Prevent Wasted Food

Eeek, it’s ethylene!! & other freshness tips for summer produce

Summer Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

Don’t you love the colors, smells and, of course, the taste of fresh summertime produce? From berries to basil and beets, cherries to cherry tomatoes, chives to cucumbers, peaches and peppers to parsley, radishes, herbs, all kinds of leafy greens and so many others, we are blessed with a variety of lovely plant edibles here in the Willamette Valley. Whether you grow your own, buy from a store or farmers’ market, now’s the time to make the most of the abundant fruit and veggies in season!

Recent garden haul: strawberries, basil, radishes, lettuces, arugula — ready for PREP NOW EAT LATER & proper storage

That means wasting less, more “Prep Now/Eat Later” and proper storage of those products, and respecting the time and energy all the water, energy, human time and labor, soil amendment and transportation cost that went into their production and delivery. Not to mention all that $$ YOU SPENT on produce or on seeds, plant starts, garden supplies and water!

It helps to keep a little science in mind when handling produce fresh from the garden, market or grocery store. Did you know that certain fruits and veggies are best stored separately, due to a certain naturally-occurring ripening agent?

EEEK! IT’S ETHYLENE!

Ethylene gas is a plant hormone released by certain fruits and vegetables during their maturation process — think apples, avocados, tomatoes, bananas and peaches, to name just a few. We’ve all had our share of revolting experiences with the wrinkly, shriveled, spotty, mushy, moldy and rotting after-effects of ethylene vapors (like our Kitchen Confessions here)! Neighboring fruit or veggies, BEWARE!

Here’s a few things for Conscientious Consumers to know:

  • AN INTRO TO ETHYLENE — from a helpful gardening site we found during our blog research. Here’s another good summary, and a more academic treatment of the subject is here.
  • FRUITS RELEASE MORE ethylene than veggies (generally speaking), and unripe fruits — with skins and stems intact — tend to be lower emitters. A warm environment (such as indoors on your counter) encourages ethylene release, affecting both the fruit itself and any neighboring produce.
  • REFRIGERATION slows down the effects of ethylene and gives you more time to make use of those fresh and highly-perishable items.
  • KNOW YOUR CULPRITS. Which fruits and veggies are ethylene-emitters, and which aren’t? Which are ethylene-sensitive or not? (Not: blueberries.) Which ones are affected by ethylene off-gassing after harvest (think plums, peaches), and which are not? There’s lots of lists available from your favorite search engine. 
  • You can LEVERAGE ETHYLENE to speed up ripening for those rock-hard avocados or nectarines you just picked up. Stick ’em in a bag together and check in a day or two.
  • BRUISES or BROKEN SKIN on produce make it extra-vulnerable to both ethylene and spoilage, so prompt action is needed! In many cases, you can just trim off the damaged parts and prep the rest for juicing, smoothies, cooking, purees, and freezer meals or treats.
  • Ethylene isn’t all bad — riper fruit tastes better!

AVOID THE “EEEK!” FACTOR & KEEP IT FRESH!

  • SEGREGATE and STORE each produce item in its own bag, basket or container, on the counter or in the appropriate area of your fridge or freezer. CHECK DAILY for the ripeness status of tricky perishables like avocados, peaches and tomatoes.
  • After ripening on the counter and transferring to your fridge, label the ripest items to EAT FIRST!
  • HANDLE WITH CARE. Especially when picking produce yourself or transferring to baskets or containers, try to avoid damaging the skins or removing the tops/stems of fruits like strawberries and tomatoes, to prevent additional off-gassing or gas absorption.
  • Do take the time to PREP leafy greens and veggies like carrots and radishes, for quick salads, snacks and less waste! (photos below)
  • Ethylene-suppressed avo, almost-ripe & chill in its own little cubby in our fridge door!
    Prepped garden radishes w/tops

    LEAVE  THOSE CUTE LITTLE CAPS ON your strawberries to keep ’em fresher, longer! You can also go zero waste and make use of those strawberry tops in several ways –they’re highly nutritious.  Just DON’T wash berries until ready to serve and eat.

  • JUST FREEZE IT — especially with cut or past-prime fruit. Keep track of what’s in there with our ever-popular Freezer Inventory form (also in Spanish).
  • USE A PAPER BAG to separate and store ethylene-emitters like peaches, pears, plums and nectarines. It will contain the gas, ripen the fruit AND protect their produce neighbors from accelerated spoilage!
  • Try using an ETHYLENE ABSORBER product like BluApple in your produce drawers. (Note: not necessarily a product endorsement.)
  • REMEMBER FOOD SAFETY — wash and store produce carefully! Damp fruits or veggies in a plastic bag can encourage bacterial growth and mold — so make sure to dry them off first. Check the USDA’s FoodKeeper site for complete info.
Smart Prep w/greens: harvest, wash, spin, layer
Click photo for handy Fruit & Veggie Storage Guide!
  • GREENS CAN STAY FRESH up to a week when you do smart prep and storage! Rinse, spin and place between layered strips of recycled-content paper towels. Repurposed plastic clamshell containers work great for this! Revive wilted greens in a bath of cold water.
  • HELP KIDS learn about growing food, as well as food storage and handling, through OSU’s Food Hero program. There’s tons of colorful reference guides (like this one about strawberries), multicultural, kid- and elder-friendly recipes, and helpful gardening info.

