4 fruits and vegetables you're storing wrong

You bring home fresh fruits and vegetables, stash them in the refrigerator and then wonder what the heck happened to make them shrivel, rot or go limp a few days later. Much of the time, the culprit is the way you're storing them. To keep your produce fresher longer, remember:

- Fruits and vegetables don't play well together. So don't store them together in a refrigerator drawer or next to each other on the counter or in the pantry. Why? Many fruits produce ethylene gas, which acts like a ripening hormone and can speed spoilage.

- Vegetables need to breathe. Poke holes in the plastic bags you store them in, or keep them in reusable mesh bags. An airtight plastic bag is the worst choice for storing vegetables, according to Barry Swanson, professor emeritus of food science at Washington State University. And don't pack veggies tightly together, either; they need space for air circulation or they'll spoil faster.

3 -Don't clean produce until you're ready to use it. Washing fruits or vegetables before storing them makes them more likely to spoil, because dampness encourages bacteria growth, says food research scientist Amanda Deering of Purdue University.

1. GARLIC

Store at room temperature in an open container, to allow air circulation. Don't take off a clove's protective papery husk until you're ready to prep. And it's fine to store garlic next to its buddy, the onion.

2. ONIONS

Find some (clean) pantyhose. Add onions to each leg, tying knots between each one. Hang at room temperature. If that doesn't appeal to you, onions can be stored like garlic at room temperature on a countertop. Just keep them away from potatoes. And don't put them in the refrigerator: The humidity and cold temperature will cause onions to turn mushy. Storing them away from light also helps keep them from becoming bitter.

3. TOMATOES

Stem side up or down? Refrigerator or countertop? The debate continues, but North Carolina tomato expert Craig LeHoullier, author of the upcoming Epic Tomatoes, says the evidence in favour of storing standard-size tomatoes stem side down, which Cook's Illustrated magazine advised in 2008, is scant at best. It might help keep moisture from collecting around the stem and causing spoilage, he concedes, but "it really depends on the type of tomato: A thin-skinned, delicate heirloom will have a different result than a thick-skinned supermarket variety." More important: Keep tomatoes out of the refrigerator if at all possible. The cold breaks down their cell structure, making them mushy. Once they ripen at room temperature, eat them at peak flavour or freeze them to use later in cooking.

4. BANANAS

Break up the bunch, as charming as it might look. Then wrap each stem in plastic wrap. That will reduce the emission of ethylene gas, and the bananas will ripen more slowly. Once a banana reaches the desired amount of ripeness, you can refrigerate it; the cold will keep it from ripening further.

source:http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/food-wine/food-news/68857887/10-fruits-and-vegetables-youre-storing-wrong

Fruity summer on your plate

From watermelons, muskmelons and grapes, to imported fruits such as kiwi, cherries and plums, summer gets a juicy break with a large variety of fruit

It is the end of March, and the temperature is soaring with the arrival of summer. But there is reason to celebrate, with fruits such as watermelons, musk melons, grapes, mangoes, and guavas flooding the market. Fruit lovers know the sheer delight of biting into a juicy watermelon, feasting on luscious, sweet mangoes and munching on sweet-tangy grapes.

There is also a profusion of international fruits, from Kiwis to fancy apples, and pears, peaches and plums. The sheer variety of fruits would leave one spoilt for choice. Dr. S.V. Hittalmani, former additional director of fruits, department of horticulture, who at present works as an advisor in the department says that since the world is divided into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, one part of the globe will experience winter and the other part summer, and vice versa, and so there is no dearth of summer fruits. “There are imported apples from New Zealand, Washington, Japan, and China, and Kiwi fruit from New Zealand. From South-East Asian countries, we get durian, rambutan, langsat and longan. From Thailand, we get sweet tamarind and big-sized guavas. Black currants, cherries, peaches and plums come from Mediterranean countries.”

The most popular fruits during summer are watermelons, says G.C. Kumar, assistant manager, fruits and vegetables, Reliance Retail Limited, Bengaluru. “The Kiran watermelon is very popular. Musk melon, melody melon and sun melon are the second most popular, for their juice.”

People also look forward to the mango season, which begins from the first week of May. “Mangoes in varieties of Sindhura, Badami, Mallika, Sugar baby, Dilpasand, Kalpad and Neelam are very popular,” explains G.C. Kumar. Pavithra H, a software engineer says, “I wait for the mango season because for me, the king of fruits — the mango — makes summer special.”

Kumar says that though fruits cultivated in India are popular, imported fruits such as apple Fuji, apple Washington, apple royal gala, green apple, apple rose, kiwi fruit, Shandong pear, pears from US and South Africa, golden pear, imported plums, imported red globe grapes and guavas from Malaysia and Thailand are available too.

Red globe a variety of seeded red grapes that mostly come from Chile are also cultivated in Bangalore, says Dr. Hittalmani. “Red globes cultivated here are in no way inferior to those that from Chile. In fact, they are of high export quality.” Aslam Khan, a fruit vendor, says the quality of imported fruits isn’t as good as fruits cultivated in India. “People just get excited seeing apples with the tag ‘New Zealand’ attached to them. Imported fruits are no match to our watermelons, melons and mangoes. My fruit business does well during summer. Watermelons are a clear favourite. And imported fruits are quite expensive — who would spend so much money on them? People prefer to eat cut fruit and fruits chaats from vendors, and drink fruit juices too.”

