If you’re like me, you’re going a week or more between grocery trips and always facing the issue of making sure your fruits and vegetables last between grocery store trips. Once you think you have a good system, something goes stinky or squishy in record time, and I feel like I never knew how to store my produce.
Not every veggie is the same though, so there’s no one great way to store them. And then add in things like washing or peeling, or chemicals like ethylene, and it majorly complicates the whole system! No stress though, I’ve done the research, the practice, and the test runs to tell you everything you need to know to store your fruits and vegetables to last longer.
Buying In-Season Produce
Start with buying fruit and veggies that are in season. These usually are picked more recently, at their ripest, and usually don’t have to travel too far before getting to you. Here are the fruits and veggies that are in season in:
Scroll to see how to store these different fruits and veggies, or click to jump to which one you’re looking for!
How to Store:
How to Store Spring Produce
Lemons
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Lemons have a few different opinions for storage based on how long you need them to last. They’ll last on your countertop for about a week. I store them in the crisper drawer in my refrigerator which will keep them fresh for roughly a month.
Herbs
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Herbs are one of the easiest things to store in the fridge! First things first, give them a wash. You can dry them in a salad spinner, I don’t have one, so I just pat dry with a clean dish towel. If you’re using your herbs within a few days, trim the stems, put them in a jar or glass with an inch of water, and store in the fridge.
If you’re buying ahead of time, you can batch out herbs to freeze in a sealing bag or in an ice cube tray with a little oil.
Romaine Lettuce
The easiest to store, fresh romaine lettuce should be stored unwashed, in a loosely closed plastic bag. Lettuce is one of the few packaged produce items I buy, so mine comes ready to go into the crisper drawer. If yours doesn’t come in a bag, you can use any sealing plastic bag you have.
Celery
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The most common and more recommended way to store celery is to leave the celery head intact, wrap the base in aluminum foil, and store in the crisper drawer.This may be a controversial opinion, I hate the aluminum foil method. It’s great if you only need the celery to be good for a few days.
When it comes to storing celery, Cut the long stalks into pieces that are a few inches long. Take those pieces, wash them, and place them into a jar. Fill the jar with water until the celery sticks are submerged, and then store, sealed in the fridge.
Cucumbers
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The best way to store cucumbers is to keep them whole in an airtight storage container. I like to use a tall reusable plastic container to store my persian cukes. If you prefer to pre-cut your cucumbers, the best way to store them is in an airtight container with a damp paper towel, to keep them extra fresh.
Leeks
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Leeks have slowly worked their way into more of my recipes lately, which means finding creative ways to store them! Usually, I keep them sealed in a ziploc in the fridge, which works great, but my last batch was too big for the bags! If you’re planning to use the leeks within a few days, you can wrap the root/white part of the bundle in a damp paper towel, and place the bundle into an open bag. Just make sure you don’t wash them, you’ll open yourself up to squishy rotted leeks!
Carrots
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I buy full-size carrots for my kitchen. The baby carrots are fine, but why buy precut carrots? Full-size carrots take less time to go from field to kitchen, you get more carrot for the price, and there’s a lot less plastic used in the process.
To store your carrots, start by cutting the green tops off. You can eat them, compost them, or they make great treats for bunnies or guinea pigs! (Learn more about other ways to use your veggie scraps.) Then store your carrots in a sealed container of water in your fridge. Be sure to refresh the water every so often when it start to look cloudy, and your carrots will last weeks in the fridge!
Green Onions
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Scallions are essential for my spring and summer recipes, almost every meal I cook is improved with a few fresh green onions on top! (Check out my favorite recipes using green onions)
There are a few different ways to store scallions. If you’re using them in a couple of days, you can store scallions in a jar of water on the windowsill. If you need the green onions to last a little bit longer, you can follow my method of placing them in a jar in the refrigerator. Covering the jar with a plastic bag will add a few more days to your scallions life, but not necessary. The way to keep your scallions fresh for the longest, wrap them in a damp paper towel, and store them in a plastic bag in the crisper drawer.
Be sure to stay tuned on Instagram and TikTok to see these methods in action!
