Very Perishable Moderately Perishable Durable
lettuce zucchini apple
spinach eggplant squash
Chinese cabbage sweet peppers oranges
kale broccoli cabbage
endive cauliflower carrot
peaches apricots lemons
parsley beets
The half life of produce can be lengthened by lowering its
temperature. For that reason, sophisticated produce growers usually
use hydrocooling. This process dumps a just-cut vegetable into icy
water within minutes of being harvested, lowering core temperature
to a few degrees above freezing almost immediately. When cut
vegetables are crated up at field temperatures, and stacks of those
crates are put in a cooler, it can take the inside of the stack 24
hours, or longer, to become chilled. Home gardeners should also
practice hydrocooling. Fill your sink with cold water and wash/soak
your harvest until it is thoroughly chilled before draining and
refrigerating it. Or, harvest your garden early in the morning when
temperatures are lowest.
Still, when you buy produce in the store it may have been sitting at
room temperature for hours or possibly days.
The bottom line here: fresh is equally as important as unsprayed or
organically grown!