Mold is nature’s way of recycling. It breaks plant matter down into nutrients for other plants to use. With a few natural tricks, you can stop mold from appearing and avoid contaminating your food for a bit longer!
Most effective ways of avoiding mold:
Read the other parts in this short series:
Unexpected, no? Why would buying local food make mold go away?
Harvested in the morning, cooked in the evening! This is the ultimate way to prevent mold in the first place. Indeed, keeping the fruit or vegetable on the mother plant will protect the food from mold.
While still on the tree, the plant’s immune system still fights mold off. This protection ceases for most fruits and vegetables as soon as it’s picked.
Less distance makes for less wounding. Fruits and vegetables aren’t shuffled around as much.
They aren’t jarred around in pallets as far, nor are they subject to vibrations over long hauls.
Also, eating local reduces the number of molds a fruit is exposed to. A fruit is usually better able to fight off local mold species than it is for foreign molds.
A tight-knit community can work towards raising standards in a soft, inspiring way.
Producers, middlemen and end consumers are all in direct contact one with another, but not only from a “business” point of view. Indeed, meeting on the marketplace, the post office, the barber shop, and celebrating religious events together put a face on that tomato you’re slicing up for lunch.
Instead of selling second rate fruits that are already starting to mold, the incentive is to only provide healthy, fresh items.
Moldy food items that would otherwise be wasted can be used for other purposes. Throw them in the compost to nourish next year’s harvest!
Try to break the “supermarket once a week” habit.
Find a small grocery shop nearby or that’s an easy stop on the way to work and back.
Molds are not limited to growing in warmer temperatures, although they do prefer it. As you might have already seen, even food like jam, cheese and cream in the refrigerator can turn moldy. To control mold growth, it is recommended to clean your refrigerator quarterly.
Make sure jars and storage containers are clean and seal well. Having airtight containers reduces risk of mold.
Transfer leftovers to clean air-tight containers before placing them in the fridge.
Manage food supply better to avoid rotten items.
Don’t wait too long before eating some items like fruits or lettuce.
Consume leftover food within 3-4 days from the time it was cooked.
Decide immediately at the end of the meal when you’ll finish the leftovers.
A foregone advantage of eating local is eating seasonal.
A seasonal diet is the fact of only eating and cooking food that is available naturally at that point in time in the area you live in.
Seasonal diets mean you avoid having food travel long-distance.
Over the course of the year, nutritional content of fruits, nuts and vegetables available differ.
When shopping, bring along isotherm bags and pouches. In summer, they’ll keep the summer heat out. In winter, it will keep out warm air from heating vents and air ducts in the store, car, or public transportation.
Similarly, don’t store food in direct sunlight. That fruit basket near the window looks great, but it’s inviting to molds and even fruit flies!
Keep perishable items in the refrigerator right after purchasing.
Freeze excess food supply, whether cooked or raw, which you could not consume in the coming 3-4 days.
Entire fruits and vegetables can also be stored with care and proper storage, even without a refrigerator or freezer.
Take a look at these two examples:
There are a host of ways of making preserves. Preserves make it possible to eat fruits and vegetables long after they would normally have molded away.
The ultimate solution to avoid mold is to grow your own food! It meets all the goals listed above, with the added pleasure of savoring your own work, too!
