Produce question

24 November 2021, 06:02 PM

Steve Miller

Produce question

I bought a bunch of carrots, some celery packed in cellophane and a bunch of onions at TJ about a week ago. We got busy and I haven’t looked at them since.

I went to use them tonight and was surprised to see the onions OK, but the carrots are going limp and the celery is rotting at the base. Is this a thing in the Midwest? Longer shipping times, etc.? I’m used to carrots and celery lasting weeks in the fridge - sometimes a month or more.

Or did TJ pick up a badly handled batch?

24 November 2021, 06:06 PM

BeeLady

Chances are they were picked long before they were even shipped to your store.

Welcome to the cold weather part of the world!

Does it have a growing location?

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24 November 2021, 06:07 PM

wtg

Long time Midwesterner here, and I routinely keep carrots and celery for weeks, sometimes longer.

I think you got a bad bunch of produce.

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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

24 November 2021, 06:07 PM

Steve Miller

I didn’t look. Maybe I should start.

24 November 2021, 06:08 PM

wtg

And we always make it a point to buy TJ's celery hearts, which are packaged under the Josie's label.

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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

24 November 2021, 06:12 PM

Steve Miller

I don’t usually buy produce cut and wrapped like that because I use the leaves and such for stock. Maybe I’ll try a different store.

I don’t much care for the local TJ anyway. It’s in a chi-chi mall that charges for parking and the parking structure is too tight for my truck.

TJ is fun, but not that much fun…

24 November 2021, 06:18 PM

Steve Miller

May as well ask another question. Dinner last night was at the in-laws and was delicious as always. She served baked potatoes and they were great, but they were white potatoes - maybe Irish Rose.

Very different from the Russets I’m used to. Softer, more dense. Not fluffy.

Is this a thing?

24 November 2021, 06:38 PM

Mikhailoh

White potatoes are a little softer. Don't see them very often. usually use Yukon Gold for mashed.

WTG's right - you just got bad produce. Carrots in particular last virtually forever. I've cooked them after a month or so in the crisper. Celery goes bad faster.

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"A mob is a place where people go to get away from their conscience" Atticus Finch

24 November 2021, 06:53 PM

wtg

I had trouble finding white potatoes at the regular chain grocery stores. My mom used to like white potatoes boiled as a side to cold borscht, and the only place I could routinely find them was at the Polish deli/market not far from her house.

We don't eat a lot of baked potatoes, but when we do I always buy russets. But for me, they have to have thick brown skin and lately what's been at Mariano's has lighter color skin that's quite thin. I love to eat the inside of the potato and then pop the empty skin in the oven to let it crisp up before I put more butter, sour cream, and chives in it and fold it lengthwise to eat.

What's an Irish Rose potato?

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When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier

24 November 2021, 07:40 PM

big al

I like to eat my baked potatoes complete as I go, cutting off bites including the skins. I think my habits changed as an adult. When I was a boy, I'd extract the potato from the skin, mash it with my fork, and add butter before I ate it. Then, I'd take the skin, add a little butter, and eat the skin.

Maybe it's a function of getting more ingredienats in a loaded baked potato that led me to eat it all as I go.

We don't eat baked potatoes at home very often. Mostly, our potatoes are russets or Yukon Golds and they end up as mashed, boiled, scalloped, or some other variety of cooked potato.

I have a small list of superlatives for foods that I keep in my mind. My best baked potato was a big Idaho baked potato in an Amtrak diner somewhere between Minneapolis and Chicago.

Big Al

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24 November 2021, 09:15 PM

RealPlayer

Yes, carrots and celery should last longer than that, even away from California. I might buy one or two produce items from our local TJ’s but there are better local options for produce.

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“It's hard to win an argument with a smart person. It's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person." -- Bill Murray

24 November 2021, 09:26 PM

dolmansaxlil

Carrots last a long time (though we have a carrot processing place really close to us so likely they are grown nearby even in winter as they can store them for a long time). Celery is dicier. I have wrapped it in aluminum foil if I need to keep it more than a week. For some reason that keeps it crisp.

And Russets are the only potato suitable for baking.

25 November 2021, 07:27 AM

Amanda

I don't know about the celery but sounds to me like the carrots froze and defrosted.

25 November 2021, 08:38 AM

Mikhailoh

We've gotten very fond of baked sweet potatoes. The skin is not as delicious as a russet, but still very tasty with a little (ok a lot) butter, s&p.

Mashed sweets are great too. The other day I did not have quite enough of either kind so I mixed russets and sweets and it was delicious.

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"A mob is a place where people go to get away from their conscience" Atticus Finch

25 November 2021, 12:46 PM

Steve Miller

quote:
Originally posted by wtg:

What's an Irish Rose potato?

That’s what Mom called them but the Google tells me they are actually “White Rose” potatoes.