Stretch Your Food Dollar: Don’t Throw It Away!
This is the eighth post in our series about stretching your food dollar. For the past few weeks we’ve been talking about eating produce that’s in season in order to get the best prices. If you’re like me, you probably get a little overzealous when you see a good deal on produce at the supermarket. For example, Trader Joe’s has these jumbo boxes of blueberries on sale right now for $6. I LOVES me some blueberries! But with just two of us in the house, is it very realistic that we’ll be able to eat all that fruit before it goes bad?
One answer would be to buy less food and shop more often. But let’s be real. You’re probably a busy gal-on-the-go like me and you don’t have time to shop more than once a week. If that’s the case, a little thoughtfulness will go a long way towards getting the most out of your produce. Try to plan out your week before you get to the store. Think about your weekly schedule while you’re shopping for food so that you can coordinate your meals in advance. Keep the properties of your produce in mind as you plan your weekly menu. Which veggies will head south faster? Try to use those first. Then when you get your goodies home, write your menu down and post it in the kitchen. It sounds a little OCD to have the weekly menu posted on the fridge. But trust me, it works! There’s less chance of something getting forgotten in the bottom of the vegetable drawer if you have a little reminder of what’s in there. You’re also more likely to buy the appropriate amount of food if you have a good idea of how many meals you’ll actually be cooking throughout the week.
Purchasing the appropriate quantity for your household is not the only challenge of buying fresh produce. What do you do with it once you get it home? Should things be washed as soon as you get home? Does it need to go in the refrigerator, or should it be stored at room temperature? What good is it to get all these great deals at the grocery store if you end up throwing things away when you get home?
I’ve discovered two books that really take the mystery out of produce storage. Both are an excellent reference to keep on hand. You’re also highly likely to find them at your local library if you don’t have any money to buy new books right now. The first is How to Pick a Peach, by Russ Parsons. Parsons describes all the different kinds of produce you can find at the farmer’s market or at your supermarket, says when things are at their peak, and then gives suggestions for storing and eating them. The other book I really like is Fresh From the Farmers’ Market, by Janet Fletcher. It has a lot of the same information as the Parsons book, but there are more recipes and lots of color photos. If I were to pick only one for my kitchen, however, I think I’d go with the Parsons’ book, and then borrow the other one from the library.
Here are some tips from Parsons about storing some of your more common fruits and vegetables. I hope that you find them helpful!
Tomatoes
Nothing tastes better, in my opinion, than a ripe summer tomato. There’s just something so sexy about these juicy fruits! If you really want to learn about the science behind the flavor of tomatoes, you should definitely give Parsons’ book a try. There was also a great article in Smithsonian Magazine last month discussing the pros and cons of genetically modified versus heirloom tomatoes. But maybe you’re not such a food freak and you just want the low down on how to get the most out of the tomatoes you buy.
To pick a good tomato, Parsons suggests looking for any obvious flaws, like nicks or cuts. Then look for tomatoes that are heavy for their size. Make sure that the skin isn’t slack, as that indicates the fruit is overly ripe. “In the end, trust your nose. Tomato aroma is the best indicator of quality.” Don’t ever put tomatoes in the refrigerator! That kills the flavor quicker than anything else. Store your tomatoes in a cool, dry place away from direct light. And don’t worry about washing tomatoes until you’re ready to use them.
Salad Greens
I never realized how much there was to know about the price fluctuations of lettuce before I read Parsons’ book. There are all sorts of vagaries involved, like weather patterns and labor politics. What you really need to know is how to store your lettuce so that it doesn’t go bad before you’re able to use it all, right? Parsons explains that “it’s no great mystery when lettuce starts to wilt. With head lettuces, make sure they are heavy for their size . . . Keep lettuce tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it. Moisture will break down the leaves faster than anything except heat.” Parsons also suggests placing a dry paper towel in the bag to help absorb any excess moisture and then storing the bag in the crisper drawer to maintain freshness. If you choose those bagged salad greens instead of head lettuce, be sure to keep the greens stored in the plastic bag that you get at the store. Believe it or not, a lot of research has gone into developing plastics for every individual type of vegetable possible in order to help maintain the proper level of oxygen in the bag so that the veggies stay fresh longer. Who knew!
