Shelf life extension of root vegetables

With the cooling temperatures comes the desire for warm, hearty meals. This makes stews, soups and o…

With the cooling temperatures comes the desire for warm, hearty meals. This makes stews, soups and one-pot dinners very popular during the cold winter months. The challenge for the time-constrained cook is the preparation of the vegetables that make up these much-loved comfort foods.

Produce processors can now offer their customers prepackaged, fresh-cut root vegetables to make those home cooked meals when they have little time to chop and dice the staple ingredients.

"From potatoes to turnips to beets, the most appetizing and freshest looking root vegetables can be maintained with our NatureSeal solutions," says Karen Murphy with NatureSeal. "There are various approaches to enhancing the appearance of these root vegetables, making them more convenient to use and thereby marketable."

Sliced, diced, whole peeled and French fry cut potatoes can be dipped in our PS-10, 12 or 13 inhibiting the discoloration after processing. The same goes for turnips, parsnips and beets. The extra shelf life the NatureSeal products provide can give you the time you need to transport these processed products and offer fresh-cut, value-added root vegetable options to supermarkets.

Whole white and yellow potatoes benefit from FS 3750D, keeping the skin of this inclusion to many roasted and boiled dishes looking brighter, more attractive and minimizing small blemishes. The shelf life of this whole, unpeeled root vegetable is also extended after a spray or dip in this wash.

Both conventional and organic products are available to help solve your fresh root vegetable challenges.