Carrots and milk

If you leave veg in a plastic bag of course it will deteriorate quickly!

I don't have independent stores near me so have no choice really except to buy from a supermarket. I live on my own and have to buy the quantities available in the shop but I recently bought a gadget for the fridge that emits some sort of signal and it has made a big difference to how long anything lasts. As for milk, Cravendale lasts a long time and I've never had to throw any away even after leaving open carton in the fridge whilst away on holiday. Also Lactose free milk seems to last a long time as well.

I read that, if you put an apple in your potato bag it stops the potatoes from sprouting. Although I tried that and it didn’t work. I bought those green bags from Must Have Ideas that are supposed to keep things fresh but they didn’t work either.

cravendale or filtered milk lasts longer

Supermarkets don't seem to sell half portions of cucumbers anymore. I can't use a whole one up before it goes mushy...which it does too quickly anyway.

I wonder if the packers of the veg are using less water and more chemicals to wash the mud off. I find supermarket potatoes don't sprout at this time of year like the ones from the local farm, but they do go rubbery and develop slimy spots in the fridge. The farm ones in the sack in the shed and still wearing all their mud do not go soft or slimy but they do sprout if it's warm.

'Turned' milk (curds & wey) is nutritious and delicious with fruit - berries, oranges. etc., especially if it is full cream as it has vit D as well as the protein and is easy to digest.

The bottles keep best of course, (48+ hours) in a fridge but also can last for 24 - 48 hours in a bucket of cold water, in the shade of long grass / under a bush, with a cloth over the top to keep it all cool. Decant what you need only when you need it. This works for us as we have no fridge at the moment.

knspol

I buy pre packed carrots via online delivery shop and agree they don't last very long but it's more convenient for me and means less heavier stuff to carry. Have also noticed cucumbers being reduced to mush very quickly and I do buy them separately when I go to the greengrocers. I still think the removal of sell by dates on fruit and vegetables has not been a good move for consumers.

They haven't removed the sell by date in some supermarkets. Packets have a capital letter for the month followed by a number for the date.

I can't say I've had a problem with milk or root veg. I do remove them from the plastic bags and rap in old tea towels. The only thing I have noticed that doesn't last the week is cucumbers. They do go soft and mushy quickly.

My carrots are definitely not lasting like they used to do

I store carrots in water in a box in the fridge and they are still lovely and crunchy 2 or 3 weeks on. Mine come in a weekly organic veg box.

polomint

Emptied

I like 'tempted', it conjures up a lovely image.

They last for ages here which makes me very suspicious. What are they putting on them?

I keep carrots in a mesh bag in the fridge, also new potatoes. They last a good while. As for milk, I only buy a litre at a time and I can’t remember the last time I had any that had “gone off”.

I agree polomint Just lately I have found that my semi skinned tastes a little bit off before the sell by date. My husband can’t taste it but I can. I buy Cravendale to leave in the fridge when I go in hol, but it does cost more. I have a few carrots left over from last Sunday and they went from looking hard and fresh to hairy soft and grey looking within a few days. I bought the green bags a while ago and was very impressed- but even they don’t seem to work very well now.

Seems to be a hit and miss. Some of you have no problems at all with milk and carrots. All I know is that I'm not doing anything different than I have for over 50 years and yet milk is turning quicker than I think it should and carrots are soft and slimy after only a few days. Sometimes even like that on the day I buy them and open the bag. I'm curious and a bit miffed as I'm just storingbthem in the same way

BlueBelle

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

I agree. I think it's a result of supermarkets no longer showing Best Before/ Use By dates in their bid to appear to be "sustainable" by pushing the wastefulness on to customers with short-lived products and increasing their profits at the same time.

Once had a conversation with a buyer who told me the cheaper supermarkets buy the cheaper products as the turn over is quick and give the most profit. The higher up the chain you go the better quality you get.

Not sure if this still applies as was pre covid and pre cost of living crisis we spoke

Root vegetables will not keep if they have been washed before being sold, nor if they are kept where daylight or artificial light reaches them.

No vegetables should be kept in a fridge unless you intend to use them in the course of three or four days. Carrots should be kept in a bucket of sand, or be peel,ed diced or sliced and frozen, then used as and when you want them. Any vegetable that has become damp through being sold in a plastic or cellophane wrapping will deteriorate quickly.

Milk is no longer fresh when sold - it is three or four days old before ever it reaches the shops, so it should not come as a surprise that it does not keep once th carton has been opened. Eggs too, are not fresh - even although they are called fresh, just as the milk is, and their shells have been washed too, before the eggs were packed. Those of you whose mothers kept hens will know that the shells must not be washed if you intend to store eggs for a while.

Polomint, I have definitely found that no matter what store I buy them from but in particular where best before dates are no longer printed on them.

A ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date is a legal requirement on perishable foodstuffs. I have found they can be difficult to find and sometimes difficult to interpret, being wholly in figures. I was convinced that some mushrooms I bought weren’t properly labelled until I managed to decode the date. It should be plainer.

No market available near me. Carrots are so wet nowadays, and packing in polythene doesn't help. I usually take them out, place in the fridge veg drawer with a lose sheet of kitchen roll. Sometimes works but no guarantee.

Well glad not just me then over vegetables going off so quickly. Not had a problem with milk but veggies from Aldi I just seem to be putting on the compost heap. Yesterday when I went found it most interesting when I came to pay with my card at the till asked to tick 1, 2 or 3 as to the quality of the veggies. So I gave them the worst mark, obviously they are becoming aware of the problem.

Have you tried almond milk yet?

It takes ages to perish, and tastes lovely and creamy, just it's a bit different.

I use a, fairly, local organic farm shop but since it's just the two of us I've started planning meals for the week and buying exactly what I need. However, that works well until DH decide to go off piste and cook something completely off the schedule and uses nothing that is planned. However, I find that buying from the farm shop, especially, with the dirt of some veg, they do last longer. Occasionally, when I've asked for carrots/turnips/leeks, I've been asked if I mind waiting as they are just being harvested. Fresh is definitely better.

It may be worth checking your fridge temperature. We had this problem then moved house and inherited a different fridge. It keeps thing much colder and milk and veg are lasting much longer.