Comments on: Uncluttering your refrigerator’s crisper

By: Noah

Noah — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 06:05:53 +0000

I find the crisper is best for severed heads. YMMV.

By: Allison

Allison — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:31:36 +0000

I store bottled waters and drinks in my bottom drawer. The fridge in my apartment is quite old, and only has one big drawer that likes to fall out — so I tend to avoid using it often.

By: Art

Art — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:48:56 +0000

I find that bell peppers last longer if you cut the tops off (as if to make stuffed peppers) and remove the seeds which slows the ripening progess and store them in the fridge in airtight plastic containers.If you’re financally deprived like me that would be old butter tubs so have the magic markers handy to label and date them.Clear storage bags work well also just don’t freeze them.

By: Ray a.k.a. The Produce Picker

Ray a.k.a. The Produce Picker — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:25:20 +0000

I want to reiterate a tip given out by canadiangirl in an early comment above.

Canadiangirl wrote: “If you loosely wrap each banana individually in a paper towel, it will not go black in the fridge. It might sound wasteful, but nothing happens to the paper towels, so you can re-use them after you eat your bananas. I guess if you don’t mind black bananas, it doesn’t matter, but some folks do, so this really does work.”

I knew that if you want to slow down the ripening process of a banana to put it in the fridge. In fact I have done this more than once. The nice thing is that if you buy too many bananas and you have a few left that you will not eat before they get too ripe you can buy yourself a couple extra days in order to eat them while they are still at your desired ripeness. The only downside is that they do indeed turn black and it’s not the most appealing site.

I saw this tip about the paper towel and gave it a try over the last couple of days. What do you know it really works! And I must say a cold banana is actually a nice treat. It reminds me of frozen chocolate dipped bananas on a stick, yummy!

I just wanted to say thanks for the tip and confirm through a test of my own that this works. Sure the banana is fine if it turns black in the fridge but for some reason it’s a lot more appealing when it still looks like a perfectly ripe banana. Give it a try today, it will save you money too!

See more tips at The Produce Picker Podcast

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:32:44 +0000

Our crisper drawer is used as the snack drawer a.k.a. Saturday morning drawer. Easy for the kids to get into and they stick to what is in there. String cheese, individual puddings, yogurt, baby carrots in snack size baggies, etc. This keeps them from bugging mom and dad on Saturday morning or evening snack times. I even keep a baggie filled with plastic spoons so they stay out of the utinsil drawer. The kids love being able to have their choice of a snack and sometimes its great for a reward. “Clean your room and you can have a snack from the snack drawer”. We also have one in the pantry for dry goods such as chips, cereal, etc.

By: Tonia

Tonia — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:21:47 +0000

I have found the best way to keep mushrooms in my fridge for up to 2 months, is after washing them i wrap them in a damp papertowel then place them in a plastic sealed dish. Works great and neve fails.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:21:10 +0000

corn…a tip from the produce man at my grocery store…..if you buy fresh corn on the cob and can’t use it right away, here’s his tip. Remove the husk and silk and put in a ziploc bag but don’t close it….the corn will stay fresh for a week, it stays fresh. Also I wrap celery in aluminum foil and it keep longer.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 00:26:59 +0000

What about grapes and cherries? I keep mine in the crisper in a plastic bag but, let them reach room temperature before I eat them.

By: Jill

Jill — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:58:20 +0000

I use mine for my children - that’s where their individual sized drinks go and the other one has their snacks in it - cheese, pudding, bags of celery whatever they choose for snack at school is put there for easy grab into the backpack as we go out the door for school!

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:59:04 +0000

I’ve called my refrigerator’s crisper, ‘the rotter’ for decades. New or old, refrigerators seem to have a special space just for evil. I’ve resorted to other means of storing veggies and fruits for years and only wish I had the money (in the form of spoiled produce), that went out to the compost heap every week

By: Fred

Fred — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:34:29 +0000

wish my wife would read this stuff. She won’t believe anything I tell her about wasteful buying.

By: alicia a.

alicia a. — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 22:07:57 +0000

i hated the way potatoes tasted straight from the fridge so i started storing them in a basket. now they sprout incessantly. i never suspected it was the south florida weather! now i know to keep them in the fridge and simply take then out a day early….. “potato defrost” lol THANK YOU!