Swetha, a college student, prefers watermelons. “I like watermelon juice in particular. It’s healthy and refreshing.” Dr. Hittalmani agrees. “Watermelons are high in sugar and minerals. There are native melons too, but they are no match to musk melons.”

source: Hindu

5 vegetables that make you fat

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Just because there’s a vegetable in the name, doesn’t make it the right menu item to order. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The world is an uncertain place. Stock markets rise and fall, fashion trends come and go, and the things we could always count on one day vanish: Derek Jeter is gone, David Letterman is going, and Tom Brady has been deflated.

But in a world of confusion, at least there’s one thing you can rely on: Some foods will always be healthy and reliable. Like Mom says: Just eat your vegetables.

Except not. Thanks to the brilliance of food marketers who can’t leave a good thing well enough alone, even these stalwarts of nutrition have somehow been rendered fattening. Here are five types of vegetables that you’d be better off avoiding—no matter what Mom says—in this exclusive report from Eat This, Not That!.

Vegetable Tempura
Drenching vegetables in flour and oil makes for a meal in which most of your calories come from flour and oil. No vegetable is healthy enough to stand up to the onslaught.

How Bad Is It? One serving of blanched green beans has 22 calories and 0 grams of fat. One serving of tempura green beans has 230 calories and 11 grams of fat. We know, some places make the tempura so light and flaky, it seems like that thin layer of deliciousness can’t possible add that many calories. But you can’t argue with the math—you’re eating 10 times as many calories.

Veggie Chips
Oh, those clever food marketers. You can just hear the wheels spinning: If people think one fried vegetable—the potato chip—is bad for them, let’s fry other vegetables and hope they don’t notice they’re the same thing! We’re sorry to break this to you, but veggie chips are just as bad, if not worse, than potato chips. (And in a recent study, potato chips were ranked the worst food for weight gain out of all the foods that exist on the planet!)

How Bad Are They? One serving of Terra Sweet Potato Chips has more calories, fat and saturated fat as a serving of Cape Cod Potato Chips. Though we like other products from their line, don’t assume it’s healthier just because the shade of potato is different.

Vegetable Juice
The juice craze has probably done more for the diet industry than any other trend in recent history. And not because it helped people lose weight, but because it made people pack on pounds and go out searching for weight loss help.

How Bad Is It? One small cup of Kale Orange Power Juice from Jamba Juice has 190 calories and 33 grams of sugar. That’s as many calories as a Krispy Kreme glazed doughnut. And the doughnut has 23 fewer grams of sugar, too.

Vegetable Smoothies
Smoothies are like juices on steroids. While they do contain more good-for-you fiber, they usually come with even higher calorie and sugar counts. Bottom line: Drinking your vegetables is the least tasty way to get a sugar high.

How Bad Are They? A small Amazing Greens Smoothie at Jamba Juice is 420 calories and a whopping 54 grams of sugar. That’s as many calories as three cans of Coke and as much sugar as four giant Pixie Stix. Nobody wins here.

Vegetable Dips
Whether it’s artichoke or spinach, these dips sound so much better than “green-speckled sour cream dip,” but that’s really what they are. Nothing sets your night of healthy eating off course like a big bowl of one of these party favorites.

How Bad Are They? Two tablespoons of Marzetti Dill Veggie Dip gives you 110 calories, almost all of them from fat. And while there are plenty of vegetables pictured on the label, you’ll have to supply those yourself. You could eat two tablespoons of Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil straight from the jar and still get less fat and calories than you would from this “veggie” snack.

source: yahoo health

"Ugly" Fruits And Vegetables On Sale

Oakland-Based Imperfect Will Sell Only "Ugly" Fruits And Vegetables

 Source:dogonews 

Similar to humans, produce comes in different shapes and sizes. Yet, chances are you have probably never encountered a gnarly looking carrot or an apple with "character" at your local grocery store or farmers market. That's because any fruit or vegetable that looks different from what is considered "normal" is deemed undesirable and automatically tossed out!

Experts estimate that six billion pounds or about twenty percent of all produce grown in the US ends up either inlandfill or as animal feed, annually. Now Ben Chesler, Ben Simon and Ron Clark want to change that with their aptly named startup "Imperfect." The Oakland-based company plans to purchase the"cosmetically challenged produce" from farmers and sell it either through a supermarket chain they recently signed a deal with or by delivering it directly to consumers.

Chesler and Simon believe that once consumers realize that "ugly" fruits and vegetables taste as good as the "beautiful" produce supermarkets display, they will embrace the cause. The company who is working with farmers in California, plans to start selling the produce to the residents of Oakland and Berkeley by July 2015. If all goes well, Imperfect will extend the service to other California cities and then hopefully, to other states as well.

In addition to preventing waste, Imperfect's idea will also result in additional income for farmers who are sometimes forced to trash as much as 50% of their harvest just because it doesn't look "right." Consumers that eat the produce will benefit too. That's because the entrepreneurs estimate it will cost as much as 30-50% less than grocery store produce.

And if that's not enough to convince you that "ugly" produce may be worth a try, how about this? It will help the environment too! That's because rotting produce releases harmful methane into the atmosphere. Additionally, fordrought-ridden California the business could not have come at a better time. Each pound of food that gets sold prevents the 25-50 gallons of water it takes to grow a pound of produce from being wasted! The one benefit the entrepreneurs have not factored in is that kids may consume more fruits and vegetables if look "different" than the boring ones they encounter today!

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