Carrots and milk

I do think washing carrots affects the time they last. Personally I buy most of my fruit and vegetables from the local market. This means that I can get very fresh and unwashed things. They last better and I can choose the amount I buy as I live alone. Think it is worth supporting a market or local greengrocers if you have one near you.

It’s not just carrots and milk I find a lot of my vegetables and fruit don’t last more than a day or two even in the fridge and
I ve had to throw tomatoes, lettuce mushrooms cues away after a couple of days I ve only noticed it this last 6 months or so which is mysterious as they ve been done up the same for some time

We don’t have a market any more though madaleine

No. Perhaps you are buying carrots that are past their best or expecting them, and milk, to last too long. Don’t keep them in plastic packaging. Look at the ‘best before’ dates when buying packaged goods. I don’t know when I last had to throw away any foodstuffs.

I’ve found that too, the best idea is to go to a market if you can for vegetable but as for the milk, wherever I buy it from it never lasts until it’s use by date. I’ve started buying smaller quantities twice as expensive but at least it’s fresh and no time to go off.

If DH buys bagged carrots (he does most of the grocery shopping), I remove them from the bag before putting them in the fridge in a plastic 'basket' box which is lined with kitchen paper. They last ages.

I tell him to individually choose NICE carrots if they are available unbagged. Ditto for parsnips. Also neeps.

In fact, I unwrap any vegetables that come in bags unless it's those bags of salad leaves. With those I open one end and cut the corners off the bottom of the bag so air can move around the greens. Seems to help.

We buy whole milk in four pint bottles from the Co-op. We freeze ones we are not going to use immediately. We haven't found it go sour on us though other brands sometimes have done.
I decant from the four pint bottles into a jug. Started this because DH is not capable (it seems!) of screwing a lid on properly. Perhaps not opening and closing the bottle so often helps with keeping?

Mary Berry recommended decanting mushrooms from plastic packaging to a paper bag, and I find that it also works with other veg. Even without that, my Tesco carrots bought a week ago are still nice and firm, as is a head of broccoli and a couple of peppers.

Well I’ve not noticed them being any worse quality than usual, but I was appalled to see that the carrots DH brought home from our local greengrocer last week were Chinese, then the ones I had delivered today from Tesco are from Israel. I googled the UK carrot season and according to the Great British Carrots website (who knew that was a thing?) it’s 11 months of the year and we’re currently in the twelfth month. I always assumed they grew here all year round.

bluebelle, its a shame you dont have a market. Rather frustrating, so if you only buy a small amount you have to shop more times, if you have a lot they go off. The only thing I have done sometimes is when a friend and I share a quantity of something, and that way we use them up.

I find carrots keep better in the fridge in a clean plastic bag particularly the green ones meant for that purpose.

gulligranny

Mary Berry recommended decanting mushrooms from plastic packaging to a paper bag, and I find that it also works with other veg. Even without that, my Tesco carrots bought a week ago are still nice and firm, as is a head of broccoli and a couple of peppers.

I decant mushrooms into an actual basket and don't refridgerate them.

I always tempted fruit and vegetables from the packaging as soon as I get home. We don't have an independant grocer near me or a market either unfortunately or I would be buying from them. I have resorted to buying smaller cartons of milk as a previous gransnetter has said and I also freeze milk occasionally

Emptied

I avoid baggedveg and always decant it out of the bags and into some small wicker baskets I have and put them in the fridge.

I also removed carrots from plastic bags and wrap them in kitchen paper or an old tea towel before putting in the fridge, they do last so much longer. However, the carrots we buy from winter onwards are probably stored in the ground - tops removed and covered in straw - problem is, they lose all their flavour.

I find kitchen roll in the bottom of the fridge vegetable crisper keeps things dry and they last longer.

I buy filtered milk and don’t have any problem with it going off/sour.
Years ago I bought special bags from QVC which considerably extend the life of fruit and vegetables - also available in Lakeland now. They really do work, although I make sure the vegetables are completely dry before they go into the bags.

Pammie1

I find kitchen roll in the bottom of the fridge vegetable crisper keeps things dry and they last longer.

An old towel or tea towel works well too.

It’s being encased in that plastic that makes veg go off IMO - they soon get wet. I take everything out of it asap.
The veg/salad drawer is also lined with an old tea towel - which I really ought to change more often.

I’ve not had milk tasting ‘off’ for ages. Ours comes from the milkman but now and then I have to buy some and always check the date.

I think the whole point, is for me anyway, this hasn’t been happening until recently and i ve always used the same process
Yes of course straight out the plastic bags and into baskets or fridge if advised
I have no choice but to buy in the supermarkets we have no fresh veg / fruit shops in the whole town and no market either

BlueBelle

I think the whole point, is for me anyway, this hasn’t been happening until recently and i ve always used the same process
Yes of course straight out the plastic bags and into baskets or fridge if advised
I have no choice but to buy in the supermarkets we have no fresh veg / fruit shops in the whole town and no market either

I've found the same. I try to buy unbagged produce wherever possible, but the last couple of times I've bought carrots from Aldi, which were bagged (our store doesn't have unbagged ones), they've gone off very quickly, despite being taken out of the bag as soon as I'm home.

Especially when wanting to keep carrot sticks (home cut) to nibble on over several days, I've found that they stay crisp longer if I put the ends of the sticks in a small container of water in the fridge. Presumably the carrot cells absorb water by osmosis or whatever and this keeps them crisp. Trimming the end off a whole carrot and standing it in water might work too.

I find vegetables keep for ages in my fridge as I have special vegetable drawers.

Not had problems with milk but shop bought carrots seem to go really slimes. We grow as much fruit n veg ourselves and lasts longer and tastes better.