Fruit and vegetables

Shallots want cold and dry, not just cool. The temperature and humidity extension services actually specify, how long they keep, freezing them, and when one is finished.

Acorn squash is the one winter squash you should not cure. Where to keep it, how long it really lasts, how to freeze it, and how to tell when it has gone bad.

How to store Brussels sprouts: unwashed and loosely bagged in the crisper, where NDSU gives them 3 to 5 days. Why published shelf lives run from 1 day to a month, how to freeze them by size, and the five stages worth knowing.

How to store mashed potatoes: into the fridge within 2 hours, eaten within 3 to 4 days, and frozen for longer. Here is how to cool, freeze and reheat them, and how to tell when leftover mash has gone.

Corn on the cob gets 1 to 2 days in the fridge, not a week. Here are the extension figures, the husk question, the blanching times, and the difference between a starchy ear and a spoiled one.

Mint keeps about a week in the fridge, standing in a glass of water or wrapped in a damp towel. Here are the extension figures, the two ways to dry it, and the one stage that means throw it out.

Fresh-squeezed orange juice keeps up to five days in the fridge, while an unopened shelf-stable carton keeps 6 to 12 months in the cupboard. Freezing, the Navel problem, and the signs it has turned.

Pomegranate juice keeps about five days in the fridge and a year in the freezer. Chilled bottles against shelf-stable ones, opened against unopened, and the fizz that ends a bottle.

Fresh-squeezed lemon juice keeps about five days in the fridge, while a sealed shelf-stable bottle keeps 12 to 18 months in the pantry. Freezing, canning and the signs it has turned.

Cut the greens off, leave a short stem, and bag the roots in the fridge for one to two weeks. A cold, damp cellar holds them for months, and cooked beets freeze well.