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Cabbage Even after they have been picked or harvested, fruits and vegetables continue to respire and are supported by internally stored energy compounds. The more a vegetable or fruit breathes the more quickly it is likely to spoil. Cabbages can last for weeks because they have a very low rate of respiration, says Kantha Shelke, a food scientist and consultant to the food industry. They should be stored in the refrigerator, loosely wrapped, as the cool temperatures will slow down their breathing even further. In fact, it’s likely that if you buy your cabbage from the grocery store, it will probably have already been in storage for a couple of months before hitting the shelves.
(FARLEY LEWIS/Getty Images)
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Eggs According to the USDA, eggs can be kept refrigerated for 3 to 5 weeks from when you buy them. The longer you keep them, however, they will become less fresh and suffer a loss of quality, though they’ll still be fine to eat. Over time, the yolk absorbs water from the white and when the egg is broken, the yolk appears flatter and more fragile. While the egg shell acts like a sterile seal, preventing the contents from becoming contaminated, it’s porous. This means moisture and carbon dioxide in the white evaporates out through the pores, allowing air to penetrate into the shell. This makes the egg white thinner, causes it to lose some of its thickening and leavening powers. To keep them fresh, store eggs in the original egg box, and keep them at the back of the fridge on the middle shelf.
(Jessica Morelli/iStockphoto)
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Apples Apples contain a lot of fiber and sturdy cellulose material that make them hardy and resistant to spoiling quickly. In addition, they have thick skins that prevent them from drying out and are also often coated in a waxy, water-soluble substance that acts as a further barrier against moisture loss. Properly stored, apples can remain good to eat for a weeks, depending on how fresh they were when you bought them. “The best way to keep them is to place them in a Ziploc bag, squeeze out all the air and keep in the fridge,” says Kantha Shelke. By removing their oxygen supply, you are arresting respiration, and slowing down enzymatic activity and spoilage. Another reason to keep apples in a bag and separate from other fruits is that they produce a fair amount of ethylene which encourages ripening.
(Lauren Burke/Getty Images)
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Potatoes Like other root vegetables, potatoes can last several weeks if not months, before they spoil. They don’t need to be refrigerated, but they need to be kept in a cool, dark and dry place. If they become exposed to moisture, mold will set in and they’ll quickly spoil. Even if they start to sprout, they can still be eaten, says Kantha Shelke, but it’s very important to remove every part of the greenish sprout before cooking as the ends can be toxic to some people. Nonetheless, it’s worth eating according to Shelke. “When a potato sprouts, it’s going through a biochemical process and creating a lot of nutrients to support the new plant, or baby. The potato is therefore in an enhanced state, and very nutritious. Just cut off all the sprouts and eyes, and cook the center of the spud which should still be nice and firm."
(Christine Glade/iStockphoto)
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Peppers Since peppers have a relatively fragile skin, you might think that you’d be prone to swift spoilage. You’d be wrong. They contain a particular gene that prevents their cell structure from breaking down and spoiling. In fact, bananas in Ghana were modified to include this gene to stop from them spoiling before they were exported to other countries, says Shelke. In addition, peppers have a very turgid cell structure, and the cells hold on to their moisture very well. “This is why when you bite into a pepper there’s a very distinct crunch.” Interestingly, cucumbers also have a similarly turgid cell structure, yet they are often the first vegetables to grow moldy and spoil. According to Shelke, “cucumbers in the wild actually last much longer that cultivated varieties. For some reason the breeding programs used to grow commercial cucumbers have somehow taken away their robustness, and they become mushy and moldy very quickly.”
