If your produce is spoiling faster than you can eat it, you may want to try storing it differently.
If you’re tired spoiled food being tossed into the compost, produce bags — marketed as fountains of youth for your salad staples — might be a worthwhile consideration. Reusable produce bags are very easy to find and if they actually work, they can save you quite a bit of money in the long run.
What the produce looked like on the day of purchase, and all the different produce bags used.
I washed all the produce, let it air dry and stored each in its respective bag. The Ambrosia linen produce bags for both leafy greens and vegetables state that the produce should be wet and that the bags should remain moist, so I followed these instructions. Then, I placed them all in the same produce drawer in my refrigerator.
The romaine lettuce on Day 4.
As for the red bell peppers, all showed increased wrinkling. Both the mesh and linen peppers had stems, which were starting to show signs of spoilage. At this point, I couldn’t say which looked the least fresh.
What the romaine looked like on Day 8.
Again, all the red bell peppers showed signs of expanded wrinkling, but I can’t say whether one wrinkled more than the others. The stems on the mesh and linen peppers continued to show spoilage, which was more apparent on the linen pepper’s stem. However, that one was also longer and likely more prone to displaying flaws due to its larger surface area.
The lettuce at the end of the experiment.
As for the red bell peppers, I was finally able to notice differences. While all showed further wrinkling, the compostable pepper had the deepest wrinkles. Between the linen and mesh candidates, the mesh had more wrinkles than the linen, but only slightly.
The red bell peppers in the different produce bags.
Linen is also antimicrobial, meaning it prevents bacteria growth and the formation of mold. “Linen bags are truly the way to go for produce quality and environmental sustainability,” Ussery said.
As for mesh bags, they allow for more air circulation while absorbing less excess moisture. If you currently have mesh produce bags, Ussery recommends placing a paper towel in the bag along with the produce to help soak up moisture. You may also want to avoid storing leafy greens and fresh herbs in these bags, as excessive air circulation can cause dehydration, leading to increased wilting. That would explain why the romaine stored in the mesh bag wilted more than the romaine stored in the linen.