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Although broccoli looks like a hearty vegetable, it is actually pretty sensitive and should be eaten within a day or two of bringing it home. Look for flower buds that are still green and forget about any broccoli that has yellow buds. If you’re unable to use it right away, treat it like lettuce. Keep it wrapped in plastic in the crisper drawer and don’t wash it until you’re ready to use it. Since cauliflower is a close cousin, the same rules for storage apply.
Potatoes
One of my culinary instructors joked that you should look for the same qualities in a potato that you look for in a romantic partner: firm skin, no blemishes, no green spots, and no sprouts (i.e. kids). The rule of thumb with any type of potato is that you want to store it in a cool, dry place. Storing in in direct light will encourage green spots to develop, which can make you sick. Heat will encourage the potatoes to start sprouting. And storing potatoes in the refrigerator will turn all of the starches into sugar. Don’t worry about washing potatoes until you’re ready to use them. Follow these simple rules and you’ll be able to get a lot of life out of that 10 pound bag of spuds.
These are just a few tips for storing your produce. If you want a more thorough online guide, click on over to the Food Network’s website for more helpful tips about washing and storing your produce.
The last thing I want to say this week about produce is this: Despite your best intentions, the reality of life is that things don’t always go as planned. It’s inevitable that you’re going to end up throwing something out because you didn’t get to it in time. Hey, we’re all busy and life happens. Don’t get discouraged! Consider composting those veggies instead of throwing them in the trash. I’ll discuss this more next week. But composting is a great way to heal the earth and stretch your food budget at the same time. And right now is the time to be thinking about what you’d like to grow in your backyard next season. Get started on your compost now and you’ll see a really big pay off in the Spring.
Photo credit: stock.xchng.
Hi Serena…
Like you’ve said a little advance planning goes a long way…but when life interrupts there are things you can do.
Fresh Blueberrys…into Pancakes, Muffins, bake a Blueberry Pound Cake. Put over Ice Cream (Frozen Yogurt), make Blueberry Shortcake.
If you still have too many pick over and remove any that are starting to go downhill and crush up with either Honey or Sugar and store in the fridge…will keep for a week or two so you can use them on something…Bake a Cheesecake, use instead of preserves on your morning Toast.
Improv is a Saving Grace of Frugality.
~ Roland
Hi Roland, you’re so right! We did decide that the jumbo pack of blueberries was worth the $6. We’ve been enjoying them with yogurt for breakfast and in salads for dinner. They also make a great afternoon snack. I’m making muffins in the morning and sharing them with friends. And guess what – we’ll still have some left for a special blueberry pancake breakfast on Saturday!
It doesn’t take much to freeze your extra fruit. I’ve done this successfully with most berries and with peaches. After washing clean and drip dry, slip them in a freezer bag and voila – you haven’t lost a one before you could use it.
My grandmother took me to the open market twice a week when I lived in Holland. All the veggies sold were wrapped in old newspaper. She stored them in the fridge that way and they kept very well. (Another way to use newspaper – and it still can be recycled afterwards.)
Serena: This is another useful post! Here’s my contribution on how to make an avocado last when you’ve only used half of it.
Margaret: Hmmm, newspaper… I hadn’t heard of this before. Although growing up in the Midwest, I remember people wanting to pick their garden vegetables before the first frost. They would wrap their green tomatoes (mature ones) in newspaper (I think it’s each tomato individually) and would store in a cool place, for most this meant the basement/cellar. With this method, they eventually ripen.
For example, Trader Joe’s has these jumbo boxes of blueberries on sale right now for $6. I LOVES me some blueberries!
Me too! Actually, I bought two of them in a row because the family finished them off. However, I have experienced blueberry overload. One solution is to freeze them: spread them out on a flat pan or cookie sheet (this prevents them sticking together in a clump), let them freeze, and then place them in a sealable container.
What to do with the frozen berries? My mother made homemade scones and a very tasty cobbler with them.
Clair and Margaret – thanks for the tips about freezing fruit. Hopefully when we move into a bigger place with more room for food storage, I can start making jams, too. They’re a tasty treat, but they also make great last minute gifts. Who doesn’t want a cute, little jar of homemade jam?
Ah, the education I’ve just received on tomatoes and potatoes is phenomenal! No fridge for my little red fruits ever again! Thanks Serena!