We love to eat fruit in our house. But it never fails that if we don’t eat our berries within a few days of buying them, they usually go bad. I have seen fancy produce saver containers for sale, but they are so expensive. So today I’m am sharing my cheap hack on how to make your own produce saver containers.
In the past, I have come home from the grocery store and just put the produce in the fridge. Then each time I wanted to eat some or pack a lunch I would just rinse off a few and leave the rest. This would result in the fruit not lasting very long. I have also tried rinsing the entire container first, then storing, but this also did not seem to make a difference. After doing a little research, I learned some new tricks to help my produce last longer.
Vinegar Bath
Why is it that every time I am looking for a solution to a problem around the house, vinegar seems to be the answer? Because it is AWESOME that’s why :). Anyway, I learned that by adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to a bowl of water will help keep your berries and fruit from spoiling early. Allow your produce to soak in the vinegar water mixture for 5-10 minutes, then rinse with fresh cold water.
Dry Completely
It is important that you allow your produce to dry completely before putting them in the refrigerator. You can do this by spreading them on a clean dishcloth on your counter to dry. Or if it is not a delicate fruit, you can use a salad spinner to remove excess water.
DIY Produce Saver Containers
I recently organized my refrigerator as part of my Kitchen Home Project List. One thing that I wanted to get for my new pretty refrigerator were the fancy produce saver containers. I had the old version of the Rubbermaid kind, but of course, I lost some of the pieces. When I looked into buying some new containers I was so surprised by how expensive they were! At Walmart they are $20 for 3 containers, and that was a sale price! Basically, all I need is a container with a little ventilation. So instead of buying the $20 containers, I bought the 88 cent cheap ones instead. I then went home and asked my husband to drill a few holes around the bottom edge and a few holes in the lid. It took about 5 minutes to do 4 containers. After the holes were drilled and we cleaned up the edges, I washed and dried them. I then added a paper towel to the bottom and placed the freshly washed and dried fruit in my new produce saver containers.
So far I am super happy with my new produce saver containers and am using them for strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and cherries. We finished the blueberries in about 5 days and they were all in great shape. I am most impressed with my strawberries. They are currently on day 8 and they are still firm and none are growing mold! Previously I think strawberries last about 4 days before they start getting gross so this is a huge improvement :).
We are not big veggie people in my house so I haven’t used them for that yet. Also, I believe most veggies like humidity so I don’t think the ventilation will help them.
Overall I am super happy with my cheap produce saver containers. I’m so glad my fruit and berries are lasting longer now and I’m not having to throw anything away after a few days! I hope this little hack helps you too :).
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