food storage

Although there is much debate over whether or not tomatoes should be stored in the fridge, the best way to keep tomatoes depends on the ripeness of fruit.

• Keep unripe green tomatoes, stem side down, in a paper bag or single layer in a cardboard box in a cool area until they turn red in color.
• Perfectly ripe tomatoes, fresh from the garden or farmers market, should be kept at room temperature, on the counter away from sunlight, in a single layer, not touching one another, stem side up. Consume within a couple of days.
• Overripe tomatoes that are soft to touch with very red flesh are best kept in the fridge. The cold air will keep the tomatoes from ripening more and they should last for another three days. Before eating refrigerated tomatoes, take them out of the fridge and let them come to room temperature. This will allow the fruit to develop some of the flavor it has lost due to refrigeration.

What's your method for storing Summer's bounty of tomatoes?

Earlier this week I purchased two small baskets of beautifully ripe strawberries. However, within 48 hours, the strawberries had gone bad (as you can see from the photo!) and some were covered in mold. It made me wonder: what's the best way to store strawberries?

Well, first things first, don't wash the berries until you're ready to eat them. Excess moisture could cause them to spoil quicker. Start by removing the berries from the store-bought package. Discard any that are starting to look bad.

If you've got a large fridge with plenty of space, store them in a single layer on a paper towel lined cookie sheet or plate making sure that none of the berries touch. Don't have a lot of room in the fridge? Place them in a glass container with a lid. If you're lucky, they will stay fresh for up to a week!

What's your tried-and-tested technique for storing fresh strawberries?

Now that I've got a new apartment, I'm joining the buy-in-bulk clique. More space to store . . . means less trips to the grocery store! While I had a tiny, cute pet food tin in my old place, I've upgraded in size to one of these Pet Food Containers ($20 and up) from The Container Store.

Not only is it big enough to keep North's jumbo bag fresh, I love the wheels to roll it out of the closet and in when mealtime is done. Easy to serve and preserve — well, that's what I call a win-win!

Take a peek into my kitchen cabinet for a healthy eating tip. If you can't tell from the picture those are jars with chalkboard labels. I've been using them for almost a year now and for two good reasons: health and money.

I love nuts but find that it can be easy to eat too many at one sitting. I use the chalkboard labels to remind myself of the nutritional breakdown of the stored nut and its serving size. For instance, on my almond jar I've written 20 almonds equal 180 calories, 14g fat, 7g protein, and 6g carbs. This method has been a really great way to keep me from overindulging.

Having these jars is also an incentive to buy from the bulk aisle. Most food, especially organic, is cheaper when purchased in bulk. Plus buying in bulk cuts down on wasteful packaging, and I don't confuse things that look alike. The labels create an easy way to remember cooking ratios — if I'm storing a whole grain or beans, I write the name of the grain and the ratio of the grain to how much liquid it needs to cook.

You can either buy chalkboard jars for cheap or make your own using chalkboard paint. As an alternative you can use paper or sticky labels but using the chalkboard method helps cuts down on waste.

When I first saw Evert-Fresh Bags, I thought they were a gimmick. The thought of a bag being able to keep produce fresh for up to a month seemed impossible. But one of my old colleagues said that they worked for her, which made me curious enough to try them myself.

The bag is supposed to keep produce fresh by slowing down the ripening process and keeping bacteria from forming. The claims are pretty impressive — it absorbs the harmful gases that fruits and veggies give off like ethylene and ammonia, controls humidity, and minimizes moisture. From a scientific standpoint I have no idea if that's what's really happening inside those bags, but I can say that they do work.

To hear how they worked for me, read more