The Vent and Rant Thread

[BetterRed]

Forgot I bought a punnet of raspberries the other day, they're now covered in grey fairy (candy) floss. They ain't cheap either. Why haven't the gene geniuses developed a strain of raspberries that have a shelf life measured in days rather than nanoseconds. If you put them in bowl with lime juice they last a bit longer.

Mainly for political reasons, most of our interstate borders are closed, which is driving prices up. Australia seems to have become the most risk averse country on the planet.

BR

[Deskisamess]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Forgot I bought a punnet of raspberries the other day, they're now covered in grey fairy (candy) floss. They ain't cheap either. Why haven't the gene geniuses developed a strain of raspberries that have a shelf life measured in days rather than nanoseconds. If you put them in bowl with lime juice they last a bit longer.

BR

They really do spoil quickly. Don't rinse them until you're ready to eat them, and I usually go through them right away and remove any that have started to turn. They are so good fresh.

[badgoodDeb]

Yeah -- I usually buy raspberries as a treat to eat while I'm driving home!

[ApK]

Fresh raspberries rule. Be careful what you wish for: A strain of "bulletproof" (a term I'm told means able to withstand long trips to market looking fresh and undamaged) raspberries would likely substitute durability where the flavor should be....like they've done with tomatoes.

[mlewis78]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Forgot I bought a punnet of raspberries the other day, they're now covered in grey fairy (candy) floss. They ain't cheap either. Why haven't the gene geniuses developed a strain of raspberries that have a shelf life measured in days rather than nanoseconds. If you put them in bowl with lime juice they last a bit longer.

Mainly for political reasons, most of our interstate borders are closed, which is driving prices up. Australia seems to have become the most risk averse country on the planet.

BR

I'll admit that punnet is a new word for me. Looked it up. Raspberries are so good but turn so quickly. I cannot buy more than one . . . punnet. I started making milk kefir this year and use it in smoothies. Raspberries and blackberries are particularly good fruits for smoothies.

[timebug]

I always buy apples which come in packs of six; generally four get eaten in fairly rapid succession, and the last two have to be thrown away after another week or so!

[mlewis78]

I gave up on bananas in the spring when I realized that even if I only buy three at a time, the last one is overripe for me by the time I get to it. I don't like mushy over-ripe ones or hard not ripe yet ones. Previously I always had them to eat one a day. I like to put in a kefir smoothie but haven't made any lately.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by timebug

I always buy apples which come in packs of six; generally four get eaten in fairly rapid succession, and the last two have to be thrown away after another week or so!

Originally Posted by mlewis78

I gave up on bananas in the spring when I realized that even if I only buy three at a time, the last one is overripe for me by the time I get to it. I don't like mushy over-ripe ones or hard not ripe yet ones. Previously I always had them to eat one a day. I like to put in a kefir smoothie but haven't made any lately.

So many foods are not packaged in appropriate amounts for single people. Besides fresh produce, I often end up with unfinished containers of things like hummus or spaghetti sauce.

I've taken to buying frozen berries - they come in resealable pouches so I can pour out the amount I want to thaw and eat, then put the rest back in the freezer. Not the same as eating truly fresh fruit, but not bad.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

So many foods are not packaged in appropriate amounts for single people. Besides fresh produce, I often end up with unfinished containers of things like hummus or spaghetti sauce.

I've taken to buying frozen berries - they come in resealable pouches so I can pour out the amount I want to thaw and eat, then put the rest back in the freezer. Not the same as eating truly fresh fruit, but not bad.

We recently got an extra freezer (thanks, covid-19 panic buying scare!) and have been more diligent about re-portioning, vacuum sealing and storing extras when appropriate. It's eliminating a lot of waste. Previously our refrigerator seemed to be little more than a way-station on the route to the garbage can.

