SEATTLE — You may not be making the most of your produce if it’s not stored properly or you don’t eat it all before it goes bad. Safeway wants to help you use your food well.
“We want to empower people that when they walk into a Safeway store, they’re not just getting the freshest fish, and they’re not just getting the most in-season produce,” said Joel Gamoran, chef ambassador, Safeway. “But that they go home, and it doesn’t go bad. Or you know how to use it to its fullest potential. It doesn’t go to waste.”
Cherries are in season and popular right now. They can be stored on your counter, and Chef Gamoran has a tip for knowing where to store all of your produce.
“When you go into a Safeway, look how they store it,” he said. “If it’s out on the counter, it can go out on your counter. If it’s stored in the fridge, it can go in your fridge.”
You can make use of your cherry pits by soaking them in rum or any neutral alcohol to give it added flavor. Let them soak in the alcohol for at least two weeks to fully infuse.
As for picking the best cherries, Gamoran says they should be tight, and your finger should not make an indent when you push them. If they’re wrinkly, that means they’re extra sweet.
Safeway also carries tomatoes that Gamoran says are identical to ones you can grow in your garden. You can even put their stems to good use!
“Next time you make tomato sauce, you put the stem in there,” he said. “It gives it extra flavor.”
When you get home from the store with your basil, it’s best to take it out of the clamshell. You can snip it and put it in a small vase or wrap it in a wet paper towel and put it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.
“If you were to store basil in the clamshell, it would last probably like five days before it starts to wilt,” Gamoran said. “If you do it this way, it’s two and a half weeks.”
If your basil starts to look sad, Gamoran suggests dipping it in ice water and giving it a good shake. It will crisp back up.
If you have stone fruit and need it to ripen, you can wrap it in a paper bag and leave it on the counter to ripen faster. If the fruit starts to get too soft, you can put it in the fridge to ripen slower.
“You kind of have to play with stone fruit,” Gamoran said. “If they’re going too fast, fridge. If they’re going too slow, bag them up.”
The Safeway app has great deals on in-season produce and many other items. Learn more on the Safeway website.
Sponsored by Safeway
Segment Producer Suzie Wiley. Watch New Day Northwest at 11 a.m. weekdays on KING 5 and streaming live on KING5.com. Contact New Day.