Gardening enthusiasts spend the summer weeding, watering and tending to vegetables. The effort has paid off with a bountiful harvest. Maximize the flavor and nutritional value of homegrown vegetables with proper harvesting and storage.
For the freshest flavor, always prepare and serve vegetables immediately after harvest. But let’s face it, most of us are living busy lives and lucky to get the vegetables picked and eventually cooked. Plus, all the extras will need to be shared, preserved or stored for future enjoyment. Here are a few things to do to keep flavors fresh.
Handle produce with care. Nicking, breaking and bruising vegetables during harvest decrease storage life and quality. Harvest leafy crops such as lettuce, kale and collards last as they quickly wilt after harvest. And with the wilting goes the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).
Ideally, vegetables you plan to prepare immediately should be cleaned outdoors. That keeps garden soil out of the kitchen sink and in the garden where it belongs.
Clean counters and cutting boards before slicing, cutting and dicing vegetables. Trim stems, remove damaged leaves and compost these in the garden or worm bin.
Wait to wash, trim and clean vegetables you plan to store or prepare later. The scraping, cutting and slicing process increases the loss of vitamins and flavor and reduces storage quality.
Increase storage longevity by matching vegetables with their preferred storage conditions. The closer you come to this, the longer produce will last.
Store roots crops like beets, turnips and radishes as well as cabbage and Brussels sprouts in a cold, moist condition. A spare refrigerator works great for these.
Keep potatoes in a cool, humid and dark location like a cool corner in the basement. Sunlight causes the exposed portions to produce green chlorophyll and solanine, a glycoalkaloid toxin. Solanine gives potatoes a bitter flavor and can cause vomiting and diarrhea if enough green potatoes are eaten. Just cut away any green portions before using.
Store winter squash in a cool location as well. They can tolerate a bit lower humidity and last for four months or more when properly harvested and stored.
Use slatted crates or other vegetable storage solutions to maximize storage space and increase longevity. They provide ample storage space so fruits and vegetables do not touch. Keeping stored fruit separated prevents rot from spreading from one fruit to the next. Plus, slatted sides allow airflow to extend storage longevity.
A few simple changes in handling the harvest will improve storage life, flavor and nutritional quality. Better quality means less waste and more abundance for cooking and sharing. Follow these harvesting tips to enjoy garden-fresh meals throughout the remainder of the growing season.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books including the nationally syndicated “Melinda’s Garden Moments” TV and radio segments. The columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine was commissioned by Gardener’s Supply for this article.
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