JW: All season we've worked hard in our gardens, or maybe we've hauled bags full of produce from the farmers’ market. Everything looks so fresh and colorful! How can we keep it that way, even through the winter? I'm Judy Wagley, this is “From the Ground Up!” Michele Monroe, along with her husband Fred, raises a cornucopia of vegetables at Monroe Family Organics in Alma. And since they supply stores and restaurants around the region, they always want to keep what they grow in tip-top shape. Thanks for joining me today, Michele.
MM: Oh, no problem.
JW: I know I get a little overzealous and often grow or buy too much. It all looks so good. And I have so many recipes that I'd like to try. What's the best way to store that late season produce? I know my weakness is squash, all of the varieties! Can you help us out?
MM: Yeah, absolutely. So if you pick up a few squash, like at the farmers market, or if you're part of a CSA, and you get squash, or you grow it in your garden, the best thing to do is keep it in a cool dry place. You don't want it to get too damp, the cooler you can keep it the better, but you know not with refrigerator temperature. So if you've got like a room in your house that's colder than all the rest, or if your basement is plenty dry, or you know your garage doesn't get too cold and frozen. That'd be like a good place as long as it stays nice and dry. And it's also pretty important to check that your squash before you put it away for dents and dings and stuff like that. Because if it's got a dent or a ding, especially if you see kind of a little round discoloration around the dent, you're going to want to use that one up pretty soon, that's probably not one that you're going to want to store. Those are the ones you'll want to use in your recipes first. But if it had a dent or a ding, and it looks like it's healed over pretty well and it's got kind of like a scar and it doesn't appear to, you know, be ready to go bad right around that spot, then that's fine to put that one away.
JW: And we're talking winter squash—butternut, buttercup, acorn squash—
MM: Absolutely delicatas, honey nuts.
JW: What about potatoes?
MM: Potatoes. So you know, it really depends. So when we get people potatoes through our CSA program, we always tell people leave them in the plastic bag that they came in and put them in the fridge, because they just you know, stay better that way. Because those are not potatoes that come in the 10 pound bags from the store-- then it's really hard to, you know, put those in the fridge. So yeah, I would say wrap it, wrap it up in a plastic bag and put it in the fridge if you've got the space. And if you don't have the space, like for instance, you've got two bushels of potatoes that you brought out of your garden. Again, you want to keep it cool, you want to keep it dry, and leave the dirt on for as long as possible. Don't wash it till you're ready to use it because that dirt and acts as a protective layer between the potato and the air.
JW: What about other root vegetables- like beets or parsnips?
MM: Yeah, so, the best thing to do is again, I would first separate the greens, because if you leave the greens on, they're going to get a little bit spongy a lot sooner, they'll last a lot longer if you take the greens off. And don't discard the greens! Either you can eat them-- beet greens, radish, greens, they're really, good sauteed or in stir fries. So don't just throw them out. Definitely use those!
JW: And they're good for you too.
MM: Yes, absolutely. And so then once you have the greens separated from the root, if it's a smaller amount, like you pick some up at the farmers market, I you know, again, put it in a plastic grocery bag in the fridge. But if you've got like a lot, you know, I'd still probably do that. Just clear out some space in the fridge and, and put them in there because really, that's going to be the best thing for them. And if you throw them in the fridge loose, often they will kind of go bad a little sooner. Like carrots, beets, they'll get kind of spongy and springy a lot sooner if you just throw them in loose. So you definitely want like a protective barrier between the vegetable and the air. So whether that's a plastic bag or you leave the dirt still on the carrots. I mean both would be ideal.
JW: How long can we expect those to last in the fridge?
MM: Oh gosh, a good long time. Usually when I bring carrots in and throw them in my fridge in a plastic bag, you get you know, a month two months out of them just fine. And honestly, there have been some things that I found in there. carrots and beets that kind of fell to the back of the fridge-- and I found them like three or four months later and they were still fine.
JW: That's when it's time to make soup!
MM: Yes, or a big ol’ stir fry
JW: What about greens that we can get this time of year?
MM: Yeah so greens-- there's a lot of really nice stuff this time of year-- kale and spinach and you know fresh spring mix type stuff. I wouldn't recommend freezing anything that's “lettuce-y,” but you can absolutely freeze kale, you can freeze spinach. The texture doesn't come back super well, but it's great to throw in a soup or a smoothie. But if you're you know freezing kale that you're intending to make a kale salad, the texture is just not going to be the same.
JW: Just freeze it raw?
MM: Yeah, you actually can. I mean you can blanch it first but I just you know strip it off the stem and throw it into like a gallon-sized freezer bag raw and then you pull out handfuls to throw into a soup or whatever as you need it.
JW: These are great tips, and I know that “From the Ground Up!” listeners are going to get a lot of great information here.
MM: Oh, I'm so glad. Thank you!
JW: Michelle Monroe from Monroe Family Organics in Alma. Thanks for joining me today for “From the Ground Up!”
MM: Oh, no problem. This was so fun. Thank you for having me!
