I put so much work to save money and convince my hubby (who doesn’t try to eat many veggies) to eat more veggies (rather than his favorite processed meat) and I often buy bountiful vegetables from wholesale stores such as COSTCO, SAM’S CLUB.
People often say the fresh vegetables and fruits sold in wholesale stores are much more than they can eat today or even tomorrow, and sadly, they’ll find them get soggy and rotten before they can enjoy them.
Like leafy greens such as Romaine lettuce, I have some tips to keep those fresh vegetables longer in a fridge. (check out this post sooner or later!)
Today, I am sharing the best ways that I’ve been practicing storing some of the most popular root vegetables.
NOTE: The vegetables I talk about in this post are all store-bought.
Carrots
Brush off any soil or rinse and dry them if needed.
Cut off the tops and ends.
Put carrots in a zipper food bag and store them in the refrigerator.
In this way, they’ll easily last for about a month! (Seriously.)
I usually try to keep them upright, and regularly change a bag if water gets inside the bag.
Never store damaged carrots with healthy ones.
Celery
I’ve tried several ways to keep celery, and this is the best way to keep it fresh longer in a fridge so far.
Cut off the bottom (only brown surface).
Soak it in water and wait until it gets refreshed.
Drain the celery, wrap it with dried paper (newspaper/ paper ads/ kitchen paper towel), and put it in a plastic bag.
Store it in an upright position in a fridge.
It’ll last fresh for about 10 days.
When using stalks, remove outer stalks and don’t cut off the bottom.
When you’re planning to consume whole celery within 3 days, you can put it in a clean jar filled with water and store it at room temperature.
How To Avoid Wasting Celery
- Freeze the part (especially outer stalks) hard to eat for soup/ soup broth.
- Freeze the head for soup broth.
- Chop up and freeze them if you think you can’t consume celery.
- Freeze celery leaves for soup/ soup broth
Garlic
To keep garlic cloves fresh, you’ve heard about keeping them in oil or in a freezer.
But, you’ll need a little hassle to peel skins from each clove.
Get all cloves out of the bulb.
Transfer them to an uncovered container.
Store it in a refrigerator.
They’ll stay fresh for months easily.
You don’t need to peel skins. Never wash them. Never store them in a food bag/ plastic bag, which keeps Moisture inside also.
Ginger
It’s may not the way you’ve looking for, but, I freeze a whole ginger root in a bag.
Wash, rinse, and wipe excess water. Dry it for while.
Peel the skin if desired. (I don’t.)
Just throw it in a bag, and ground it as much as you like each time.
It’s my favorite way to keep ginger.
Leek
Choose leeks that have lots of white parts.
Cut off the green part.
If you don’t, leek will keep growing in a fridge.
Don’t throw them right away!
They’re the essential ingredient to make Asian soup broth such as Ramen noodle soup, Chashu, chicken soup, etc…
I freeze them in a bag and I throw 1-2 green parts of leek anytime I make soup or these dishes such as pork neck bones, and whole duck roast.
Wash and rinse white parts and lightly drain them (not necessary to dry them fully,) and wrap them with paper (newspaper/ paper ads/ kitchen paper towels.)
Put it in a plastic bag, tie the bag loosely, and store it in the upright position.
Onions
Put each onion in a plastic bag, remove excess air, and tie the bag tightly.
Store them in a fridge.
They’ll last for a month easily.
Potatoes
Potatoes can be used in any cooking and surely they’re the staple pantry stock vegetables.
Potatoes will last a long time when stored properly. When choosing, avoid those with green skin or germinated.
Bagged potatoes sold in a store are commonly already washed, so, they should be stored in a cool place or a refrigerator.
Wrap EACH potato with a piece of paper (newspaper/ paper ads/ kitchen paper towel) and put them in a plastic bag/ food bag.
They’ll last fresh for 1 month easily.
Try to make classic Japanese-style potato salad with your potatoes…
Japanese potato salad, chunky mashed potatoes, cucumbers, onions, eggs, aaaaand Japanese Kewpie Mayo. Savory creamy starchy Japanese-style potato salad is so addictive. Throw in it—leftover veggies, or frozen corn, or skip some of the ingredients—making them perfect for cozy weekday dinners or as a side in a party spread!
Another classic Japanese potato recipe is “Korroke”.
Japanese fried potato cakes aka Korokke. One of the famous comfort food in Japan. A crispy Panko and savory natural sweet filling are delicious and addictive, often served as a main dish (!), Obento item, the filling for a sandwich, and Izakaya nibble.
Radishes
Remove the green parts and roots.
Wash off any soil and place them in a container.
Fill enough water to cover all radishes and seal it with a lid. Store it in a fridge, and change the water every day.
Be sure any green part is not left.
You can store radishes in the refrigerator in this way for about 10 days.
They may lose flavor or be a little watery after 10 days depending on the condition, slice them up and use them for stir-fried/ soup.
Don’t Toss The Radish Top Away
Other Vegetables
How To Store Leafy Greens Fresh Longer
Mushrooms
Take mushrooms out of their container.
Place them in a paper bag and keep them in the fridge.
They’ll last fresh for about 7-10 days, but still, it’s better to consume them as soon as possible.
Slicing and freezing them is another option to store them.
Mini-Cucumbers
Simply, take out them from the package, and place them in a container.
Line a piece of kitchen paper towel both on the bottom and top of the cucumbers.
Cover the container with a lid.
They’ll last fresh and crisp for 7-10 days.
