Stuff That Works - Green Bags!

[Blue Tree]

These bags are fantastic, I bought my wife some Silk Flowers for Valentines Day, a few days later I put them into one of the Green Bags, her Birthday was in August and I used the same flowers from the Green Bag, they looked exactly the same as the day that I put them in the bag, the added bonus was my wife never even noticed they were the same ones!!

[Cheechako]

I bought some once, they seemed to work pretty good in the Caribe. Problem is they are expensive, hard to clean and re-use.. how many times can you wash them and have them work?

[texwards]

I, also, was wondering about cleaning and re-using. Does re-using hinder the 'freshness protecting' qualities of these bags?

[Chief Engineer]

I get it

Originally Posted by Blue Grass

These bags are fantastic, I bought my wife some Silk Flowers for Valentines Day, a few days later I put them into one of the Green Bags, her Birthday was in August and I used the same flowers from the Green Bag, they looked exactly the same as the day that I put them in the bag, the added bonus was my wife never even noticed they were the same ones!!

[Irwin325]

Blue Grass you are a brave man my friend.
I will bet there are several diffrent brands of bags as to why there are so may people that are pro and so many that are con.
Can the pros give us there brand they use and the cons give us the brand they use as I would like to try them but don't want to wast my hard earned boat bucks.
Matt

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Irwin325

may people that are pro

Can the pros give us there brand they use

Amazon.com: Forever Green Bags 16 Per Box: 8-9"x15"/8-12"x17" by Gourmet Trends: Kitchen & Dining

$.50 apiece.

Try them yourself.
It is easy.

Put half your lettuce (or whatever) in one and watch both.

[Martinini]

Those things were tested on one of the major networks Deal or Dud consumer shows and were given a Big DUD rating!

[Viking Sailor]

Originally Posted by Martinini

Those things were tested on one of the major networks Deal or Dud consumer shows and were given a Big DUD rating!

Thank goodness! I thought is was just me. Over the years I've tried green bag three or four times and they have never worked for me.

Paul

[GordMay]

Stay Fresh vegetable bags are made from low density polyethylene that is coated with a fine layer of natural clay (zeolite) containing high levels of a mineral claimed to absorb ethylene gas.

Ripening is the final stage of the maturation process when the fruit changes colour, and develops the flavour, texture and aroma that makes up what we define as optimum eating quality. The biological agent that initiates this ripening process after the fruit is mature is naturally produced ethylene. While there are other factors involved in this "triggering" of the ripening process by ethylene, it is essentially a universal ripening hormone.

When this internal concentration of naturally produced ethylene increases to about 0.1 - 1.0 ppm, the ripening process is irreversibly initiated. The process may be slowed, but it cannot be reversed once it is truly under way.

Generally speaking, however, the shelf life of most produce is reduced by storing it in plastic, zeolite or no zeolite, because the humidity inside the bag is so high. You can help your produce last by keeping it cool and by allowing air circulation, which naturally reduces ethylene and other plant hormone levels in the air.

Consumer Reports claims that the green bags don’t do the job. They performed a test using a variety of fruits and vegetables stored in various ways: they stored the foods in the green bags, in regular Ziploc bags, on a counter, in a fridge and in plastic supermarket bags. They got unfavorable results for the green bags except when it involved bananas, as they report:

From Consumer Reports: We saw green inside the Green Bags, but often it was mold. Blackberries became moldy after three weeks, strawberries and basil after a month, and peppers and tomatoes after five weeks. It was a tough test, but the same foods stored in other ways nearly always had less mold or none after the same time. Only bananas fared significantly better in Green Bags: After two weeks, they were firm and had not turned black.

➥ Debbie Meyer Green Bags

In addition to the Consumer Reports test results, there is a mixed bag of response – mostly negative - from 50 readers at this about.com* blog story written by a chemist who is not convinced. But differences in results, which no one I read has mentioned, can also be attributed to the age of produce when it is purchased, which is unknowable.

* ➥ Do Debbie Meyer and Evert Fresh Green Bags Work?