I love wathing the food network and I noticed that they are prerinse their veggies/herbs before they put them in the fridge. I tried doing that w/the herbs and I noticed that they stay moist and get modly faster. Are they supposed to be moist or dry? What is the trick? And for some of the fuits, for instance berries, they say not to prerinse as they will get mushy.
A salad spinner is perfect for drying herbs and veggies before storing after washing.
Fruits and veggies that are going right into the fridge - I do not pre-rinse until I use (i.e. cherries, strawberries, green beans, etc..."; Fruits that will sit on my counter for a short time, like nectarines, mangos, or lemons, I rinse right away. When I freeze blueberries (every August, I buy 15 - 20 lbs), I lay them out on a cookie sheet, uncovered, until they are frozen (usually overnight), then I pick out the bad ones and the stems, measure them and place them in 1 cup bags. I do not rinse them until I use them. Great way to have lots of blueberries. Hope this helps.
I always wash my cilantro, parsley & basil before I put it in the fridge. I do let it dry on the counter for a half hour then I wipe it with a towel to get any excess water, then I put it in a zip lock baggie with a paper towel. they should keep for at least a week. You're right not to rinse berries until you use them, they mold even faster. I do wash my blueberries before I store them, but they only last maybe two days in my house. I usually wash all my veggies & lettuce right away too, unless I know I won't be using it for a few days. I put a paper towel in with my lettuce and wrap it very tightly, it will usually last about ten days.
For herbs, I keep them dry and sealed in a plastic baggy. I rinse prior to using and pat dry with towels,then mince. Except for Parsley, which you can rinse well (hang upside down under faucet), pat dry and place stem-side down in a glass of water (like a vase of flowers!) and store that on the top shelf of a fridge. Parsley keeps for up to a week this way. If it dries out you can chop and put in soups or sautees anyway. But dry and cold in a glass of water is key.
Berries I always keep dry in a fridge, always. Unless I wash and slice and toss with some sugar, like strawberries, which I just keep in tupperware.
It's not a bad idea to wash vegetables before you store in the fridge, and very important to wash the outside of vegetables and fruits before eating, even if you peel them. Melons too should be washed because you are slicing from the outside to the inside, so anything on the outside can contaminate the inner fruit. (think dirt with fertilizer and possibly manure and truck transport and numerous hands handling them.)
Just dry the fruits and vegetables very well before putting them in the fridge and you should be good to go. Fresh Fruits and vegetables should be eaten ideally within 2-4 days of purchase to eat them at their peak nutrition.
Also making sure the fridge is at 40 degrees farenheit is important for freshness and keeping down bacterial/microorganism growth.
I just took a class on Nutrition and Food Safety and have changed over my kitchen -- it's helped!
Happy eating, K.
