Back from the farmers market - now what?
You found a great market, you went, and now you're home. And... wow, but you bought a lot of stuff. Perhaps more than you planned. Perhaps way more than you planned. What do you do now?
As someone who's been known to come home (or even back to hotel rooms) with a tremendous amount of produce, an amount of produce that may strike many as completely insane, I am here to tell you to take a deep breathe and don't panic; all of whatever you've brought home can be tackled. And it's actually not all that tricky. Just follow these 11 steps, and you'll be golden.
Does 11 sound like a lot? I'm worried that sounds like a lot. It's not though, they really are easy little numbers and you don't have to do all of them. They are more tips than steps. Eleven tips!
Citrus fruits and plenty of orchard fruits like peaches and pears are best stored at room temperature. Rinse and dry these fruits and set them out. This way they're ready to eat or cook with and you won't forget about them. Have more delicate fruits like cherries or strawberries that you plan to eat today? Put them out too.
Like lots of other fruits (tomatoes are, botanically speaking, fruits), tomatoes will taste best if left at room temperature. Time in the fridge turns tomatoes mealy, and is best avoided. Feel free to rinse them clean and pat them dry first so they're ready to roll.
Did you buy cauliflower to pop as florets? Carrots and celery to eat as sticks? Peel and cut and get these things in ready-to-eat shape now and you'll be more likely to follow through on those good intentions.
If you bought any root vegetables that have their leaves attached – carrots, beets, turnips, kohlrabi - separate them now so they will each last longer and will be closer to being ready to cook.
With the exception of potatoes and mature onions, put any root vegetables – beets, carrots, green garlic, spring onions, turnips, etc. – in plastic bags, loosely twist the bags shut, and put them in the bottom drawer in the fridge. Do not wash them first, even though they may have some dirt clinging to them; they will last longer if left as-is. Potatoes and onions can be left at room temperature, although they will last longest if they are in the dark and away from each other. Did you score some new potatoes? Those can go in the fridge if you're not going to use them within a day or two.
Whether you have peppery arugula or butter lettuce heads, any greens other than hearty kale and collard greens will last longest if you wash them now, dry them thoroughly, and roll them up in paper towels before tucking them into plastic bags and putting them in the fridge.
Most herbs - cilantro and parsley in particular - can be treated like greens (see step 7) to great effect. Mint and basil fair best if put in a jar of water like flowers before being covered with a plastic bag and put in the fridge. I will admit that's a tad fussy for many people, and simply getting them loosely wrapped in plastic and using them in a few days works fine.
Did you buy way more berries than you can use this week? Did you purposefully buy cherries to put in the freezer? If you're going to freeze things, you might as well do it today when everything is super fresh:
As someone who's been known to come home (or even back to hotel rooms) with a tremendous amount of produce, an amount of produce that may strike many as completely insane, I am here to tell you to take a deep breathe and don't panic; all of whatever you've brought home can be tackled. And it's actually not all that tricky. Just follow these 11 steps, and you'll be golden.
Does 11 sound like a lot? I'm worried that sounds like a lot. It's not though, they really are easy little numbers and you don't have to do all of them. They are more tips than steps. Eleven tips!
1. Unpack Your Haul
I know this seems obvious, but I find it's best to take everything out of whatever bags I've hauled it all home in and lay it out on a table or counter. It's good to get a full visual assessment of what's been acquired. Just take it all in. Take a deep breathe if you need to. Then you'll be able to see how many bags, which bowls, and how much space you're going to need.
2. Make a List
This step is what separates the rookies from the pros. Whenever I come home with a haul from the farmers market, I make a list of what I've bought. That way I know what's hiding in the fridge and, hopefully, I'll remember to use it. If I bought something with a specific purpose in mind, I note that down too. Do it first thing, while you can see everything and what might have been running through your mind when you grabbed that extra bag of fava beans.
3. Put Out the Fruits
Citrus fruits and plenty of orchard fruits like peaches and pears are best stored at room temperature. Rinse and dry these fruits and set them out. This way they're ready to eat or cook with and you won't forget about them. Have more delicate fruits like cherries or strawberries that you plan to eat today? Put them out too.
4. Set Out the Tomatoes
Like lots of other fruits (tomatoes are, botanically speaking, fruits), tomatoes will taste best if left at room temperature. Time in the fridge turns tomatoes mealy, and is best avoided. Feel free to rinse them clean and pat them dry first so they're ready to roll.
5. Prep Snacks
Did you buy cauliflower to pop as florets? Carrots and celery to eat as sticks? Peel and cut and get these things in ready-to-eat shape now and you'll be more likely to follow through on those good intentions.
6. Separate the Roots From Their Leaves
If you bought any root vegetables that have their leaves attached – carrots, beets, turnips, kohlrabi - separate them now so they will each last longer and will be closer to being ready to cook.
7. Chill the Root Vegetables
With the exception of potatoes and mature onions, put any root vegetables – beets, carrots, green garlic, spring onions, turnips, etc. – in plastic bags, loosely twist the bags shut, and put them in the bottom drawer in the fridge. Do not wash them first, even though they may have some dirt clinging to them; they will last longer if left as-is. Potatoes and onions can be left at room temperature, although they will last longest if they are in the dark and away from each other. Did you score some new potatoes? Those can go in the fridge if you're not going to use them within a day or two.
8. Chill the Other Vegetables; Prep Some If You Like
Other vegetables like cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, asparagus, etc. should also be loosely wrapped in plastic and popped in the fridge. You can wash and thoroughly dry these vegetables first, if you like. Heartier vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower can even stand up to being trimmed and even chopped to prep them for cooking a few days in advance, so you can do that too if you want.
9. Wash the Greens
Whether you have peppery arugula or butter lettuce heads, any greens other than hearty kale and collard greens will last longest if you wash them now, dry them thoroughly, and roll them up in paper towels before tucking them into plastic bags and putting them in the fridge.
10. Tackle the Herbs
Most herbs - cilantro and parsley in particular - can be treated like greens (see step 7) to great effect. Mint and basil fair best if put in a jar of water like flowers before being covered with a plastic bag and put in the fridge. I will admit that's a tad fussy for many people, and simply getting them loosely wrapped in plastic and using them in a few days works fine.
11. Planning to Freeze? Do It Now.
Did you buy way more berries than you can use this week? Did you purposefully buy cherries to put in the freezer? If you're going to freeze things, you might as well do it today when everything is super fresh:
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