Vegetables
Acorn Squash:
Protect the squash from light and heat. Place in cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator. A squash will keep for up to a month in a cool, dry place. A cut uncooked piece wrapped in plastic will last about 2 days in the fridge.
Arugula:
Keep arugula refrigerated, stored in a perforated plastic bag, away from fruits to avoid deterioration. Keep the stems moistened in a damp paper towel and put in to the vegetable drawer or most humid part of your fridge. Arugula is good raw in a salad, cooked with other leafy greens or easily made in to pesto.
Asparagus:
Cut an inch off the bottom of asparagus spears. Submerge ends in water and refrigerate. Steam or sauté until just tender and be careful not to overcook.
Beets (Red, Golden, and Watermelon):
Keep beets refrigerated. Store unwashed beets with the tops on. Do not cut until ready to use. Once you cut the tops use immediately. Can be sautéed similar to spinach or chard. Both the beets and beet greens are edible.
Bok Choy:
Keep bok choy refrigerated, storing in a perforated plastic bag or a plastic bag with the top open. Wash and chop before cooking.
Broccoli:
Keep broccoli (broccollini, broccoli rabe) in refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag or open plastic bag to retain moisture. You can loosely wrap in damp paper towels before putting into bag. It can be steamed, sautéed or roasted. Do not wash broccoli until you are ready to use it. Store unwashed.
Brussels Sprouts:
Store sprouts in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag.
Butternut Squash:
Protect the squash from light and heat. Place in cool, dry place, but not in the refrigerator. A squash will keep for up to a month in a cool, dry place. A cut uncooked piece wrapped in plastic will last about 2 days in the fridge.
Cabbage (Savoy, Napa, Green or Red)
Store cabbage in the refrigerator in a perforated plastic bag. Keeping cabbage cold will keep it fresh and hence will retain its vitamin C content. Put the entire head of cabbage in the bag in the crisper of your fridge and it will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Carrots:
Keep carrots refrigerated. Remove tops and discard/compost and store the bottoms in a perforated plastic bag. The tops if left on will draw moisture away from the root and the carrot will become limp. Store in the coolest part of the refrigerator. Wash just before use.
Cauliflower:
Keep refrigerated, uncut, until you are ready to use, loosely wrapped in a plastic or perforated bag. Keep the bag open.
Celery
Celery stalks fare best when they are wrapped in dry paper towels, and stored in either a plastic bag or a perforated plastic bag. They will stay crisp with little to no browning for 2 weeks.
Celery Root
Store celery root in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. If you’ve purchased the root with its stalks and leaves, trim these off before storing — use them in soups or stocks the way you’d use celery. Their flavor is a bit stronger than celery.
Corn
Eat right away, but if you need a few days keep the husks on and store in the refrigerator. As time goes on the starch content rises.
Chards (Swiss, Rainbow):
Do not wash before storing. Place in plastic bag and wrap it tightly around the chard squeezing out the air. Place in fridge and it should last close to a week.
Collard Greens:
Refrigerate in plastic bag. Do not wash until ready to use. To freeze: wash greens and cut off woody stems. Blance (plunge into boiling water) for 3 minutes and chill quickly in ice cold water. Drain off excess moisture, package in airtight containers or freezer bags and freeze immediately.
Cucumbers:
Always store in the fridge, unwashed. They will keep for several days.
Dandelion Greens:
Store in refrigerator loosely wrapped in dry paper towels. Will last about 3 days. Wash before use.
Eggplant (Sicilian, Globe):
Eggplant is very sensitive to heat and cold. Ideally stored at 50 degrees. Place in the warmest part of your fridge. Do not cut or damage the eggplant before or during storage at it will perish very quickly once the skin is pierced. Use within 1-3 days.
Escarole:
Wrap escarole in paper towels and store in an unsealed or perforated plastic bag in the refrigerator. Will last up to 4 days.
Fennel:
Store fresh fennel in the refrigerator and it will keep up to 4 days. Fennel always tastes best in the first day or two since it loses flavor as it ages.
