchio, cilantro, parsley. I do this as soon as I get home from the store and put away all my other groceries: 1- I wash all my "greens" and lay them out on paper towels. 2- I cut off the ends of the of the greens (the butt of the green leaf, romaine, etc.) 3- I get a large, plastic, storage bowl and put a paper towel in the bottom. 4- I dry off each individual leaf of large greens, and small bunches of smaller greens (parsley/cilantro) with paper towels and place in the storage bowl. The greens tend to have a little moisture on them still. I also usually place lettuces in one bowl and herbs in a smaller bowl. 5- When the bowl/s are full, I place another paper towel on top of all the greens. 6- I secure the storage lid on top, and place in the fridge. Note: I may have 5 pigs, but I only buy enough lettuce for a few days at a time to prevent spoilage and to ensure that my pigs greens are quite fresh regardless. A bunch of cilantro will last 5 to 7 days depending on how large it is. Using the above method helps keep it fresh (as long as you get a fresh bunch) until it is gone. Additional Note: The paper towels inside the storage bowls are VERY important, they soak up any extra moisture without making the greens wilt. Additional Note: This method keeps the greens crisp.

[blackarrow]

Thank you all so much, these tips are very good to know.

Another thing I'm wondering about is whether I might be packing too much in my refrigerator drawers and thereby eliminating the benefit of the ventilating bags. My refrigerator is not huge and I not only have the pigs and the humans' food in there but my dogs, who eat raw - if that's the case I might save money by getting all the critters a fridge of their own!

[princesspoppy]

I know my veggie section part of the fridge is tiny. Right now i have 1 butter head lettuce 2 romain,1 cucumber and 3 tri coloured peppers. The rest of the veggies are on the shelf over the veggie drawer. It's frustrating.

[Tessa Bea]

Blackarrow- I'd imagine that if you pack all of the special bags with veggies in tightly into a drawer that it would kind of defeat the purpose. They need space to export the gases away. I have the ones that I can't fit into my veggie drawers on the bottom shelf of my fridge, but it's just me, my hubby, and the pigs so I probably have WAY more room in there than you. Bless your heart for taking in so many creatures! Is there anything you could do to free up some space?

[blackarrow]

Originally Posted by Tessa Bea

Bless your heart for taking in so many creatures! Is there anything you could do to free up some space?

Yeah - stop feeding the humans, LOL! Having an almost teenaged boy living here means I have to have a minimum of two gallons of milk in the house at all times to prevent catastrophe.

It's not so much that I have so many critters here as that the ones that I have are pretty big and pretty used to the good life! What you say makes sense, though - and hmm, the hubby recently asked what I would like for Christmas - he would probably like it if I got a minifridge for the animal stuff too, just so he doesn't have to feel like he's stealing from the critters if he wants to go heat something up, LOL. Hmmm, off to price some. . . .

[MissFormosa]

Originally Posted by blackarrow

OK, I'm frustrated with keeping my greens fresh. I've been using those green storage bags specifically for veggies that are supposed to vent gases that make them get slimy, and that does appear to work better than the plastic bags you get in the grocery, but certain of my greens (notably the cilantro and dandelion) seem to turn to ooze within three days regardless. And if I try to make sure they're dry before going in the fridge, then they're so wilted the piggies aren't interested in them anyhow! Am I doing something wrong? I hate to waste their veggies!

Nah, you're not doing something wrong with those bags. I bought those darn green bags too and they are a bunch of phoooey!

[Tessa Bea]

Originally Posted by MissFormosa

Nah, you're not doing something wrong with those bags. I bought those darn green bags too and they are a bunch of phoooey!

I have no idea what bags you and blackarrow are using, mine work very well! I think they're a different brand though, mine are clear not green.

[Heady]

I know this is a really dumb question and at the age I am now, I should know by now how to be...responsible, I guess. Or more like knowing about how household stuff works. Here it is: What purpose does the crisper serve?? Sometimes we put veggies in there, but most of the time, I just toss them in a ziploc freezer bag and put them on one of the fridge shelves. My lettuce tends to go quickly, so instead of buying the 3 romaine hearts that I usually get (before I got the pigs, we constantly bought romaine hearts for us), I saw a bag of chopped romaine so I got that.

I don't know how to keep stuff fresh longer, so if I used the crisper, would it work??? Since we moved into this apartment, I was having issues with the crisper drawers always being stuck and when I would pull the drawer out, the shelf that the drawer was connected to would also come out and create a huge mess. So I fully pulled out both crisper drawers and disconnected them from the upper shelf so now they just sit at the bottom and pull out much easier. Since I did that, does that make the crisper useless?

Sorry for asking such stupid questions, but I really am domestically challenged. I don't know how to clean, organize, keep stuff fresh...etc...

[Tessa Bea]

Originally Posted by blackarrow

Having an almost teenaged boy living here means I have to have a minimum of two gallons of milk in the house at all times to prevent catastrophe.

...the hubby recently asked what I would like for Christmas - he would probably like it if I got a minifridge for the animal stuff too... Hmmm, off to price some. . . .

HA! I remember hearing horror stories about my husband and his friends ransacking my mother-in-laws food supply on a regular basis when they were teens. Best of luck with that.

A christmas fridge may not be a bad idea at all.

[blackarrow]

Originally Posted by Tessa Bea

I have no idea what bags you and blackarrow are using, mine work very well! I think they're a different brand though, mine are clear not green.

Mine are the Debbie Meyer green bags. I really do think they help with some things, but the more I think of it, I do think it's that I'm overstuffing them. When they work best is when the items I'm putting in them are things like heads of lettuce which have some fluff to them naturally and are not compressed like the cilantro and dandelions are into a tight bunch held with a band.

[Ly&Pigs]

I have some green bags I bought at Big Lots. They are some generic version I am assuming but they've worked ok. I am going to try out the green containers next.