Remember, Conscientious Food Consumers, the best way to avoid “Eeek! Ethylene!” encounters is to EAT IT UP!

Check before you chuck it

Greetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

As we hurtle toward the holidays and the dark days of winter, so many are planning ahead, stocking up and proactively preserving, packing and pickling (as covered in our last posting of “Kitchen Confessions”). Be sure to give yourself a pat on the back for these efforts to not waste food and make the most of your household’s groceries!

So what happens when you head to your fridge, reach for an opened carton of something, a container of leftovers, or that half-eaten something — and find it’s in the last phases of its consume-ability? What if that item that got pushed back on your “Eat First!” shelf/area now looks kind of shriveled, spotty, wrinkled, a tad moldy, or smells a bit “funky”?

What happens when you encounter — omg! — a food package or container with a label informing you that its “best by,” “use by” or “sell by” date occurred last month?? (Three months ago? Or more… That’s happened, for sure, in my home!)

Take a deep breath, Conscientious Food Consumer. Many of those food items do not have to be left behind. The following resources and tips hopefully will inform and reassure you in your efforts to save even more food from going to waste while saving money too!

Food safety is a vast topic, and there is an equally-vast array of resources devoted to it, including food safety apps, books, websites, governmental agencies, advocacy groups and food industry organizations. Regulations for food date labeling also vary from state to state.

As usual, we refer you to the knowledge base at the OSU Extension Service’s Home Food Safety and Preservation program and in particular its publication on food label dates (2013). We also drew from this very informative web page by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) while researching this blog posting.

About those “Best by/Use by/Sell by” dates

As advised on page 4 of our A-Z Fruit and Vegetable Storage Guide: “a product should be safe, wholesome and of good quality if stored and handled properly.” This is a particularly relevant concern if you’re stretching your food budget by shopping discount shelves or at markets that offer popular brands and other products for significant price markdown due to their impending “Best by” or “Sell by” dates.

Prior to 2018, these dates — and terms such as “Best by” or “Use by” — referred primarily to a manufacturer’s claims for how long the product could be considered at its best for flavor, texture, odor and nutritional value (except for infant formula and some baby food labeling requirements from the federal government). The “Sell By” date helps retailers manage their inventories.

Fortunately for consumers, simplified and more uniform guidelines for food date labeling were adopted industry-wide in 2018 by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. They specify that:

  • “Best if used by” refers to a product’s quality; it may not taste or perform as expected after the date, but it is considered safe to use or consume.
  • “Use by” applies to products that are highly perishable, thus involving food safety concerns. Such products should be consumed by the date shown on the package or discarded.

Cases in point: Our cornbread mix pictured above… and I’m still using up a jar of Thai curry paste labeled for 2018!

Check it before you chuck it. Ask your nose: does it pass the smell test? Then apply common sense and trustworthy guidelines like these from “Your Ultimate Shelf Life Guide” at StillTasty.com. It provides comprehensive advice on how long your favorite food or beverage will stay safe, with a searchable database of thousands of food items in every food category.

SMELL TEST: Merely “funky” smelling or looking
(some degradation in quality but not yet a “science experiment”)

  • This is your signal to ACT before it ends up in the compost or garbage! 
  • BREAD: Is it merely stale or is it moldy? Stale bread = croutons or bread crumbs.
  • DAIRY: Even if your milk smells a bit off or tastes sour, it’s still potentially usable for cooking and baking (unless it contains traces of mold). Think pancakes, soups, and fried eggplant batter. Or think of it as buttermilk! Hard cheeses with a little mold can be rescued by cutting one inch in and around the affected area. (Consuming soft cheeses with mold removed is not recommended.)
  • MEAT: Don’t take any chances with raw meat! It’s not supposed to have much of a smell when it is still safe to prepare and eat. Just because it’s no longer bright red doesn’t mean it has spoiled. Example: Is Raw Ground Beef OK If It’s Turning Brown?
  • FRUIT/VEGGIES: In many cases, you can simply remove the bruises, the brown or mushy parts and still use the food item. Wrinkly produce works just fine in many dishes, from casseroles to stir fry and soup! Again, visit StillTasty.com to check your specific item.
  • Check carefully for mold, indicating potential food-borne pathogens.
  • Clean your refrigerator every few months to inhibit bacterial growth, and make sure it is operating consistently at or below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

SMELL TEST: Revolting

Obviously, you’ll want to “chuck” most anything smelly, sticky or slimy, which is an indication of advanced bacterial growth (a.k.a. science experiment)!

But it doesn’t have to go into the landfill if you’re a resident of Corvallis or Philomath (OR), where curbside composting is available. You can toss nasty, spoiled food — including meat, dairy and bones — in the gray Yard Debris (“Mixed Organics”) cart provided by Republic Services. They have a serious industrial process for turning it into a high-quality compost product.

