Storing Tips
- Stock your cellar as
late in the
season as you can. If possible, chill the produce in
the fridge before putting it in the cellar.
- A few vegetables—such as potatoes,
winter squashes, and onions—need to be “cured” for a
few days in warm temperatures before going into
cold storage.
- Shake off loose dirt rather than washing it off. Many
root–cellar vegetables store better this way.
- Always handle your vegetables with care; even slightly
rough treatment can cause invisible bruising, starts the
produce on the road to decomposition.
- Store cabbages and turnips in a detached
root cellar so their odor, which can be unpleasant,
will not permeate the house.
- Think about where you place produce: The driest, warmest
air is near the ceiling, more-humid air is lower as well as
farthest from the door.
- Most fruit “breathes,” and some—particularly apples and
pears—should be wrapped in paper to retard the release of
ethylene gas.
- Making a root cellar in a garage or using
pressure-treated wood is not recommended.
- Vegetables piled together generate heat, which can lead
to spoilage. Put on shelves close to the floor and rotate.
- Check your vegetables regularly, and immediately remove any with signs of rot. From the lessons of the cold cellar comes the saying, “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.”
Storing Vegetables and
Fruits
Apples keep well for about 6 months at temperatures between freezing and 45°F. If you don't have a root cellar, a double cardboard box in a cool mudroom or cellar can approximate the conditions. Remember to give apples an occasional change of air. Apple cider may be frozen after first pouring off a small amount for expansion.
Beans, Dry
Store in a moisture–proof, air–tight container. Beans will stale and toughen over time even when stored properly.
Berries
Never rinse before storage. It washes off the thin, protective epidermal layer. Store berries in a cool, dry place; refrigeration promotes mold as a result of condensation on their surfaces.
Grains and Flours
Keep "dry"ingredients dry and cool in an airtight container. Prevent vermin or insects from hatching in flour (or grains) by freezing for a few hours before storage.
Herbs
Dill and parsley will keep for about two weeks with stems immersed in a glass of water tented with a plastic bag. Most other herbs (and greens) will keep for short periods unwashed and refrigerated in tightly–sealed plastic bags with just enough moisture to prevent wilting. For longer storage, use moisture– and gas–permeable paper and cellophane. Plastic cuts off oxygen to the plants and promotes spoilage.
Mushrooms
Keep them in the refrigerator in a paper bag. The bag absorbs some of the moisture and keeps the mushrooms from spoiling.
Onions and Garlic
Mature, dry–skinned bulbs like it cool and dry—so don't store them with apples or potatoes. French–braided onions and garlic are handy and free to get some ventilation as well.
Pumpkins and Winter Squash
Squashes don't like to be quite as cool as root crops do. They like a temperature of about 50°F to 65°F. If you have a cool–ish bedroom, stashing them under the bed works well!
Root Crops
Carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beets, and other root crops should be brushed clean of any clinging soil and stored in a cool, dark place. Never refrigerate potatoes—it will turn their starch to sugar. Don't store apples and potatoes together; the apples give off ethylene gas that will spoil the potatoes. Clipping the tops of parsnips, carrots, beets, and turnips will keep them fresher longer.
If you have an overabundance of beets, make homemade borscht, the classic beet soup, and freeze. To grate the beets more easily, cook them first. A little vinegar intensifies the color.
Spices and Dried Herbs
Store in a cool, dry place, not above the stove or right next to the burners where heat and steam will cause them to lose flavor dramatically.
Tomatoes
Store at cool room temperature out of direct sunlight. Never refrigerate fresh tomatoes. If you have an abundance of tomatoes: for variety, dry tomatoes and/or marinate them in oil; or can them as salsa, ketchup, or juice.
Tropical Fruits
Tropical fruits do not keep well in the cold. Store bananas, avocados, and citrus fruit, as well as pineapples, melons, eggplants, cucumbers, peppers, and beans at about 50°F if possible.
Other Tips
- Baby lima beans (not the big, starchy ones) freeze nicely and are much tastier than commercial brands.
- Rhubarb, petite peas, sweet corn, and diagonally sliced or French–cut green beans are easy to blanch and freeze—and still taste great when thawed.
- Tomatoes, rhubarb, cucumbers, beets, cranberries, and virtually all fruits (especially peaches) are well–suited to canning, and their subsequent taste tends to be worth the added trouble. As folksinger Greg Brown put it, "Taste a little of the summer . . . Grandma's put it all in jars."