by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: May 07, 2009   Last Updated: May 23, 2009

Vegetables are a crucial part of our daily diets. The main thing that turns people off about fresh vegetables, even to the point of making them resistant to buying them, is how quickly most produce we purchase, seems to perish. There are ways through which one can extend the life of fresh produce, and there are ways through which it is possible to make the vegetables last two or three times as long as one might have thought.

Here are some basic tips that will help ensure vegetables stay fresh for longer.

WASH WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO USE -

When you take vegetables out of the refrigerator, never wash more than what you intend to use right away. Washing vegetables before you plan to refrigerate them again will only cause them to get mushy and soggy in the refrigerator or go bad.

KEEP VEGETABLES AWAY FROM APPLES -

The most important thing that anyone should know when it comes to storing vegetables is that they should never store any kind of vegetable in the same crisper that apples are kept in. Apples give off ethylene gas and the ethylene gases are one of the main reasons why vegetables spoil so quickly.

MAKE SURE LETTUCE IS DRY -

One of the easiest and most important things that we can do to ensure that our lettuce doesn't get all soggy and rotten is to put it in a colander after bringing it home from the store. Put it in the colander upside down. This will allow the water to drain off.

Grocery stores routinely spray vegetables with water to keep them fresher. Wet vegetables don't keep well in the refrigerator, so allowing the lettuce to dry will definitely add to its longevity in the refrigerator. Leave the lettuce in the colander until all of the water has dripped off of it.

Green bags, or less expensive versions of the green bags are helpful because they keep the ethylene gases away from the produce. Before putting the lettuce in the bag, wrap it well in an absorbent towel because that will soak up any additional water. Keep the lettuce wrapped in a towel to keep the wetness away from the bag. Secure the bag closed by using a clip of some sort.

Home grown lettuce should be not be picked in quantities. It's best not to pick more than what can be used at one time. If the lettuce needs to be stored briefly, wash it well and then wrap it in a towel. Alternatively, there are cotton bags that can be purchased for salad greens. They are nice because they can be washed and reused multiple times.

Put the lettuce in the bag and shake the bag so that as much water

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