*****

This week’s Kitchen Confession has a happy ending.

Karen Confesses/Lesson Learned:

During the summer, I came very close to composting about two cups of these “ugly” cherries, which had been neglected in the fridge instead of being enjoyed while fresh. (Remembering to practice what I preach,) I “rescued” them from the compost pail, inspected for mold, rinsed them and trimmed off the brown and pitted spots. The remaining parts of the cherries still looked and smelled good, so they got popped into the blender with some frozen blueberries and leftover ice cream for a delicious treat!

$$ Wasted: Zero

So DOES your food pass the smell test? Remember to check it before you chuck it!

 

 

 

 

 

Zukes & cukes & squash, oh my! It’s Preservation Time.

Photo credit: OSU ExtensionGreetings, Conscientious Food Consumers!

With the colors of fall brightening our dwindling hours of daylight, the harvest scramble is underway, along with a new season of eating.

Colorful outdoor displays of pumpkins, varieties of apples, corn and squashes of every shape announce the season at the grocery stores and the farmers’ markets. Neighbors are sharing/offloading zucchini and other overflow garden items.

Following the autumnal equinox, the race is on to get it all prepped and into our fall menus, our freezers, fridges and pantries. Speaking of menus — check out our “Budget Bites” page featuring delicious ideas for meal planning on a budget from NFLB/Sustainability Coalition partner, First Alternative Co-op. We love the Co-op’s recipe blog! Even more inspiration for eating seasonally is available with recipes from the Food Action Team of the Sustainability Coalition.

This year, along with COVID-19, interest is surging in old-fashioned food preservation practices like pickling, freezing, dehydrating and canning. If you’ve shopped at Bi-Mart lately, you may have noticed posters in the aisles with food preservation safety tips for everything from making jelly to jerky, courtesy of OSU Extension Service’s Home Food Safety and Preservation Program.

In the following sections, we will also make use of that expertise to help you make the most of your autumn abundance. You can also get your questions answered by a Master Food Preserver volunteer by calling the toll-free hotline at 800-354-7319 from 9 am to 4 pm, Monday-Friday, through October 9th.

DRY OR DEHYDRATE IT
Skip the snack aisle at the grocery store and bake your own crispy, healthy chips from apples, beets, kale, sweet potatoes and even sliced zukes! It’s not hard to find recipes online, but “Downshiftology” has a million fans (literally) for good reason.

For longer-term preservation of a variety of fruits and veggies using your oven or a food dehydrator, check out this how-to booklet.\

TIP: Use extra caution regarding food safety by following the pre-treatment instructions for destroying bacteria on food items prior to drying.

Beyond trail mix — how to use and enjoy fruits and veggies after drying.

FREEZE IT
– First prep, blanch, and package your future winter meal ingredients, just as for summer fruits and veggies (see our “summertime chillin'” blog).

– Use our Smart Strategies: Storage guide for Freezing Fruits and Vegetables for specific treatments.

– Download the FoodKeeper Food Safety app from the link on our website. It’s a mini-reference guide from the USDA on safe food storage and freshness guidelines for hundreds of food items.

– Don’t forget to make notes on your Freezer Inventory List!

PICKLE IT
For no ‘cukes left behind — nor mushrooms, peppers, corn onions, beans, beets, cabbage, zucchini or what have you! (Can you recite that old tongue-twister about Peter Piper and the pickled peppers?)

Pickling — using vinegar or fermentation — is one of the oldest methods of food preservation. The process has been improved through research and the evolution of food science during the last century, and now there are also resources for those with low-salt or other special dietary requirements. For the safest results, the experts at OSU Extension Service recommend using “up to date recipes from reliable sources.”

No offense to your great-aunt and her recipe!

CAN IT
Whether you’re experienced or a novice, OSU Extension Service has the detailed information you need for successful pressure cooking and/or canning, including checklists for steam- versus pressure-canning methods. It also lists publications on how to care for your home canning equipment.

Veteran canners will also appreciate the new Canning Timer and Checklist App!

In this week’s Kitchen Confessions:

Jeanette Confesses:
These two remnants of artisan cheese were bagged and buried in the meat/cheese drawer of our fridge. By the time we discovered them, they were definitely over-aged!

$$ WASTED:  $3-4

LESSON LEARNED:  Place on “Eat First” shelf next time.

Karen Confesses:

These pears from a neighbor’s no-spray tree were almost ripe when they were given to me, so they wouldn’t end up rotting on the ground! I put them in a clear plastic clamshell in the upper area of my refrigerator compartment, since my “Eat First” area was already crowded. They degenerated into this state while I was temporarily absent from home during the worst of the wildfire smoke.

$$ WASTED:  None (gift); Cost: guilty conscience

LESSON LEARNED: Prepare and eat them right away! Make note of/rotate items in my “Eat First” area.

Wildfires Update: A month ahead of Thanksgiving, we are immensely grateful for the return of breathable air and for the heroic efforts of those working to contain the massive wildfires here in Oregon.