A couple of days ago, I mentioned having bought some of the Debbie Meyer Green Bags. I was a little skeptical about them. However, I had a lot of fresh produce in the fridge and was getting ready to go camping for the weekend, so I decided I'd give them a try, rather than let all those pretty greens I got last week go to waste.
Five days later, I have to say I'm impressed. The different types of lettuce in the photos below were put in the bags on Friday morning, and were actually harvested by the farmers on Wednesday morning. I took the photos this morning. It looks as fresh as when I got it.
These bananas were purchased right before our trip on Friday morning. I put them in a Green Bag and into a big Rubbermaid tote with the rest of our non-refrigerated groceries for the trip. I kept them in the bag for five days, one of which was spent mostly in the back of a hot mini-van. Now, some of you might think they are already too ripe to eat (not me, I like them very ripe), but the point is that after five days in the bag they are still quite bright in color, and the banana aroma and flavor did not overtake the rest of the food in the tote.
Using the Green Bags is simple. Just dry your produce as well as possible, put it in one of the bags and fold the top down. For foods that are hard to dry, such as leaf lettuce still on the head, I blotted the leaves with a paper towel, the folded a second paper towel and put it in the bag with the lettuce. The instructions say to avoid twist ties because they might puncture the bags, so I secured mine with clothespins (hillbilly chip clips).
Green Bags are sold 20 to a box (half large, half medium) for $10. I bought mine at Target, but I think that's a fairly standard price wherever they're sold. The website says the bags can be reused up to ten times, but I plan to use them for as long as they continue to keep food fresh.
It's official! Debbie Meyer Green Bags get the Real Life Seal of Approval!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Product Review: Debbie Meyer Green Bags
Labels:
Food Talk,
Kitchen Gadgets,
Saving Money
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25 comments:
My mother bought some of those bags when they first came out and you couldnt buy them in the stores.
She really likes them also. I need to get me some.
Lisa: I'm pretty impressed with them.
I bought these bags and was very disappointed with the results. The bananas seemed to go brown faster than if I had not used the bags at all. The tomato had mold on it two days after I put it in the bag. I had some cut up peppers and they too went bad in a few days. I made sure that everything was dry when I stored them. This product is a big waste of money.
Anon: I've had nothing but great results from these, but I'm sorry you didn't. I don't know how you, or others are using the bags, but I put the dry produce in the bag, fold down the top and clip it with a clothespin. If the produce is still wet (like leaf lettuce), I'll put a paper towel in with the produce before clipping the bag shut. I refrigerate the things I would normally refrigerate (like lettuce, tomatoes, squash). I don't refrigerate anything I wouldn't normally (like potatoes, bananas). Everything has stayed fresh for days, and in a couple of cases, it was even a couple of weeks. I can't say enough good things about these bags.
I had high hopes for this product when i bought it.I believe i wasted my money because the product did not work at all. Wish i had kept my store receipt to get my money back.
Usually I'm not one to try the latest gimmick. I can't afford to waste money on bad products nor can I afford the cost of gas to return something to the store. However I have also tossed out far too much moldy, overly ripe fruit and vegetables.
Just bought the bags last week. This is now day four for nectarines, bananas, pears, kiwis and tomatoes stored in a bag per each kind of fruit. I did not wash the fruit before placing them in the bags. I also saw the warning about not using twist ties. All I did was loosely twist each bag and then tucked under the extra top part of the bag.
The fruit are as fresh today as the day I bought them. The pears are organic and usually begin to rot in 2 days. Not so in the green bags. By the way, because my refrigerator freezes everything, I left the individual bags of fruit on the counter. I really like these bags. It seems like I'm going to save money in the long run.
For those people who also like these bags, I'm interested in hearing how to determine when you should throw a bag away.
Thanks for your feedback!
Southern California Mom of a teenager :-)
Dawn: I truly don't know what to say, because I've had such great results with the green bags. I'm sorry they didn't work for you.
SoCal Mom of a Teen: Glad to hear you're having positive results, too. Today is Oct. 20, and I am STILL using the original bags I bought in May. I am careful with them, making sure to not get any holes in them, and keeping them clean and dry between uses. I can't even begin to guess how many times I've used them. I suppose I'll keep using the same ones until they get holes or quit keeping food fresh.
I am online looking for more information about these bags. I was given a set last Christmas and just used the first one eight days ago. I am absolutely amazed with the results. I put a head of lettuce in a bag. I use a few leaves every day for my lunch sandwiches. That head of lettuce lasted the whole time with NO browning. I love these bags!
Anonymous: I'm so glad you're having good luck with them, too. Honestly, I can't understand why some people say they don't work. I've had nothing but success with them. :)
I would like to know where these bags are made. I just bought some at a local flea market in Oldsmar, Florida in the "offical" packaging and on the backside of the box the label where it says "Made in USA" was taped over with "Made in China". What is going on?
6/14/2009
I put some beautiful strawberries with a great taste in one of the bags two days ago. They still look great, but they have fermented. Wondering if anyone else has had such results. I put a paper towel in with them
Just call me skeptical about how they will work.
