Tips for Storing Fruits and Veggies During Farmers Market Season

By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD 

Long days and warm temperatures don’t just signal the start of summer. They’re also signs that farmers market season has begun. 

If you enjoy shopping at farmers markets, you may soon find yourself swimming in fruits, veggies, and herbs. And there’s nothing worse than letting that fresh produce go bad! 

Here are our tips for storing your farmers markets finds so that you can get the most out of them. 

Tips for Storing Produce by Type 

  • Corn: Store sweet corn with their husks intact in a bag in the fridge. 

  • Cucumbers: Wrap cucumbers with plastic wrap or in between paper towels in a sealed bag, and store in the crisper drawer of the fridge. 

  • Eggplant: Keep on a plate at room temperature in a place that doesn’t get direct sunlight. Do not put them near bananas or melon, since these foods can speed up rotting. 

  • Herbs: Store cilantro, parsley, and mint in glass jars filled with water in the fridge, and they will keep for much longer than if you store them in a bag. Basil can also be stored this way but at room temperature and away from sunlight. Rosemary, thyme, and oregano can be wrapped in a paper towel then sealed in an airtight plastic bag and kept in the fridge. 

  • Leafy greens and lettuce: Wrap them in paper towels and keep them in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. 

  • Peppers: Wrap peppers tightly with plastic or beeswax wrap and store in the crisper drawer of the fridge. 

  • Potatoes: Store in a mesh bag or basket in a cool, dry place. 

  • Root vegetables: Carrots, beets, parsnips, turnips, and rutabaga can be kept in airtight bags or containers in the crisper drawer of the fridge. 

  • Tomatoes: Keep them on a plate on your kitchen counter away from direct sunlight. Once they ripen, transfer them to the fridge. 

  • Zucchini: Summer squash keeps best stored in a perforated bag in the fridge. 

Make Use of the Freezer 

If you’re not able to use all of your farmers market produce before it goes bad, even after implementing the above tips, there’s still another option. Enter: your freezer. That’s right, you can freeze pretty much any kind of fruit and veggie.  

Start by cleaning your produce and slicing it into pieces of your desired size. Depending on the type of produce, you may have to blanch the pieces in boiling water for a few minutes, drain, then submerge them into a bowl of ice water. Be sure to do some research online relevant to the specific fruit or veggie you’re freezing. Some don’t require blanching. 

After you remove the produce pieces from the ice water, pat them dry and spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet or tray. Place the tray in the freezer for an hour or two until the pieces are frozen solid, then transfer them to labeled bags. Add the frozen produce to smoothies, soups, stir-fries, or other cooked dishes. 

Note from Healthy For Life Meals: Our meals are loaded with fresh produce, just like what you find at the farmers market! Get started today with one of our meal plans and enjoy more fruits and vegetables. 

Stef Keegan