So how do you store… the perfect Tomato?

Never refrigerate your Tomato. Cold kills flavor.

TOMATO (Monday, May 26): Michael Marks, Your Produce Man, is in the kitchen all week. He begins a five-part series on storing your fruits and veggies right. He begins today with one of the most abused produce items…the Tomato. Most regions of the country have locally-grown tomatoes during the summer months, but Florida and California lead the nation in commercial production of Tomatoes. I visited with tomato scientists in Florida a few years ago. The lead scientist, in charge of creating the world’s perfect tomato flat out told me, “It doesn’t matter if we create the perfect Tomato. The consumer ruins the tomato flavor every time by how they store it.” Where are your Tomatoes? Raise your hand if you store your tomatoes in the refrigerator. Shame on you. Never in a million years should you store your tomato in the refrigerator. You see, the tomato is subtropical fruit, just like a banana. They love the subtropical climate. THEY HATE COLD. In fact, cold kills flavor. It’s that simple. Store your tomatoes at room temperature, with the stem end up. The weakest part of the fruit is the crown, the stem end. If you store it with the stem end down, then all of the weight of the tomato will cause the crown to get soft and mushy. If you like a chilled tomato on a salad, about 30 minutes before you serve your salad, put the tomato in the refrigerator. But that’s the only time you should refrigerate your tomatoes.

With Fresh Herbs, the flavor…

Basil is very cold sensitive.

FRESH HERBS (Tuesday, May 27): I am on a mission to get more people using fresh herbs. Fresh Herbs put the “Wow” in any recipe. Storing your fresh herbs correctly will help you get the most out of them. The flavor in herbs, is in the leaves, the oil content. So you need to protect the leaves during storage. The way you do that is the same way you protect your bouquet of flowers. What’s the first thing you do when you get flowers home? That’s right, you cut off the very bottom of the stems and then place them in a vase of water. The purpose of cutting the stems is so that the water can easily flow into the stem, helping to keep the flowers fresher. Well, we need to do the same with our fresh herbs. Most are sold in plastic containers. When you get your herbs home, take them out of the container and cut off the very bottom of the stems, then place them in a small glass or mug of water, and refrigerate. The flow of water into the leaves will help reduce “chill damage” from the cold refrigerator temperatures. Now, we need to treat fresh Basil a little different. It is very cold sensitive. Its leaves will blacken quickly in cold temperatures. With fresh Basil, wrap the bunch in a damp paper towel, then place this into a plastic bag and refrigerate. Enjoy your fresh herbs.

Celery is Cool!

CELERY (Wednesday, May 28): As soon as you get home from the store with your bags of groceries, the first thing you are to do is fill your sink with cold water. Now, add some ice. You want this water ice cold. Next, get your celery out and a very sharp knife. Cut off a very thin slice on the cut-end of the celery, and submerge your celery into your sink of ice cold water. Now you put away the rest of your groceries. When you are done putting groceries away, now you can go get your precious stalk of celery. Shake off excess water and put your celery in a long plastic bag and refrigerate. By cutting a thin slice off, you allowed that ice cold water to travel up the stalks, and will help keep your celery fresher…longer.

How would you like to have fresh leaf lettuce…after 21 days?

LEAF LETTUCE (Thursday, May 29): How would you like to keep your leaf lettuce, looking fresh, for 21 days? That is no typo there. I do mean…21 days. When I was aboard the USS Alaska, a trident nuclear submarine, the food service director aboard the vessel had served fresh lettuce for 90 days. He said that at the end of the three-month deployment, the iceberg lettuce was looking a little tired, “but it shredded up very nicely for tacos.” Leaf lettuce for 3 weeks. It is possible, and here’s how. When you get your leaf lettuce home from the grocery store, don’t put it away right away. You need to “prep” it for storage. Fill your sink with ice water, or just leave the water in from your celery soak (see above). Stand your leaf lettuce on end, with the leaves pointing up. Gently find the center of the lettuce and gently push the leaves down, tearing them for the core. By tearing the leaves off the core, you are tearing around the natural cell structure of the leaf. By doing this, the cell structure won’t “bleed moisture” and will keep the moisture in the leaf. If you cut the leaves off with a knife, then you are cutting through the cell structure, causing the leaf to “bleed” precious moisture, causing the leaf to dehydrate. Once you have torn the leaves off, swish them gently in the ice water. Don’t let them soak. Soaking would saturate the cell structure with water, bloating the leaves and actually would cause the leaves to go bad much faster. Lay the leaves on a paper towel or terry cloth towel and gently pat them dry. Then stack them up and place them in a zip-lock type baggie. Push as much air out as possible before you zip it shut. This process is a great way of using your kids in the kitchen. They can easily swish the leaves and pat them dry and stack them up. Prep your leaf lettuce this way and you will never have to throw lettuce away again…unless, of course you go on a three-week vacation.

FRIDGE FRESH (Friday, May 30): Fridge Fresh is for real: I’ve been asked many times about produce washes and products that claim to keep your produce fresher…longer. The latest such “shelf life extender” product is “fridge fresh,” which I have seen popping up in some grocery stores. It’s a tiny box you place on the middle shelf of your refrigerator, much like a box of baking soda. Besides absorbing odors, most of these products are based on using volcanic crystals to absorb ethylene gas in your refrigerator. Ethylene is a natural gas put off by all fruit that ripens. So your apples, pears and oranges in your refrigerator are putting off this gas. It’s harmless to people, but bad for produce. Ethylene speeds up the ripening of your fruit, causing it to go bad quicker. Ethylene is a killer to vegetables, especially your leafy greens. Ethylene causes them to spot and deteriorate very quickly. By removing the ethylene gas from your refrigerator, you, in effect extend the shelf life…and quality…of your fruits and vegetables. It’s the same type of system used by the US navy and many cruise ships. The quality of the volcanic crystals makes the difference with this product. I’ve tested other such products. With “Fridge Fresh,” you throw less produce away because it really does stay fresher, longer. They last about 3 – 4 months, but the money you spend for a “Fridge Fresh” is easily earned back within just a few weeks. (If you want more information, you can call 1-800-947-1389 or e-mail at bacchusltd@earthlink.com.

SPECIAL OFFER: Just for being on my website or watching my reports, you can purchase a whole year’s supply of Fridge Fresh for just $15, and that includes the shipping and handling. For this special offer, simply send a SASE to: Fridge Fresh; c/o Your Produce Man; 2867 Heinz St.; Sacramento, CA 95826. I will send you an order form for your year’s supply. Think of the money you will save by not throwing away as much produce or food.