After people buy vegetables, they usually put them in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. This is the simplest and most direct method, but it's not as simple as just throwing the vegetables into the fridge to achieve this goal. To make them last longer, you should master the following tips.
How to keep vegetables fresh in the refrigerator? Please remember these key points.
One, the refrigerator compartment must be cleaned thoroughly to remove odors. Especially after refrigerating vegetables, if the refrigerator has leftover rotten vegetable leaves and odors, it must be cleaned carefully.
Two, prepare several clean and soft plastic bags for备用 (use).
Three, sort the purchased vegetables and put them into plastic bags (no need to wash them), with one vegetable per bag being ideal. Then, tie the plastic bags tightly, making sure the heads and tails of the vegetables are not exposed. Place the bagged vegetables neatly in the refrigerator's fresh food compartment.
Four, when eating vegetables, it's best to start with the most perishable ones. After taking vegetables out of the plastic bag, if there are still vegetables left inside, be sure to seal the bag opening tightly.
Five, vegetables bought from the market should not be put directly into the refrigerator. This is because vendors often spray a little water on green leafy vegetables from time to time to make them look better and prevent them from wilting. When storing them at home, you should first air-dry the water droplets on the surface of the green vegetables, then wrap them with clean paper towels before placing them in a bag and putting them in the refrigerator. The paper will absorb some moisture, preventing the vegetables from being soaked in wetness, which makes them less likely to rot. This method is suitable for all green leafy vegetables, such as油菜 (rapeseed), lettuce, spinach, bok choy, amaranth, cilantro, chives, scallions, water spinach, and wheat lettuce.
Six, experts advise and remind that storing vegetables in the refrigerator for a long time is very dangerous. The danger mostly comes from the nitrates contained in the vegetables themselves. Nitrates are non-toxic, but after being stored for a period, due to the action of enzymes and bacteria, nitrates are reduced to nitrites. Nitrite is a toxic substance. When it combines with protein substances in the human body, it can form nitrosamine substances, which are highly carcinogenic.