We have frequent price fluctuations on vegetables that we use on daily basis. I find that buying in bulk offers a better way to save money. However, storingvegetables in bulk is a problem that I encounter. Of recent I have learnt that some vegetables like coriander and tomatoes can be grinded and stored as puree which actually lasts longer if frozen. Other easily perishable vegetables I clean and cut them and store them in air tight containers and they last me atleast a week. Is there any better ideas to save on such a problem?
Pardon me for this comment because I don't think it is practical to store vegetables. In fact, this storing of vegetables was the main problem of Koreans during winter when there are no available vegetables. That need for vegetables was the main factor that led to the invention of kimchi. Aside from kimchi, another way of storing vegetables is by pickling. For fresh vegetables, it can last for a week if you wrap it with moist newspaper and keeping in the fridge. That will keep the vegetables fresher.... although slightly only.
Some veggies like cauliflower, cabbage, carrots have a better shelf life. They remain almost intact in new age fridges for about a week or so. Problems are with gourds and leafy vegetables. I keep the leafy vegetables wrapped in wet cloths. The sogginess of the clothe helps to retain the moisture of the veggies.
I too can store veggies whether leafy or gourd for just about a week. I was wondering if I could store them for much longer. I simply clean and cut them, not rinse them, and keep them in air tight containers in fridge. They remain quite fresh for a week provided your air tight containers do not form dew drops. Even green chillies I remove its stems and store them in similar way for a month. The same goes for curry leaves.
One of my friend's mom preserves cabbage, fenugreek leaves, and spinach by drying them under sun. From what I have tasted, fenugreek and spinach do not retain any of the crunch and flavor, but cabbage tastes good even much later.
You can pickle some of them. There are so many recipes on Youtube about how to pickle or ferment vegetables. Yup cucumbers are not the only veggies you can pickle. You can also make kimchi out of them, A big misconception of westerners is that the only veggie you can kimchi are cabbages but you can also do it to radish, mushrooms, cucumbers and kale. You can also dehydrate them and turn them into chips. Crispy vegetable chips is better than junkfood snacks.
It is really trick to preserve fresh vegetables for long. As OP rightly said cooked vegetables last for a longer period than the raw ones. For leafy vegetables you can just wash them and pat dry it with a cotton towel. Then you can store it in a air tight plastic cover or bottle which is well sealed. It can stay for long. But storing juicy vegetables like tomato, brinjal, okra etc for a long period is really difficult. You can use air tight packing method for them too. This will definitely increase their life for a week or so.
Storing vegetables for a longer period wouldn't be advisable. Veggies are perishable. They won't stay long. Preserving them would be seemed practical. Fruits could be preserved, Eggplants, tomatoes could be preserved as pickles. There are many ways to preserve the veggies but storing them is a different thing.
I freeze a lot of my veggies, during the summer when I have an abundance of veggies, we eat them fresh as much as we can the rest get blanched,or chopped and freeze for the winter months. To keep my fresh spinach longer I put a paper towel in the bottom of a glass jar, fill with spinach, screw the lid on and store in the fridge, it keeps for quite a while. Greens I blanch to have for side dishes and freeze, I freeze onions when they are on sale here 3lb/69 cents (I get 9-12 pounds chop them and freeze for stews and sauteing), squash I slice and freeze, I make tomato sauce with left over tomatoes and freeze it, peppers I chop and freeze. I also dehydrate veggies sometimes to...there are many guides that tell you how each veggies can be stored, I have never had a problem, as long as I do it the correct way for each veggie (I even freeze bananas)....as for keeping fresh veggies do better in different conditions and it is best to read up on the veggies you have often to see which conditions they last longer in.
I do use newspapers to cover veggies like broccoli, they usually last a bit longer than normal. Making pickles out of veggies is good too. I also keep tomatoes in the freezer as long as I would be using them for cooking.
