Should I refrigerate vegetables in sealed bag or not?
Supermarkets sell vegetables in sealed bags. Best to refrigerate bags with vegetables inside, or take vegetables out of bags before putting them in refrigerator? Here are more pics of vegetables sold in sealed bags.
I can't make up my mind. If I take them out of bag, then cold refrigerator air will dry them. If I keep them in bag, they can't intake carbon dioxide, and the oxygen they keep exhaling will kill them!
Best Answer
It depends. Some fridges have a special area to store vegetables where they control the air flow and temperature in order to control moisture and humidity.
If your fridge is one of these, then removing them from the sealed bags is not a bad idea.
However, if you don't have such an area the vegetables are likely to dry or to get cold burns depending on your fridge settings, so keeping them packaged can help avoid that.
It is also important to notice that keeping things tidy and in separate containers in a fridge helps with higiene and keeps harmful bacteria from damaged products to latch onto newer ones.
Hope it helps.
Pictures about "Should I refrigerate vegetables in sealed bag or not?"
Quick Answer about "Should I refrigerate vegetables in sealed bag or not?"
Most vegetables, like carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage and celery should be stored in a plastic bag or container in the crisper of your fridge.Should you take vegetables out of plastic bags in the fridge?
So storing them in air tight plastic bags, leaving them no breathing room, is not the best treatment to your store-brought vegetables. Here's how you can fix it though. Poke holes in the plastic bag or store them in mesh bags and place them in your refrigerator.Should vegetables be stored airtight?
It's best before it dries out. Greens: Remove any bands or twist ties. Most greens must be kept in an airtight container with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out. Kale, collards, and chard even do well in a cup of water on the counter or fridge.How do you keep bagged vegetables fresh?
The moment you're home, pop open that bag of greens. Rip a fresh paper towel from the roll, slide it into the bag of greens, and seal with a chip clip. The paper towel will absorb moisture that would otherwise lead your leaves to rot. This will help the greens stay fresh, giving you more time to use up the bag.Foods That Cannot Be Sealed | Foodsaver®
More answers regarding should I refrigerate vegetables in sealed bag or not?
Answer 2
The way they are packaged is important. Some salad greens are packed in a nitrogen atmosphere, which means the air inside the bag has had all the oxygen removed and replaced with nitrogen instead (normal air is 78% nitrogen so increasing this up to 100% is of no health concern). But it means oxygen-breathing bacteria on the leaves will find it difficult to grow inside the sealed bag (at least until the oxygen gets back in, one way or another), prolonging the life of the fresh greens.
If you empty them out of the bag then you are providing the bacteria with a literal breath of fresh air, helping to kick start them on their journey of turning your fresh greens into compost.
I'm also not sure that cut leaves do much in the way of oxygen production. For a start, once removed from the plant they no longer receive fresh water and nutrients from the sap. Oxygen is also only produced during photosynthesis, which requires light. So if the light is off in your fridge when the door is shut, they won't be able to produce any oxygen anyway. (In fact most plants stop taking in carbon dioxide in the dark and consume a small amount of oxygen instead.)
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Torsten Dettlaff, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska