How Ina Garten Stores Carrots So They Stay Fresh

It seems as if you stocked your fridge with fresh fruit and vegetables only yesterday, and yet when you open the refrigerator door, you are dismayed to find shriveled, limp produce staring back at you. Even celebrities do their part to ensure good food doesn't go to waste, and Hostess with the Mostess Ina Garten is no exception.

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If you're hesitant to wash, peel, and store your favorite veggies, rest assured there are ways to keep prized produce fresh and ready for convenient snacking. In the podcast Design Time, Garten reveals her tactics for keeping vegetables in her home crisp and snackable. The carrots in Garten's household get a spa-like treatment, as they are first wrapped in a damp paper towel before placed inside an airtight plastic baggie to be refrigerated. It's a method that can help extend the life of the produce stashed in your fridge, and the technique can help keep easy-to-reach-for snacks fresh and ready to be slathered with whipped feta dip, drizzled with olive oil or topped with flakes of crunchy sea salt.

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Fresher carrots kept for longer

When using Garten's thrifty and convenient storage method, be sure the paper towels you wrap the carrots with are damp and not soaked, as you want just a lightly wet coating to keep the carrots fresh when they are stored in sealed bags or containers. Then, position the sealed compartments of produce in the coldest part of your fridge. When kept in this way, whole, unpeeled carrots can stay fresh for up to four weeks.

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Fresher vegetables at the ready mean shortcuts for food prep and a greater likelihood that you'll have exactly what you need when preparing your next meal. Gone are the sad sets of produce you need to toss into the bin. After giving Garten's wet paper towel hack a try, you may find yourself with vegetables you can use for longer periods of time and set yourself up for the chance of eating your carefully selected veggies long before they expire.

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