by Texas Homesteader ~
My baby sis and her hubby came to spend the weekend with us recently. RancherMan & I planned to grill out since the weather was nice. I’d also planned to roast some fresh veggies that I had in the fridge. As my sis & I were in the kitchen I opened the refrigerator door to fetch the broccoli leftover from our dinner party several days ago. My sister saw how it was contained and exclaimed “That’s BRILLIANT!” Come see this Homestead Hack for keeping your broccoli fresh.
First let’s go way back several days ago when I’d invited my parents to our home for supper. I decided I wanted to roast fresh veggies with a bit of flavored olive oil as a tasty side dish to go with RancherMan’s grilled steak.
Shopping For Fresh Produce
So we were out shopping at our small-town grocery store. I was dismayed to see all the broccoli was being sold on a styrofoam tray & entombed in plastic. I politely asked one of the cashiers if they packaged the broccoli onsite or if it came to them already packaged.
When they told me they did the packaging themselves I asked if there was any leftover unpackaged broccoli I might purchase. They brought out the bulk produce box to me to choose from.
So I brought home only fresh produce – no plastic, no styrofoam! It never hurts to ask, y’all!
Keeping Produce Fresh
Anyway the roasted veggies were delicious & I sat aside all the leftover raw veggies for another night. Fast forward several days when we decided to host my sis & her hubby for the weekend. So now here we are, staring at the leftover produce in the fridge from several days ago when I gained my sisters admiration.
Here’s my secret for keeping my very-perishable broccoli fresh: I placed the cut stem into a wide-bottom bowl with a little water in the bottom. It’s the same trick I often watched my grandmother use when I was a kid.
How did our grandmothers get so smart??!! So obviously it’s not a new idea, but it’s highly effective. I do much the same thing with fresh celery and cauliflower too. It keeps my produce crisp and wilt-free for several days.
~TxH~
Other Kitchen Homestead Hacks
- Easy Reminder For Kitchen Stove
- Make Your Slow Cooker More Efficient
- No Cooking Fat Down The Drain
- Labeling A Glass Jar
- Cleaning A Narrow-Neck Jar
- Keep That Broccoli Fresh
- Don’t Waste Onion Trimmings
- Heat-Free Way to Peel Tomatoes
- Cleaner Vegetable Chopping
- Quick Baking Measurement Reminder System
- Easily Separating Cream From Milk
- Using Frozen Water Bottles In The Kitchen
- Don’t Waste It – Free Vegetable Broth
- Easier Deviled Eggs – No Mess!
- MYO Crispy Taco Shells CHEAP
- Tame Kitchen Appliance Cords
- Save Your Fingernails When Cleaning
- Paper Napkins In A Paperless Kitchen
- Use ALL Of Your Spray Cleaner
- Quick Coffee Stain Cleaning
- Repurposing Mesh Bags For Scrubbers
- Cute Windowsill Container For Herb Cuttings
- …and many MORE!
See All Homestead Hacks
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I rinse celery thoroughly, especially the inside, then I turn it upside down to dry. It lasts much longer. I`ve never thought of the broccoli idea!
Interesting Jan, I’ve never heard of turning rinsed-off celery upside down to dry to make it last longer. I absolutely love how we can all learn from each other on this blog – thanks for sharing your handy tip!! ~TMH~
I also do the same thing with asparagus. And for a science experiment with Kaleigh I’ve put celery in colored water.
Grandma always had a bunch of celery in a glass with a little water in it. She often had some sort of plastic bag covering the top of the celery. How oh how did our grandmothers get so smart without even the benefit of the internet or google?? ~TMH~