We’re here today to tell you how your Deep Harvest farmers store our beloved winter vegetables and what you could personally do potentially do to really maximize a crop’s longevity in your kitchen. Since we’re not getting a ton of any one item, we’re guessing you won’t need to be storing goods for all that long so don’t stress. These veggies are built to last!
Roots- Mixed roots store best if dry and at 32-40 in plastic bags in your fridge. People really swear by these green storage bags, but we’ve never tried them: https://www.debbiemeyer.com/. You could also make a bunch of soup or stew and freeze that. Here’s a great article that lays out how to go about doing so. Your future self will thank you!!! https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-freeze-soup-23397915
Cabbage– Your farmers keep cabbage in a plastic bag wherever we can fit it in our fridge. We also make a ton of kraut https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-193124 and kimchi, which will store in your fridge for a few months.
Brussels– We store these like the cabbage. Plastic bag, fridge. You may also freeze them, by blanching in boiling water 3-5 minutes, then putting directly into ice water, then drying them, freezing flat on a freezer sheet, and then storing in a plastic bag (more details here: https://poshjournal.com/how-to-blanch-brussels-sprouts. We’ve never done this as they can last fresh in the fridge for 3-5 weeks, if your fridge is around 32 degrees. At 41F they’ll store around 2-3 weeks- a good while either way!
Potatoes– Your local Deep Harvest farmers just keep em in a bowl on our counter. After a couple weeks, they do get green, which makes them unhealthy to eat, so this is suboptimal! If they don’t turn green but just sprout a smidge, we’re really not bothered and just break off the sprouts and enjoy em. This article from the food network says it’s fine to eat potatoes that have sprouted https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/help-around-the-kitchen/sprouted-potatoes-safe-to-eat . If you care to be more responsible, store then in a cool, dry place- perhaps a paper bag in your pantry or a drawer in your kitchen. Don’t let them freeze as they prefer temps between 42-50F. If you want to freeze your potatoes for extra safe and delicious keeping, you could make hash browns following this recipe: https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/side/side-other-side-dish/how-to-make-your-own-frozen-hash.html.
Squash– These puppies can store 2-6 months at 50-55 degrees. Over the years, we’ve mostly just stored them in our unheated garage in crates, which has worked pretty darn well. A basement or pantry would be good too and a counter is actually probably just fine if it’s not close to your stove. If you wanted to make something fun out of a bunch of squash soon, this refrigerator or freezer squash butter makes a great gift. It’ll last in the fridge many weeks or in the freezer for months: https://gourmandeinthekitchen.com/maple-spice-squash-butter-recipe/
Onions and Garlic- These both want to be in a cool, dry, well-ventilated spot between 45-55 degrees. We just leave em on our counter and that works ok too, but at some point they start sprouting and then we eat them quick! We’ve also made minced onions (https://www.backtoourroots.net/how-to-make-homemade-dried-minced-onions/) and garlic salt (https://www.acouplecooks.com/herb-and-garlic-salt/) for gifts and for our own eating pleasure, which were well loved by all!
If you want to go the exta mile, you can get nerdy about vegetable storage with this helpful resource!
https://chemung.cce.cornell.edu/resources/storage-guidelines-for-fruits-vegetables
Have fun, all. Happy eating! Happy winter! We love ya!!
