Friday 23 December 2016

Review: The Swag reuseable produce bags

Recently I've been using something new to keep my fruit and vegetables in. We've never been a family that produces lots of waste, and even if we do, I'm very eco conscious and odds are it will end up being eaten by the dogs or the chickens, or the compost heap will get it. However, I am also conscious of the amount of plastic that is used these days too. It particularly irks me when I see fruit and vegetables pre-wrapped or portioned into plastic containers, and I will deliberately go out of my way to choose to fill my own (reusable) bag with the portion I want to buy.

The Swag is an Australian product for storing produce. It's made of three layers of natural unbleached cotton - the outer layer protects the fruit and veg and stops the water in the middle layer drying up. The middle later absorbs and holds water, but draws moisture away from the inside produce, therefore increasing the storage life. The inner layer is a dry barrier which sits against the produce but allows them to absorb the water and air through the fabric too.

I have them in a few different sizes - the green one is a longer size which is great for things like celery and spring onions. The white one is the large size, and pretty much anything fits in there. The red and blue ones are small bags, and I love that they're colour coded so I can identify individual bags in the fridge.

They're super simple to use, and in fact, the instructions are sewn onto the bag! All you have to do is make sure the swag is a little bit wet, but not dripping. Put the produce in and then store it in your fridge. Make sure the Swag is a bit damp and there you have it! I need to sprinkle them with water every few days but that's not a big deal for me at all.
I don't even have to separate different types of veggies and fruits, in fact, I find it convenient to store all my veggies together, all my fruits together etc. I even use one of the bags to store my potatoes in (but that one lives in the cupboard, not the pantry, and isn't kept damp at all).
I've been using my Swags for a little while now and I love them. Here's some carrots stored in one of the small bags. They're just loose in there, but they're perfectly happy and still crispy and good. I definitely think that these bags are helping to prolong the life of my fresh produce - and actually, my mushrooms are quite happy to be stored in a Swag as well (although like potatoes I don't wet their bag).

I'm very happy to be cutting down on plastic storage bags, saving money by not having to discard food (although the chickens might not agree!). I think it's a great product.

Note that this review is not sponsored, I just love the bags and wanted to show how I keep my fruit and vegetables fresh for longer.
 

2 comments:

  1. this is great, I have the Onya reusable bags and really like them but these look wonderful too. I hate the unnecessary packaging especially with cherry tomatoes. We're going to grow some but for those times I need them quick, they're always sold in the plastic tubs :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great idea. I hate it when vegetables get past their best and have to be wasted (or, don't have to be, but are because I don't get around to turning the into soup or stock in time!).

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...