Where People & Piggies Thrive

Newbie or Guinea Guru? Popcorn in!

Register for free to enjoy the full benefits.
Find out more about the NEW, drastically improved site and forum!

Register

Fresh Food Best ways to keep veggies/etc fresh?

MerryFriarTuck

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Posts
545
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
545
I'd really like to hear fellow piggy owners methods for keeping their veggies and greens fresh! Especially bell pepper and lettuces.

Since grocery stores are pretty crazy right now ( with the coronavirus ) we've been trying to stock up on piggy veggies...but you can only get so many, so they don't spoil before getting eaten. I got green leaf, cilantro, cucumbers, extra green bell peppers and a bag of mini sweet peppers ( I would have got yellow bell pepper but they were out of them ).

Any tips on keeping their veggies fresh would be super helpful, now and just for everyday future reference! :)
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Peppers do fairly well if chopped and frozen without cooking.

For me, lettuce always lasted the longest if I washed it, let it thoroughly drain dry, then rolled it up in damp paper towels, sealed it in a container, and kept it in the fridge. It will last more than a week that way.
 

MerryFriarTuck

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Posts
545
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
545
Peppers do fairly well if chopped and frozen without cooking.

For me, lettuce always lasted the longest if I washed it, let it thoroughly drain dry, then rolled it up in damp paper towels, sealed it in a container, and kept it in the fridge. It will last more than a week that way.

Thank you! That's awesome; I mistakenly thought you couldn't freeze their veggies, since they can't have frozen bagged veggies ( like frozen peas and carrots ) I'm guessing that's because they're flash frozen/cooked first, while if you freeze them yourself they aren't?
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Truthfully, I don't see any problems with frozen veggies in an emergency, and as long as they don't turn to mush when they're thawed. I've never understood the objection to them.
 

MerryFriarTuck

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Posts
545
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
545
Truthfully, I don't see any problems with frozen veggies in an emergency, and as long as they don't turn to mush when they're thawed. I've never understood the objection to them.

What I've read is most store bought frozen veggies are cooked or blanched before being frozen, have extra preservatives, etc. ...but I don't know how much truth is really in it. I'm sure they're better than nothing, and putting a fresh vegetable in your freezer by passes all of that anyway...yay! Great to know :)
 

bpatters

Moderator
Staff member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Posts
29,246
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
29,246
Actually, I don't think most frozen veggies have preservatives.
 

MerryFriarTuck

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Posts
545
Joined
Jun 23, 2019
Messages
545
Actually, I don't think most frozen veggies have preservatives.

I would think they wouldn't, too! It's just something I've read. The biggest hit against frozen veggies seems to be it changes the enzymes which can cause GI upset in piggies. So much contradicting info I can't get to the bottom of it. But thank you for clearing it up a little, if it's an emergency I think i might freeze my own bell pepper after all.
 

petluv

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Posts
197
Joined
Dec 14, 2019
Messages
197
https://www.rubbermaid.com/freshworks

These help a lot! Has a vented plastic tray on bottom to separate moisture from ruining the veggies. Also a vented top(lid) I can usually keep things fresh for a good week.
 

Guinepigmom_2.0

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Posts
106
Joined
Feb 19, 2020
Messages
106
I went to the store sunday morning to get lettuce, carrots, peppers, and bananas for me and my piggies. we are all vegetarians, and i had to brave the crowds by going super early to the store. i keep all my stuff in the refrigerator to keep them all fresh.


Freezing uncooked veggies isn't bad idea, it keeps all the vitamins in the veg. thawing won't change its vitamin content. just don't cook the veg before freezing. cooking will eliminate any vitamins the veg has.
 

Soecara

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Posts
1,985
Joined
Aug 18, 2012
Messages
1,985
Luckily here in Australia there are lettuces sold with the roots still attached, as they are grown hydroponically, so it lasts much longer in storage. I can get these to last weeks if I store them in the fridge with the roots stuck in a container with a little bit of water in it (cheap container with holes cut in the lid for poking the root balls through) These lettuces are oak-leaf and butter lettuce. Some lettuces that seem to last a very long time even without the roots attached are endive, cos/romaine (caution - some guinea pigs will have excess urinary calcium if fed cos/romaine), chicory, and radicchio. Zucchinis and carrots are great to stock up on as they also last a very long time, you want to store these in a container that can keep in some moisture in as they are more prone to drying out in the fridge.

Capsciums/bell peppers always seem to last a long time in my fridge as long as they are very fresh when first purchased and are stored either loose or in a mesh bag, never store in plastic.

Another option to consider is seeing if there are any small local fruit and vegetable stores if the local supermarkets are running low. My local supermarkets were looking a bit bare when it comes to fresh produce but the fruit and vegetable shop was still well stocked so i grabbed some vegetables there instead.
 

ItsaZoo

Well-known Member
Cavy Slave
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Posts
816
Joined
Sep 8, 2018
Messages
816
I buy the small artisan lettuces and red or green leaf and keep it for two weeks. I put a paper towel in the bottom of a covered container and put the whole heads in there without washing. As I use the leaves I wash them.

Cukes may keep a couple weeks, carrots and green peppers keep longer. I wash and cut up a small amount good for a few days and store them in a covered glass container with a paper towel on the bottom. The rest I keep in the crisper.

i did buy extra green peppers to freeze. I’ve done this before, just clean them, slice them, spread them out on a cookie sheet and freeze. Then pour them into a freezer bag. This also works for herbs and berries. However, other veggies should be blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes just until the color brightens. Then quick rinse and cool with cold water and ice cubes. This stops the natural enzyme action and keeps the veggies from deteriorating and losing nutrients when frozen.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.

Similar threads

K
Replies
6
Views
779
kelly86
K
TinyPiggy
Replies
8
Views
729
TinyPiggy
TinyPiggy
T
Replies
4
Views
732
gpihgos
gpihgos
rubberducky11
Replies
8
Views
680
bpatters
bpatters
Top