(George Doyle/Getty Images)
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Yogurt Certain kinds of yogurt - organic and probiotic varieties that contain live and active cultures or “good” bacteria, have a very long shelf life. These kinds of yogurt will just continue to ferment and the healthful bacteria will produce increasing amounts of lactic acid that will simply make the yogurt more tart, but certainly not harmful. As a general rule, if kept undisturbed in the refrigerator and the seal is unbroken, organic and probiotic yogurts can be kept for several weeks beyond their use-by date. “However, the more traditional and conventional kinds of American yogurt that are made from milk, pectins, fillers and other compounds that add texture, will spoil quite quickly because they contain a certain type of protein that’s prone to spoilage,” says Shelke. “Where these are concerned, consumers should abide by use-by dates, as they’ll taste very bad and smell terrible once past their best.”
(David Ward/Getty Images)
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Watermelon With their thick, inedible rind, watermelons can sometimes seem impenetrable. This is a pain when you’re trying to cut into it, but a good thing for maintaining the freshness of the fruit. Watermelons have an extremely high water content – over 90%. While other produce such as leafy greens - which also contain a lot of moisture, suffer from this characteristic as it makes them susceptible to drying out, watermelons aren’t at risk from losing juice because their tough skins act as a barrier. Moreover, the rind prevents contamination from airborne bacteria and other spoilage nasties. Once ripe, watermelon can be stored for up to a month in the fridge (and only 1 week at room temperature). Refrigeration, however, can be detrimental to their nutritional value. Watermelon naturally contains carotenoids which are fat- soluble pigments that are thought to decrease the risk of disease, including certain cancers, stroke and heart disease. Recent research has found that carotenoid levels in watermelon increase substantially when the fruit is stored at room temperature as opposed to much cooler environments.
(Bruce Block/iStockphoto)
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Steak It’s not as if a fresh sirloin steak or flank steak is going to last for weeks. But, compared to ground or chopped meat a whole cut of protein has a considerably longer shelf life, about 3 to 5 days if properly stored in the refrigerator and handled as little as possible, as opposed to 1 to 2 days for the ground variety. This has to do with bacterial growth. Since bacteria thrive on the surface of meat, and ground or chopped meat has much more surface area, they are susceptible to faster rates of spoilage as a consequence of speedy bacterial growth. Microbes aside, meat can also spoil because of enzymes. For example, an enzyme call lipase acts on fats and produces a fatty acid with a very sharp, peanut-like smell, and tends to produce a slimy, colorless liquid, explains Shelke. Proteolytic enzymes, on the other hand, break down protein and produces amino acids, amines, ammonia and hydrogen sulphate, leaving the spoiling meat with a very distinctive, pungent off-smell.
(Lauri Patterson/iStockphoto)
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Onions We conventionally think of onions as being fresh vegetables, however, they’ve been dried or cured before they reach the supermarket. Having been preserved in this way, they’ll keep in the fridge for 2 or more months, depending on when they were harvested. Sweeter onion varieties will have a shorter shelf life, however, due to their high sugar and water content. It’s best to store onions in the fridge for maximum shelf life, and opt for an open container so that plenty of air can circulate between the bulbs. It’s a good idea to line the base of the container with paper to absorb any excess moisture otherwise the onions might start to rot. Alternatively, you can keep onions in a cold basement or garage using a rather unique storage vessel. Producers actually suggest keeping bulbs in a clean pair of pantyhose with a knot tied in between each one.
(Harrison Eastwood/Getty Images)
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Deli Meats If left unopened, pre-packaged deli meats such as roast turkey or beef, in their original sealed packaging, will last a fair amount of time – generally about 2 to 3 weeks from you time you buy them. This fairly extensive shelf life – for a fresh food, is largely due to new developments in packaging technology. In addition to vacuum sealed pouches where all the oxygen has been removed and therefore preventing bacteria from thriving, some deli meats are pasteurized using post-packaging technology that can that can increase shelf life form 14 days to 45 days. Some packs of deli meats have even had the oxygen and other gases that encourage bacteria flushed out and replaced with anti-oxidative gases such as nitrogen that are beneficial to longer shelf life. Once opened however, deli meats should be consumed within 3 to 5 days as they have been exposed to the air and possible contamination.
(Lauri Patterson/iStockphoto)
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