One of my favorite weekend activities is perusing the local farmer's market in my neighborhood. I love looking through the different tents to see what unique and fun fruits and vegetables are available based on the season at hand. It's a fun way to try out fresh new foods you may not have tried otherwise.
Even if I bring home a new fun thing to try, I typically leave with some classic root vegetables: namely onions, a potato, and perhaps some carrots because they really go with almost every meal ( ). Every once in awhile I'll also buy some fennel, radishes, or even some beets. Once I haul everything back to my apartment, it's sometimes a bit daunting to figure out the best way to store everything to achieve maximum freshness for as long as possible.
There's one tip I always adhere to with root vegetables though: Cut the leafy tops off the carrots, turnips, beets, etc. before wrapping them in a damp cloth and putting them in the fridge. That's because the leaves will draw moisture away from the veggies, causing them to dry out.
Just don't store them in airtight containers or in plastic bags in the fridge if you want to maximize their shelf life. If you store root veggies properly in the fridge, they should last a week or two (some last longer, it depends on the vegetable). If they start to soften, it means they're starting to go bad; making them .
What else to consider when storing root vegetables Another important thing to know is that not all root vegetables need to be store.