Garlic
Store whole heads of garlic in a cool, dry, dark place with good ventilation, but do not refrigerate (45-50 degrees). Always refrigerate peeled or cut garlic in tightly sealed container.
Garlic Scapes:
Store scapes in a jar with 1″ of water or in a loose plastic bag in the fridge. Scapes that are harvested when young do not need blanching before freezing. Chop the scapes into pieces, wrap in plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. They will keep in the fridge for a few days to a week or in the freezer for a few months.
Green Onions/Scallions/Chives:
Fill a jar or small cup with an inch of water. Remove any rubber bands or wrapping. Stand the onions up in the jar/cup. Cover the entire thing with a plastic bag. Onions will stay crisp for about a week.
Kale:
Place in plastic or perforated bag but keep the bag open and place in refrigerator.
Leeks:
Store unwashed and uncut leaks in the refrigerator in a loose, open plastic bag or perforated plastic bag. They will usually last for up to 2 weeks. Do not wash until ready to use.
Lettuce (Romaine, Boston, Red Leaf, Green):
Store loosely in a closed plastic bag. Do not wash until ready to use.
Mustard Greens:
Store in plastic bag with a few dry paper towels wrapped around the greens. Will keep for a few days.
Onions
Store in a cool, dry dark place with good ventilation, away from potatoes (which absorb the moisture). Do not put in plastic bag. Onions need air movement. Always refrigerate cut onions.
Parsnips
Store harvested or purchased parsnips in the refrigerator. Carefully wash them, cut off the tops and let them air dry. Then, wrap them loosely in a plastic bag and place in the crisper bin of the refrigerator. Place them near the back of the drawer where it is cooler, but be sure they don’t freeze. Parsnips stored in this manner should stay fresh for 2 to 6 months.
Peppers
Store whole peppers in a cool, dry place away from fruits to avoid over-ripening. Always refrigerate cut peppers. You can put your whole peppers in the fridge in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer.
Portobello Mushrooms:
Place fresh Portobello in paper bag or wrap in dry paper towels and store in the refrigerator. Moisture needs to be avoided as it promotes decay.
Potatoes
Store in a cool, dry place away from onions. Do not put in a plastic bag and do not wash until ready to use.
Pumpkins:
Store in cool, dry place away from the sun.
Radicchio:
Keep in a tightly sealed bag in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Radishes:
Place in a perforated plastic bag in the crisper section of your fridge. Those purchased with tops removed can keep for a week. The radish leaves can be used within a day or so since they don’t keep for long.
Ramps:
Ramps are a combination of onions and garlic, can be used raw or cooked, and can be treated like scallions. They last for a few days in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer and you can also chop and freeze them for cooked dishes.
Snap Peas:
Refrigerate in tightly sealed plastic bag. They will last 5-6 days. There is a fibrous string that runs the length of the pea and should be removed before cooking. Cooking time is very short to maintain color and crispness.
Spaghetti Squash:
Store at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. Keep away from sunlight.
Spinach:
Refrigerate unwashed and loosely wrapped spinach in plastic bag. The moisture will speed up decay so you want to make sure the stored spinach is dry.
String Beans/Green Beans:
Store unwashed beans in their pods in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Once cut the beans needs to be used right away. They will keep whole, uncut for about 5 or 6 days.
Sweet Potatoes
Store in a cool, dry place away from onions. Do not put in a plastic bag and do not wash until ready to use.
Tomatoes
Keep tomatoes at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as it will make the tomatoes mealy and flavorless. Keep on counter until ready to eat.
Tomatillos:
The tomatillos are surrounded by a husk that is not edible. They are sticky under the husk. Store in a dry cool place like your kitchen countertop. If you need to keep them for longer than a day or two then store them in a brown bag in your refrigerator for up to 10 days. You need to discard the husk and wash the tomatillo before use.
Turnips:
Store loosely wrapped in plastic bag in the crisper section of your refrigerator. They like cool, dark, dry places.
Zucchini:
Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator in the crisper drawer. It should last about 5 days. Wash right before use. When you see the zucchini getting soft it is deteriorating quickly so use it right away.