Anonymous June 14: It never crossed my mind to see where they were made. I'm more concerned about the results I get from using them.
Anonymous June 28: I still just can't imagine anyone having bad results. The only I can see your strawberries fermenting is if they weren't refrigerated. Even in a green bag, produce must still be refrigerated.
I'm also curious -- why does everyone who complains about the bags log in as "Anonymous"? Even the comment from Dawn appears to be bogus, since there is no blogger profile information when you click on the name.
I Assure you, My comment is not bogus and I am a real person. I live in northern Indiana, The local television station did a review of this product,here is the link.
http://www.wndu.com/asseenon/headlines/15970522.html
It appears like the tester gave the product a thumbs up, but many people that left comments at the end disagreed. I still think they are a waste of money.
Annie,
As someone involved growing produce for commercial market I can add that the bags are great. Those who don't have good results need to know that after shipment to market, the farmer cannot guarantee how long the product is in the coolers of the supermarket. Most perishable food is sold asap, but if it is there too long and beginning to become over ripe it usually goes on sale. Any vegetable or fruit that has been in the coolers longer than usual will not last as long even in the bags. It's shelf life is shortened every day past picking.
Your lettuce is probably bought at a farm market or co-op, thus you know what day it was picked. This gives you a much longer storage time.
To those who are discouraged, try again, but try to get the freshest product you can. I personally love the bags, and have much less waste than I used to.
Lady Farmer
Dawn: I respect your opinion, but I don't understand it since I continue to have such good results with these bags.
Lady Farmer: Thank you for your input. I agree that maybe some folks don't understand that the produce in the store is already several days past harvest. Glad to know I'm not the only one who loves these bags.
I, too, think these bags are phenomenal. I bought them over a year ago and am still using them. I use them over and over until they seem to be getting thin or don't keep stuff well, or - heaven forbid, I get a hole in one (not a reference to golf!) I rinse them out and dry them well and then hang them over whatever is on my counter that is tall enough (like my dishwashing liquid dispenser) to finish drying - or hang them on the shower rack with a clip. I put in a head of lettuce (just iceberg) over 3 weeks ago and it is just now beginning to be a little brown around the edges of the small "head" left - but leaves are still crisp. Parsley, which I used to buy and use only a bit of before I had to toss it, lasted well over a month. I love these.
Sally - I'm not sure how I would have made it through this garden season without them!
I have been reading online about how the green bags work. When I tried them I used bananas that were not refrigerated. I have since learned that the green bag contains a substance called Zeolite, commonly used in in cat litter and also laundry detergent. It absorbs ethylene, but as i read on it is best for the produce to be kept in a cool dark place. I do not like my bananas kept in the refrigerator so if any one would like to have the rest of my bags, let me know. I have 7 large and 7 medium. you pay S/H.
Zeolite??? I don't know what it is but i like it.. haha.
Here is what I want to know:
I have tried the green bags and saw pretty good results...
I own a mid sized cafe and would really like to bulk buy produce and store it for longer.. I am wondering if anyone knows where I can get a large quantity of green bags at lower prices.. or if they sell really big green bags... If anyone knows please post.
-Smonaco
Smonaco - I haven't seen or heard of a source to get these in quantity, but if I ever see one, I'll be sure to post about it. Thanks for your comment!
Unfortunately Debbie Meyer green bags ARE imitated. My mom purchased Debbie Meyer bags for me at Shoprite recently, not knowing that I had bought them on eBay. When I opened the box from Shoprite, it clearly says “Made in the U.S.A.”, while the eBay bx says “Made in China” underneath the white-out strip applied to conceal the country of origin labeling. Furthermore, the real ones are a very light, seafoam green and are made of much thicker, stronger plastic. The fakes are a darker, more neon-like green and are made of thinner and weaker plastic. Finally, the fakes do not work nearly as well. In using one of the fake bags I have had fruit spoil within a very short amount of time, while in using one from Shoprite, the product has worked as it is described on the package.
What’s sad about this preponderance of counterfeit items from Asia is that often eBay sellers aren’t even aware that they are selling a fake. As I use eBay more and more, I’m learning one of the true answers to my original question—how do eBay sellers sell their items so cheaply and still make a profit? Many sell counterfeit products made at a fraction of the cost of the brand item so they can charge so little for their goods because they don’t work as well and aren’t made as well.
Hey guys,
I have been looking into this. I would suggest that we lodge our complaints about fraud-products to places like ebay...
I also figured out the the new "Lockin" version of the green boxes are bogus. I have purchased the old green boxes and the new "lockin" ones and have found the new ones to be cheaply made and flimsy. I put one in the dishwasher and it got warped. The old ones are WAY better. You can still find them on HSN, but you have to check to make sure that they do not say "LockIn"
I was tricked by this, and by the time I figured out that they were worthless... it was too late.
i love vegetaables :)
I tend to do simple things, but really good quality. For example, my staple is pasta with meatballs. But I hand make the meatballs and make the tomato sauce from scratch. Mostly if I have dinner parties, they are casual affairs so I'm not expected to dish up WOW dishes, just good, tasty food. (Also, I tend to cheat and buy pudding, because I'm rubbish at desserts!!)
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