To retain peak freshness in veggies, store properly

After you’ve spent time picking out the best produce at the store or farmers’ market, spend a few more minutes learning how to store it properly. This guarantees you’ll enjoy those quality vegetables at their peak.

Refrigerate produce, such as asparagus, lettuce or green onions, as soon as possible. Other vegetables, such as potatoes, onions and tomatoes, should be stored at room temperature. Wash your vegetables before using them, not before you store them.

Some stores spray the vegetables with cold water throughout the day. If the bag you brought them home in is wet, transfer the vegetables to a dry bag. The sooner most vegetables are used, the better the flavor. If they become slimy or have mold, throw them out.

Vegetables to refrigerate

Place vegetables in the crisper drawer. The following storage times are for best quality, not safety. How long vegetables last depends on how fresh they are when you purchase them.

Artichokes: Whole artichokes will keep up to a week in a plastic bag.

Asparagus: Cut 1 inch from the bottom; wrap spears in a damp paper towel and place in a plastic bag; use within two or three days.

Beans, green or wax: Do not snap until ready to cook. Store in a plastic bag for two to three days. Beets, carrots, radishes: Remove leafy tops as they will quickly wilt. Leave about an inch of stem on beets. Store in a plastic bag, up to two weeks.

Broccoli: Keep in a plastic bag, up to a week.

Cabbage and celery: Keep in a plastic bag for one to two weeks.

Cauliflower: Leave in the plastic wrapping from the store, or keep in a plastic bag; will keep about a week.

Corn: If in husks or shucked, wrap in damp paper towels; use within one to two days.

Cucumber: Keep in a plastic bag for about a week.

Eggplant: Will keep four to five days in a plastic bag.

Green onions: Will keep about five to seven days in a plastic bag.

Iceberg lettuce, unwashed: Store heads in moisture-resistant wrap, plastic bag or lettuce keeper for five to seven days. Iceberg lettuce leaves, washed: Wrap dry paper towels around leaves and place in a plastic bag for three to five days.

Leaf lettuce: Wrap dry paper towels around washed or unwashed leaves and place in a plastic bag up to three days.

Mushrooms: Refrigerate mushrooms in original packaging. Store loose mushrooms in a loosely closed paper bag. Don’t wash or cut before storing, one to two days.

Peppers and chilies: Keep in a plastic bag up to a week.

Sugar pea pods: Keep in a plastic bag for two to three days. (The peas will lose a great deal of sugar within a few days.)

Zucchini: Store in a plastic bag up to a week.

Best stored at room temperature

Yellow onions: Leave in paper or mesh bag two weeks or more. Place away from potatoes, which give off a gas that causes onions to deteriorate quickly.

Potatoes: Store in a cool dark place for several weeks (first discard any bruised ones). Since dampness can cause decay, do not wash before storing. The brown plastic bags that hold five or 10 pounds of potatoes have holes for ventilation and can be used for storage. Place loose spuds in a brown paper bag or they can turn green from exposure to light. Thin-skinned potatoes do not keep as well; use within two weeks. If potatoes are stored below 40 degrees (refrigerator temperature), their starch turns to sugar and they can become sweet and mushy. Also, they may turn brown or black when cooked.

Sweet potatoes, yams: Store in a brown paper bag for two to three weeks.

Tomatoes: Store away from direct sunlight. Do not store in plastic. Refrigerate cut tomatoes.

For more information, check “Field Guide to Produce” by Aliza Green.