UX: How to store Cilantro fresh and increase the shelf life (and bring back the wilted ones to life)
How everyday fresh herb storing struggle turned into a short UX (User Experience) herb story.
For an American family of four, the average value of produce that goes waste is nearly $1,600 annually.
Lisa believes in staying fit and healthy by cooking fresh food and adding fresh ingredients.
Lisa loves cooking. She relishes how herbs like Cilantro, enhances the flavor of food. Adding them fresh with that crisp texture and moisture further increases the taste of the food and adds joy to her life!
Within a few hours of purchase, her cilantro turns lifeless, wilts, and droop…
She always faces trouble keeping the herbs fresh. Keeping these herbs fresh for longer is one tough task, which most of the time leads to a perished bunch that’s tossed in a trashcan. She also tried growing them to harvest fresh. But after harvesting, the same happened again.
How tools those were supposed to help, made it worse-
She tried multiple hacks and tools and encountered the following:
- Tools were expensive with the amount of herb they could store.
- Tools did not work to solve her problem of wilting herb and reduced shelf life.
- Were either too large or too small to store the number of herbs she needs.
A simple inexpensive hack that helped her in preserving this flavourful, aromatic, and super-healthy herb for up to more than a week. —
As plants need good airflow, humidity control, and plenty of hydration to thrive, she tried building the same environment for her herbs inside the refrigerator.
Following is what she used —
- A colander
- A small tub to fit the colander in
- Cling wrap
- Filtered water
And the MAGIC, Boom!! Following the steps below, Lisa gets her herbs back to life!
- Wash and clean the herbs. Also, remove any brown/yellow leaves.
- Drain and lightly dry the extra water of the herbs by placing the herb in the colander.
- Add 2–3 tbsp of filtered water in the tub.
- Place the colander in the tub.
- Cover it loosely in the refrigerator and boom!
Lisa get a hydrated and aired environment inside the refrigerator her wilted herb comes back to life within a few hours, and if she is storing fresh ones, they stay fresh for up to more than a week.
To further increase the shelf life, she turns her herbs in a colander once a day and makes sure to remove the discolored leaf if any. She also refills the water as it gets absorbed by the herb.
Hope this small and simple hack brings a happy herb User Experience!
Imagine the number of herbs that can be saved from going to waste with this simple solution and thus reducing the overall waste!
Ruchi Jain is the author of this case study. Have questions? Please leave your comment below -
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