Preserve your produce!

So, what do you do with your produce when you go away on a trip? If you time it just right, you can eat it before you go, but that doesn't always work. When we were gone last week, I had quite a bit of produce that we weren't able to use before we left. I have been using a couple of products since this past fall to help preserve our produce and keep it fresh longer. Our trip was a good way to put them up to a real challenge. We were actually gone for a total of 9 days. 

The two products that I've been using are Evert fresh green bags and Extra Life produce saver discs. Both of them are natural and contain no harmful chemicals. Here's how the process works. All plants begin to emit ethylene gas once they are removed from their root.  Ethylene gas, along with excessive oxygen and carbon dioxide begin to destroy the plant. Bruising, cutting, excessive moisture, and extreme temps can also be detrimental to produce and cause excess Ethylene gas production. 

The bags are impregnated with a natural mineral to help absorbs the Ethylene gas as well as the other gases. In doing this, they help preserve the life of the produce. You should never store your new produce with older produce in the bags, because that can cause the newer produce to spoil faster. The bags are reusable and need to be washed with water in between uses.  There's a bag wash you can purchase to help clean your bags. You also need to make sure your produce is dry and not sitting in water in the bags. I sometimes place a paper towel or organic coffee filter in the bottom of the bag to help absorb the moisture. The bags come in three sizes: small, medium, and large. You can buy them in variety packs as well. I love them and have noticed a huge difference in how long my things last. 

The discs, which are placed in your produce bins, help to neutralize Ethylene gas once they are activated.  They last for 3 months. 

I use both the bags and discs simultaneously and have found them to be very helpful in preserving my fruits and veggies for a longer period of time. All of my stuff was still fresh when we returned from our trip except for one green pepper. It must've had too much moisture in the bag. I didn't have a paper towel in with it and there seemed to be a lot of moisture in the bag. 9 days is long time anyway!! Everything else looked great!

Here' s a picture of my produce bins. 

Click here for the Evert Fresh website and here for the Extra Life Produce Saver website. If you live in the Madison area, I have seen the Evert bags at Willy Street Coop. So, if you have a local health food store, you may be able to find them. 

Extra Life Produce Saver.