Refrigerate or Not - Part 3

11. Peppers: Red, green, yellow, and even chili peppers are just fine stored in a paper bag in a cool cupboard or drawer.

12. Winter squash: Acorn, spaghetti, and butternut do best when stored at room temperature.

13. Citrus: Store oranges, lemons, and limes at room temperature on your kitchen counter. Just be careful not to bunch them too closely, or they will tend to mold.

14. Berries: Fresh berries already have a short shelf life, so leave them out of the fridge and eat them within a day or two of purchasing.

15. Melons: Most melons do best outside the fridge. Once refrigerated, they tend to break down and become mealy. After cutting, if any are remaining, store them in the fridge.

Saving Berries From Molding

The information below was sent to me by Author Annette Bergman.  I found it too good not to share.

The key to preventing moldy berries...

Berries are delicious, but they're also kind of delicate.  Raspberries in particular seem like they can mold before you even get them home from the market.  There's nothing more tragic than paying $4 for a pint of local raspberries, only to look in the fridge the next day and find that fuzzy mold growing on their insides.  

Well, with fresh berries just starting to hit farmers markets, we can tell you that how to keep them fresh!  Here’s a tip I’m sharing on how to prevent them from getting there in the first place:  

Wash them with vinegar.

When you get your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider probably work best) and ten parts water.  Dump the berries into the mixture and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge.  The vinegar kills any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit, and voila!  Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft.  So go forth and stock up on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you to eat them. 

You're so berry velcome!

Annette Bergman
Author of:
Things That Make Me Nuts
Return To Tybee
Web site:www.annettebergman.com