By: Trace

Trace — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 21:42:30 +0000

If you want to ripen bananas, just place in a paper bag with one ripe red apple. The gas that is emitted from the apple ripens other fruits. All the more reason to separate apples from other fruits, like fruit baskets.
I always place a liner of paper towel in my crisper bottoms. I store yogurt, cheese and water bottles in them. Forget fruits and veggies.

By: jessica

jessica — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 11:18:06 +0000

thank yo for this valuable information.
yes, that crisper can be science lab sometimes.
I am good about it, use my produce so they do get rotated.

By: Karla

Karla — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:50:13 +0000

my boyfriend and I started calling our crisper “the rotter”… because that all our fruits and veggies ever do in it.

By: Ray a.k.a. The Produce Picker

Ray a.k.a. The Produce Picker — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 02:35:04 +0000

Martha -
In reference to your question about potatoes I have some advice which I gave to the viewers of my show (Produce Picker Podcast).

Make sure when choosing potatoes that the skin of the potato is not sprouting, wrinkled, or soft. Whether you’re choosing a brown (russet, baking), white, or yellow (yukon) potato check to make sure that the skin does not appear to be green.
When potatoes are exposed to light, as they are in grocery stores and farmers markets, they begin to build up toxins. This process will manifest itself on the potato as a greening of the skin. It may appear that the green color is coming from under the native color (i.e. brown, yellow, white) of the potato. A potato that is sprouting, wrinkled, soft and appears to have a green coloring under its skin is bad. Eating too many green potatoes can actually be toxic to your system. So next time you’re choosing potatoes make sure to take a good look at its skin coloring and avoid the green.

fun fact: Bagged potatoes often come in a colored bag that is most often brown. These bags are designed to help reduce the potato’s exposure to light thus reducing the chances that the potato will become toxic (green). Those farmers are always thinking;)

Make sure to store your potatoes in a cool, dry and dark environment. Avoid putting them in the refrigerator (many people do this) as it will only make the potato have an uncharacteristic sweet flavor and can result in them turning a dark color once cooked. Potatoes that are stored properly at around 50 degrees can last up to a couple of months!

And just to answer a couple other comments on here, Angela you are right that putting an already ripe avocado in the fridge will slow down the ripening process. Just make sure to wait until the avocado is ripe before storing it in the fridge or else the inside will turn black.

Also Will I like your simple advice about storing produce. I work in a produce department and if we keep it cold it should be stored that way at home and vice versa. I love keeping it simple and rules of thumb like that are golden. Great comments everyone!

More tips available at http://producepickerpodcas.blip.tv

Thanks!

By: Luke

Luke — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:30:42 +0000

Lettuce can be kept green and crisp for 2-3 weeks using this method. Use an insulated ice bucket with a plastic interior. Place damp(not wet) paper towel on the bottom of bucket, and, place whole head of lettuce root down in the bucket. Store in refrigerator between uses. It may sound a little crazy–But it works.

By: Teri

Teri — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 19:02:56 +0000

Lettuce will last longer if you wash it then wrap it in paper towels before wrapping in plastic

By: Phyl

Phyl — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:59:02 +0000

For those of you with refrigerators with metal rungs for shelves. I found those thin opaque plastic mats that are used as cutting boards work wonders on the shelves. Nothing drips through and they clean up so easy if need be. Work great also on glass shelves. No need to drag the whole shelf out for cleaning.

By: Danlex

Danlex — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 18:45:59 +0000

Don’t take out those crisper drawers just yet!
The one comment sorely lacking from this article is the acknowledgement that modern refrigerators are constructed in such a way that the crisper drawers are the highest humidity spot in the fridge. This is the whole PURPOSE of the crisper drawer, and vegetables and many fruits LOVE humidity. If you are storing fruits and veggies that don’t need humidity, then the shelf is fine (lower shelves, in most cases). BUT, if you’re storing an item that needs humidity to increase life expectancy, the crisper drawer is the way to go.
Those drawers (this applies to the meat and cheese drawers, too) are not necessarily about temperature—they are all about HUMIDITY, which is an important aspect of food preservation.