Keep Fresh Vegetables From Going Bad Quickly: The Green Hearts

CSA season is nearly upon us, and that means that many first-timers will be signing up for much more fresh produce than they can possibly eat. If you’re a whiz at food preservation, you can turn those fresh vegetables and fruits into all sorts of goodies. For many, though, that first season of community-supported agriculture participation means throwing away a lot of good food.

Of course, this challenge isn’t limited to CSA participants: we all have produce spoil in the fridge. It turns out, though, that there’s a fairly simple way to keep those fresh vegetables and fruits good longer… long enough that we’ll actually be able to eat them. Fresh plant-based food release ethylene, which causes them to ripen… and then over-ripen. If you can soak up some of that gas, your food will stay fresher longer. New product The Green Hearts helps your fridge keep food fresh by acting as a sponge for ethylene – take a look:

Apparently farmers and florists have used this basic technique for maintaining freshness for decades; The Green Hearts makes it available to the rest of us. Parent company Ahdorma is using Kickstarter to pre-sell the product, and is well on the way to meeting their funding goal of $19.987. They’ve got about three weeks to go, so if you’re considering a CSA share this year, or you’re just tired of tossing out vegetables and fruits before you can eat them, consider purchasing one of their packages.

Got other tactics for keeping fresh vegetables fresh longer? Know of other products that have worked for you? Share your secrets with us – none of us want to waste food! And if you’re thinking about giving The Green Hearts a try, let us know…

Image credit: The Green Hearts