ApK

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

We recently got an extra freezer (thanks, covid-19 panic buying scare!) and have been more diligent about re-portioning, vacuum sealing and storing extras when appropriate. It's eliminating a lot of waste. Previously our refrigerator seemed to be little more than a way-station on the route to the garbage can.

ApK

There are two of us, only, not counting the fuzzbucket brigade and we live a "fur piece" from the stores, as you guys know. So we do a lot of heavy-duty shopping, ordering meat and other items like that for 4 weeks, typically.

We've developed a system for freezing all sort of things. I've developed a solid way to even successfully freeze bakery bread, without degradation. it takes time to do, and sacrificing paper towels and foil--but it means I don't have to choose between doing without, or driving 30+ miles for a loaf of Italian bread or baguettes or whatever. I've developed freezer techniques for fresh herbs, for chopped onions, lightly sauteed mushrooms, cabbage, you-name-it. I've even worked out ways to freeze potatoes (you need to add fat!).

I never planned to be one of those "cook ahead" or freezer-meal people, but distance can change your goals. And yes, of course, we've definitely developed a lot of freezer-friendly meals and even "meal kits," where you put X,Yand Z into a freezer bag and have them ready for later, easy, ready-to-go meals when ingredient A is added (chicken, meat, fish, beans, whatever).

It's far from perfect and I'm no Martha Stewart, but we've cut way back on wasted food, and manged to get very creative with the freezer in the garage.

Hitch

[4691mls]

I live in a rental apartment and have only a small freezer so I can only save so much that way. And the things that I have left over are often things that wouldn't freeze well anyway. Things that would freeze OK, like meat, are usually available to buy in smaller amounts in the first place.

[Deskisamess]

I've been freezing some bread items, specifically Brioche burger buns, and some Italian rolls made at a local bakery. We can't use 8 burger buns that quickly, and the rolls are sold 12 to a bag, and they go bad quickly.

I wrap each bun in good stretch type wrap, brand named Stretch-Tite, then place them into quart freezer bags, suction out the excess air, and freeze. Same with the rolls. When you remove them from the freezer, they need 24 hours to totally thaw and reabsorb any moisture. That is the important part. If you take the frozen bread out of the wrapper before that happens, it will be dry dry dry.

That has worked out very well for us. Hubby freezes his English muffins in their packages too, and as long as he doesn't open the pack before the moisture is absorbed, they are good as new.

[Bilbo1967]

My wife likes the idea of eating fruit, but doesn't actually eat much fruit. What this means in practice is that she buys fruit (normally strawberries, raspberries and grapes) and puts them in the fridge. A couple of weeks later I put about 80% of them in the bin.

Basically, we're paying for the privilege of them taking up fridge space

[badgoodDeb]

FWIW - I'm told bananas stop ripening in the frig. The skin will continue to brown further, but the inside stays as it was.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

I've been freezing some bread items, specifically Brioche burger buns, and some Italian rolls made at a local bakery. We can't use 8 burger buns that quickly, and the rolls are sold 12 to a bag, and they go bad quickly.

I wrap each bun in good stretch type wrap, brand named Stretch-Tite, then place them into quart freezer bags, suction out the excess air, and freeze. Same with the rolls. When you remove them from the freezer, they need 24 hours to totally thaw and reabsorb any moisture. That is the important part. If you take the frozen bread out of the wrapper before that happens, it will be dry dry dry.

That has worked out very well for us. Hubby freezes his English muffins in their packages too, and as long as he doesn't open the pack before the moisture is absorbed, they are good as new.

Hmmm...I haven't found that the plastic wrap is a good-enough moisture barrier. What I do is wrap bakery loaves (italian, baguettes and the like) in a paper towel, snugly but not crazy-tight and then wrap them in foil. If you take them out of the freezer and allow them to come to room temp and then remove the foil to complete defrosting, the paper towel keeps the rime from making the bread moist/wet and we get bread that is 98% as good as the day we bought it.

When you suction out the air, do you get the ubiquitous rolls the size of a pair of dice effect?

Hitch