Posted by RF at 9:19am Oct 23 '09most fruit and veggies keep best in the veggie bin. it keeps it at a more even, slightly higher temp than the rest of the fridge. i have a pretty small one, though, so onions, carrots, celery, zucchini and other hard veggies i keep on the bottom shelf, freeing up the veggie bin for things like lettuce, herbs, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc and fruits. fruits usually need to be ripened on top of the fridge before you put them inside, though. rarely do you get ripe stuff from the store. same can be done with tomatoes, avocados and other veggies that need ripening.
root veggies like potatoes dont really have to be refrigerated (nor onions for that matter) but i do anyway. ive heard from some people that theyll actually spoil faster like that, but i havent had any last long enough for that to happen. if youre going to keep them out of the fridge put them in a dark cool place, inside a paper bag and they should keep for a few weeks. might start growing eyes, and watching you in the shower, but just rip the eyes off before cooking.
some people keep garlic out of the fridge, but i keep it in the veggie bin. i find it lasts longer keeping the flavor better. out of the fridge it can start to dry out if left for a while. in the fridge it could last a month or more.
for fresh herbs, i find the best way to keep them is to wrap the loosely with a damp paper towel and close them up in a tied plastic bag to lock in the moisture. ive also started breathing into the bag a bit before tying it closed. this adds a bit more moisture as well as carbon dioxide. even though most herbs have been cut from their roots, theyre still alive and breathing. for an experiment to see if this accomplished anything, i tried keeping some dill using only this method, without the damp paper towel. after two weeks (possibly even close to three, i dont remember at this point.) most of it was still good. some of it had yellowed and spoiled but a good portion still looked fine.
root veggies like potatoes dont really have to be refrigerated (nor onions for that matter) but i do anyway. ive heard from some people that theyll actually spoil faster like that, but i havent had any last long enough for that to happen. if youre going to keep them out of the fridge put them in a dark cool place, inside a paper bag and they should keep for a few weeks. might start growing eyes, and watching you in the shower, but just rip the eyes off before cooking.
some people keep garlic out of the fridge, but i keep it in the veggie bin. i find it lasts longer keeping the flavor better. out of the fridge it can start to dry out if left for a while. in the fridge it could last a month or more.
for fresh herbs, i find the best way to keep them is to wrap the loosely with a damp paper towel and close them up in a tied plastic bag to lock in the moisture. ive also started breathing into the bag a bit before tying it closed. this adds a bit more moisture as well as carbon dioxide. even though most herbs have been cut from their roots, theyre still alive and breathing. for an experiment to see if this accomplished anything, i tried keeping some dill using only this method, without the damp paper towel. after two weeks (possibly even close to three, i dont remember at this point.) most of it was still good. some of it had yellowed and spoiled but a good portion still looked fine.
RFs rules to keeping veggies fresh - RF