It feels like the universe wants to eat them before I can, sometimes…

  • kingludd@lemmy.basedcount.com
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    1 year ago

    Fruit: dehydrate, freeze, or alcoholic fermentantion. Some fruit have special methods, like sulphured apples or bletted medlars.

    Vegetables: easiest thing is to pack in brine of 3Tbl per Qt, leave at room temperature or a little cooler for a week before eating. I alway throw in some onion and garlic because I like it that way. Lasts like 6 months at room temperature. Most vegetables have additional special traditional preservation methods, but that fermented pickle in brine works for pretty much all of them.

    If you want to be more specific with which foods you need to preserve, I can provide more options.

    I’m writing a book on food preservation, ama.

    • ElderReflections@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I always go for garlic, chili, corriander seed & onion seed in the brine, that makes even the blandest veggies tasty as

      • kingludd@lemmy.basedcount.com
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        1 year ago

        Ah, a fellow connoisseur I see. Do you add enough chili to make them spicy?

        Have you tried onion, garlic, fenugreek, coriander, chili? I did a duck and a rattlesnake that way this summer and they were both indescribably delicious on crackers.

    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You forgot about non-alcoholic fermentation.

      Edit: wow, downvotes from some salty alcoholic dipshits.

      • stoneparchment@possumpat.io
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        1 year ago

        dude the downvotes are because the entire vegetable section is about lactic acid fermentation, so your comment is just factually wrong

        It’s okay to be wrong… just maybe think about whether it’s your own mistake before calling people alcoholic dipshits

  • Nefara@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Not sure if you’re thinking of long or short term, but I’ve found that if I want to have, say, 2lbs of stawberries last me until I can eat them that a vinegar rinse in the sink will stave off the mold. It also has the benefit of killing off some common bacteria like e coli and staphylococcus aureus if you let it sit for long enough. Whenever I get fresh fruit that I’m not going to eat that day or the next, I’ll clean it by dumping it in a colander and spraying it thoroughly with a spritz bottle full of food grade white vinegar and letting it sit for at least 5min, sometimes a half hour. Then I rinse it with water, let it dry a bit and then put it in the fridge. Strawberries will last over a week generally, and they usually go soft or ferment before they go moldy.

  • abbadon420@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Keep your bananas away from other fruit (including other bananas). Bananas give off a lot of ethylene, which quickens the ripening process. All fruits give off ethylene, it’s part of the ripening process, but banans do give off the most.

    • ALostInquirer@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      Huh, so if something seemed a little under-ripe, you might be able to use bananas to help ripen them up? If so, that could be a useful trick!

  • Contramuffin@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Freeze if you can. I should point out though that if your things seem to be rotting at much higher rates than you would expect, then there might be something else that’s molding, and that thing might be spreading the mold spores onto your vegetables. I would suggest checking all the contents of your fridge for mold if that’s the case

  • 1337@1337lemmy.com
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    1 year ago

    Prolly not exactly what you’re looking for but an option nonetheless: make jam. The sugar helps preserve, plus put it in jars and put the jar in the fridge, lasts a long time

  • Metostopholes@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    One option is to pickle them. Even without canning them, which is a whole process to itself, you can put pretty much any vegetables in water, salt, and vinegar and they’ll preserve in the fridge for much longer.

    Just search whatever vegetable you have plus “pickled” and you’ll find recipes.

    Edit: you can pickle fruits, too!

  • BrikoX@lemmy.zip
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    1 year ago

    Freezing is my go to or just putting in some air-right container to make it last a little bit longer.

    • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Seconded. Massage it with 2% salt until it cries so hard it admits to murder, then pack it all in a big jar and weigh it down with a baggy of brine. It will last until you eat it all.

  • over_clox@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I hear the way they preserve apples and other fruits for months is to store them in a special refrigerator with all the oxygen pumped out, only nitrogen gas I believe.

  • SpeedLimit55@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    We cut up some fruit to freeze and individually pack it in snack bags to be used in future smoothies and baking. This works well with berries and bananas. Extra homegrown veggies go to the office to share. The rest go in the ditch behind the house for the animals to enjoy. The ditch is dry when not raining so raccoons, possums, squirrels, foxes, deer, and birds all use it to travel and fruit and vegs disappear.

    • edric@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      How do you defrost them if you plan to just eat them as is for a snack? Do you just leave them out to thaw?

      • SpeedLimit55@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        That is the problem, they end up a little mushy after you defrost them so you have to use them in something. If you are doing a smoothie you can go straight from freezer to blender which is convenient.

  • teft@startrek.website
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    1 year ago

    How are you storing your veggies? Some fruits and vegetables emit ethylene gas which promotes ripening in many fruits and veggies. Things like storing bananas with apples will cause both to turn rotten faster. Also storing fruits in bags that don’t allow the ethylene to escape will cause your veggies to rot faster.

    • ALostInquirer@lemm.eeOP
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      1 year ago

      At best I’ve only cleaned them (fruit & veggies) off then refrigerated them (either open air or sometimes in bags), which probably explains a lot. I’d heard/read of freezing before but somehow missed the blanching part of the advice.

      • Daisyifyoudo@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Moisture and temperature control is key to learning how to reduce food spoilage in perishable fruits and vegetables

        I keep mine in my fridge, usually in bags, with paper towels inserted and changed regularly. Paper towels absorb the excess moisture which promotes decay. Usually help extend the life of my veggies, especially leafy greens, for an additional week or so