Fruit & Veg Storage Solutions
Planning to cater a wedding? Or, setting up a food stall? Or even, Planning a food festival?
Well even as the long nights draw in, it’s just as important as ever to keep your fresh produce… Fresh!
Here at Cold Call Hire we have two words for you, cold storage.
So you have a nice stock of your favourite fruit and/or veg. Now, you need somewhere to store them. Preferably you need somewhere chilled (around 0-10 degrees C) to store your various fresh goods. So things like your household fridge/freezer, commercial cold room or one of our own mobile cold rooms would be ideal!
Once you have your cold room or fridge its time to think about how to effectively and hygienically store your products inside, Here are a few basic guidelines that we have put together to help to get you on your way;
Do not store fruits and vegetables together: Fruits that give off high levels of ethylene (the ripening agent) can prematurely ripen and spoil surrounding vegetables. (Ripe apples and bananas are massive ethylene emitters which is why you put them in a paper bag with produce you want to ripen.)
For vegetables: Before storing, remove ties and rubber bands and trim any leafy ends. Leave an inch to keep the vegetable from drying out. Make sure the bag you store the veggies in has some holes punctured to allow for good air flow. Pack vegetables loosely in the refrigerator. The closer they are, the quicker they will rot. Leafy greens can be washed before storing by soaking them in a sink full of water, while soft herbs and mushrooms should not be washed until right before they are used.
For Fruits: Non-cherry stone fruits, avocados, tomatoes, mangoes, melons, apples, and pears will continue to ripen if left sitting out on a countertop, while items like bell peppers, grapes, all citrus, and berries will only deteriorate and should be refrigerated. Bananas in particular ripen very quickly, and will also speed the ripening of any nearby fruits.
Think Temperature: Divide all fruit and veg into those that like the cold and those that don't. Not all fruits and vegetables should be stored at the same temperature. Generally, Winter crops should be stored between 0-4 degrees C, whilst your summer varieties should be stored between 7-10 degrees. It’s important, therefore, to set your refrigerator (fridge / freezer or cold room) to the correct temperature to store your produce most effectively
One of the biggest reasons you should be storing your fresh produce in colder temperatures is hygiene!
If fresh produce is stored in suboptimal temperatures for too long (especially meats), you could be helping harmful bacteria spread.
Cold temperatures help to slow down the spread of microbes, keeping your products safer. So as you can see it’s so important to ensure that you’re storing your produce at a safe temperature at all times.
If you are indeed planning on having large quantities of stock, and are looking for a large fridge/freezer or cold room to store them in, Cold Call Hire has you covered. All our mobile Cold rooms are fitted with state of the art Govi Arktik 2000P refrigeration units and come with the ability to set your fridge to the desired temperature. Our mobile cold rooms come with our without racking to help you store your produce correctly, and also come fitted with door curtains to help maintain the interior temperature of the fridge when you enter. Our mobile cold rooms are perfect for all occasions from planned catering events to emergency refrigerated backup for when your own cold room fails. To find out more, click here