Quick, Efficient Ways To Prep Your Produce
If you want to live and eat the healthiest way possible, the first step is to prepare your produce beforehand to help it retain the essential nutrients and freshness. Although it requires some preparation work up front, mealtimes are significantly shorter and require far less cleanup if you store your produce after cutting. And, did we mention that pre-cutting your own produce also minimizes food waste?
If you want to retain the essential nutrients in your produce, it’s important to upgrade your kitchen utensils. It’s better to have a mandoline slicer for cutting your vegetables consistently and nicely while retaining the taste and nutrients.
WAYS TO KEEP YOUR PRODUCE FRESH
Set up your vegetable preparation area
Prepare your area for some veggie chopping activity when you get home from the grocery shop. You risk further delay if you put that bunch of lettuce in the refrigerator with the intention of eating it later. Not only you will prep the produce timely if you do it straight away but you’ll have plenty of ready-to-eat snacks as well.
Put in place your chopping board, knife, mandoline slicers, storage boxes, and a green trash bin in front of the TV while prepping your produce. If you have more family members, asking them for help can save you time. Everyone gains cooking knowledge and enjoys quality time together in this manner.
Look over your meal plan
You may find out how to prep produce by looking at the meals you want to cook each week. Perhaps you would like some cube sweet potato, some broccoli cut nicely for soup, and some carrots and onions in bite-size pieces for convenient munching. You have to pack them in an airtight container with little water to retain their freshness.
It’s better to cut ingredients according to the size of the recipe, then store them in airtight jars to keep moisture in. Yes, pre-cutting your veggies results in some nutritional loss, but you will waste a lot more if you discard them at the end of the week as they will be too soggy and rotten to cook.
Keep extras in the freezer
Reducing waste is one of the major benefits of preparing produce beforehand. You should wash it, slice it up in the mandoline slicer and freeze the leftover cabbage if a recipe only asks for a cup. Make two batches of the produce so you may keep one in the freezer and one for immediate consumption.
Relax and enjoy the rewards
Now that the preparation is over, you may take a deep breath and enjoy the fact that this week’s cooking will be quite simple! Both the preparation process and the cleanup will take much less time. You will avoid having to throw away any wasted produce from the previous week. By adopting this routine, you’ll be more likely to munch on wholesome, fresh vegetables.
HOW TO PROPERLY USE A MANDOLINE SLICER?
No matter which mandoline slicer you pick, using it will be simple and safer if you follow these instructions:
- To ensure you have full control, hold the mandoline slicer straight facing your body with the slope away from you. In most circumstances, cutting forward and backward is safer than cutting sideways.
- Take a sharp knife to slice an even area if the vegetable you are slicing doesn’t have one to increase stability.
- Place the food in the guard or holder of the mandoline slicer.
- Place the item in the holder on the blade. When you have sliced all the parts you require, apply consistent pressure to the produce as you move it up and down the mandoline slicer.
FINAL WORDS
One of the most effective ways to prep your produce is by using a mandoline slicer that significantly reduces prep time. Because they’re usually among the sharpest kitchen equipment, you need to be extra careful while using them.