photo by Carey Tilden
DEAR SARA: How do you store your bagged salads? I bought a couple of bags of salad on sale last night. I’m curious to know how you store yours without it getting brown really fast. — Mickee, Kentucky
DEAR MICKEE: I tend to purchase heads of lettuce and salad ingredients instead of bagged salad. I think bagged salad often tastes funny; however, I do understand the convenience and have bought it many times. If you buy it often, try the SaladSac, which is a reusable cotton bag that absorbs moisture. It can be machine-washed and dried. It costs about $10 and takes up less room than a salad spinner. It’s available at many gourmet stores and retail outlets.
If you’d rather not buy a new item, I suggest you remove your bagged salad from its original packaging and place it into a plastic storage container with paper towels to absorb moisture. Again, you would benefit from at least a salad spinner.
DEAR SARA: When my local store had triple-coupon week, I bought a bunch of yogurt because it was so cheap. In order to make sure that it wouldn’t go bad before the expiration date, I froze it. Last night, I took one of the packages out and put it in the refrigerator. When I went to serve it to my daughter, it was watery and not yogurtlike at all. It tasted relatively OK, but I didn’t give it to her because it made me nervous. Is it OK to give to her even though the texture is different? — Amy, New Jersey
DEAR AMY: You can safely freeze yogurt cups. The cultures go dormant when frozen, and the texture and smoothness will not be the same as fresh yogurt, but it’s not harmful.
DEAR SARA: I have a bunch of one-gallon plastic ice-cream containers. I was wondering whether you had any ideas for uses for these. I have them under the counter waiting for some great idea to use them. — Michelle, Texas
DEAR MICHELLE: I save them sometimes, too. I like how easily they stack. I use them to hold cleaning supplies so I can carry them around the house easily. I’ve also used them to store bath toys, food, crayons, as a mop bucket, seed-starter containers, kitchen compost scraps and pet food. Good for you for saving them to reuse.
DEAR SARA: I often read about purchasing fruit when it’s in season, and that there is an ideal time to purchase fruits for the best flavor and price. When are the best times to purchase fruits? — Natalie, e-mail
DEAR NATALIE: Seasonal fruit, especially locally grown or from your own garden, is fresher, tastes better and costs less. You can also shop ethnic markets. Their fruit and produce is sometimes less expensive, too.
Below is a handy seasonal-fruit list.
Apples: August-December.
Apricots: May-August.
Bananas: Year-round.
Blueberries: June-July.
Canteloupe: June-August.
Cherries: May-August.
Cranberries: October-December.
Grapefruit: November-May.
Grapes: August-October.
Honeydew: May-November.
Oranges: October-June.
Peaches: June-August.
Pears: August-November.
Pineapple: March-June.
Plums: July-September.
Strawberries: April-July.
Tangerines: November-January.
Watermelons: May-August.
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Post from: Frugal Village
Store salads for freshness
译文:
保存新鲜色拉的方法
照片由凯里 蒂尔登拍摄
亲爱的萨拉：你们是怎么保存你们那些包装的色拉的?我昨晚买了好多包促销的色拉。我好奇的想知道你们是怎么样保存色拉的使得它不会那么快变色？---肯塔基州的爱尔兰佬
亲爱的爱尔兰佬：我倾向于买一个莴苣和一些做沙拉的材料而不是包装的色拉。我觉得包装的色拉吃起来味道很奇怪；但是我明白它的确很方便也买过很多次。如果你经常买包装色拉的话，试着用用看色拉囊,它是一个可以循环利用的能吸收水分的棉布包。它能用洗衣机洗和烘干，大概只要10美元比一个沙拉真空碗少占许多空间。在许多食品店和零售店都有得卖。
如果你不想买新的东西，那我建议你把袋装色拉从它原来的包装中拿出来放入一个塑料容器内用纸巾抱着吸收水分来储存 。同样，你至少发觉它比色拉真空碗有好处的多。
亲爱的萨拉：当我有商店的每周三倍的优惠卷的时候，我买了一磅优酪乳因为它非常便宜。为了确保它不会在保质期前变 质，我把它冰冻的起来。昨天晚上，我拿出了一包，把它放入了冰箱中。当我想给我女儿吃的时候，已经变得很稀薄了，一点都不像优酪乳。吃起来的话味道还行，但是我没有把这个给我女儿吃，因为这个让我觉得没什么安全感。即使质地不同了是不是也能拿给我的女儿吃呢？--新泽西州的艾米
亲爱的艾米：你能用优酪乳杯子来冰冻。这个是因为当冰冻的时候是静止状态的，所以质地和光滑度不会像新鲜的优酪乳那样，但是这个是没有害处的。
亲爱的萨拉：我有一堆一加仑的塑料的冰淇淋罐。我想知道你有什么好想法能利用这些吗？我把它们放在柜台下面一直在想有什么好点子能用到它们---德克萨斯州的米歇尔
亲爱的米歇尔：我有时候也会留着这些。我发现他们还不费力的就能堆起来。我用他们来存放清洁用品，这样我能很方便的拿着在房子的任何地方。我也用它们保存沐浴玩具，食物，蜡笔，或者拖地的桶，种子的生长罐，厨房里的垃圾桶或者宠物的食物桶。你留下它们在利用是十分有利的。
亲爱的萨拉：我经常听说要买当季的水果，因为那是能买到最好吃和最便宜的最理想的时间。那么什么时候才是买水果的最佳时机呢？---来自娜塔莉的来信
亲爱的娜塔莉：季节性的水果，特别是当地生长或者从你自己花园里种的是比较新鲜，比较好吃又比较便宜的。你也能到市场是去买，他们的水果有时更便宜些。
以下是一份手写的季节性水果的单子
苹果：8月到12月
杏子：5月到8月
香蕉：整年
黑莓：6月到7月
哈密瓜：6月到8月
樱桃：5月到8月
曼越橘：10月到12月
柚子：11月到5月
葡萄：8月到10月
蜜露：5月到11月
橘子：10月到6月
桃子：6月到8月
梨：8月到11月
菠萝：3月到6月
李子：7月到9月
草莓：4月到7月
橘子：11月到1月
西瓜：5月到8月
如果你对这份报纸有兴趣，确认你已经订阅！
摘自：节俭都市
保存新鲜色拉的方法