Vegetable racks

45 Responses to “Vegetable racks”

1. Dom says:
   

   A conundrum I now face, we have had a few Vgetable Racks in our time. Maybe there coud be phases called the InterVeggitableRacks Time.

   October 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 pm
2. Dave says:
   

   Dom – the possibility of getting through several vegetable racks hadn’t even occurred to me. I suppose if you are boisterous in your placing of vegetables on the rack or in the removing of them then I suppose you could wear a vegetable rack out. And of course one might need a bigger vegetable rack as family members grow. So much I hadn’t thought of.

   October 2nd, 2007 at 11:40 pm
3. Chris says:
   

   Aha, a subject I can really get my teeth into. We have a vegetable rack, but it happened to me in my mid-to-late twenties. Perhaps I’m an early developer, I don’t know.

   Ours is a hybrid three-shelver. By that I mean it has three pull-out shelves plus a rack at the bottom that is designed to hold wine bottles. I’m afraid to say we don’t use the wine bottle rack for anything much, for several reasons:

   1) We have very few wine bottles
   2) The wine bottles we do have are kept in a separate rack away from childlike fingers
   3) It’s a long way down to the wine rack, especially if you are of the taller persuasion

   The other three shelves have an exciting life, as far as vegetable rack shelves go. For one thing they have very clearly defined roles. The top shelf is for fruit (apples and oranges, mainly, as putting the bananas in there would be folly). The middle shelf is for vegetables (onions, carrots, peppers and the like). The third and final shelf is used for either lettuce/cabbage/broccoli type things, or crisps (when we are feeling like something slightly more unhealthy).

   That might not sound exciting, but when you consider the number of people in our house, especially the number of people who like snacking on fruit and vegetables, an entire shelf – or sometimes two! – can be emptied in as little as three days. That, my friend, is quick.

   Anyway, thanks for raising this important subject. I was beginning to think I was the only one who loved my vegetable rack and considered it to be one of the signs of a true civilisation.

   (And I’ve not even mentioned that it has wheels.)

   October 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 am
4. Joanna Young says:
   

   This gives a whole new dimension to my experience of the empty nest – because I no longer feel the need for a vegetable rack.

   Perhaps this explains the mixed emotions of some lingering sadness coupled with freedom, excitement and a renewed sense of possibility?

   Joanna

   PS This was such a great piece of writing I just had to reply!

   October 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 am
5. Ann says:
   

   I am still pre-vegetable rack — I keep mine in the refrigerator in the crisper drawer.

   October 3rd, 2007 at 12:29 am
6. Aaron says:
   

   Re: carnivores – I certainly hope one does not keep meat in such a rack. That would attract flies…and raccoons.

   I am Pre-Veg-Rack, and I suspect will always be so. Neither Amy nor I seem to be rack types. My mother is well into her 50′s without one, and I don’t recall seeing one at Amy’s parent’s home. Perhaps vegetable rack use is genetic?

   October 3rd, 2007 at 1:00 am
7. Aaron says:
   

   I did have a fruit basket once of the hanging, three-basket variety. Actually, it beloned to (and remained with) the woman I was living with at the time. All it did was allow us to watch the fruit rotting without having to open the fridge.

   October 3rd, 2007 at 1:01 am
8. yay says:
   

   Would it be a “three shelver” or a “three shelfer”? I’m inclined towards the latter…

   I don’t have a vegetable rack. I have a fridge.

   October 3rd, 2007 at 1:11 am
9. Lois Keen says:
   

   You mean that’s a vegetable rack?! I’ve been using it to store plastic containers, plastic carrier bags, and other odds and ends for which the drawers do not provide enough space. I had no idea it was a veg rack! I was going to say that at age 62 I am still pre-veg rack. Does the fact that I don’t use the veg rack for veg mean I am still pre-veg rack? O the agony of trying to figure this out…
   Lois

   October 3rd, 2007 at 1:46 am
10. Anne says:
    

    I’m perpetually Pre-Vegetable Rack. There is a dog here, a Beagle called Spencer, who would make short work of any vegetables stored in an open rack anywhere near the floor. I think his mental tape repeats the same phrase most of the time: “Got any food…any food…any food…FOOD…got any food…” Veggies that can go in the refrigerator are stored in there. Things like onions and potatoes are stored on top of the refrigerator. The thought of a ten year old Beagle overdosing on onions is just too much to bear.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 am
11. ash says:
    

    I remember we had a vegetable rack when my Mum was in her mid-thirties.

    Then, when she was in her late forties, we got a new cat, who insisted on sleeping in the middle shelf of our humble three-shelver, thus rendering that shelf fairly un-vegetable-storage-able.

    Since a two-shelver is not really a full vegetable rack, we eventually put it in the shed and bought a cat-bed.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 7:45 am
12. MadPriest says:
    

    A useful item. It will double up as your first zimmer frame.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 8:18 am
13. zoe says:
    

    I’m sad! I don’t have enough room in my kitchen for a vegetable rack!

    October 3rd, 2007 at 8:21 am
14. Rev Sam says:
    

    We have a three-racker. It doubles as a stroller for our toddler, who also occasionally enjoys eating raw onions from the shelf…

    October 3rd, 2007 at 8:27 am
15. Russ says:
    

    Fortysomething. No vegetable rack. Potatoes in cupboard under stairs. Carrots and other veg in bottom fridge receptacle. Kitchen too small for racking, although might have considered nets slung from ceiling hooks, apart from head-banging hazard. Life can be complicated.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 8:27 am
16. Dave says:
    

    It seems as if the danger of dogs, toddlers and raccoons eating onions is a recurring theme. Perhaps there is a need for a vegetable rack with a lockable onion compartment.

    Lack of space is an issue particularly in the UK. You can get hanging vegetable racks, possibly the sort Aaron mentioned. If you put the term into a picture search engine you will see what I mean. I think it is important to realise that you don’t need a full-on hybrid three shelver (like Chris) to become a vegetable rack owner.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 8:43 am
17. maggi says:
    

    perhaps the confusion would be resolved by having B.V.R (Before Vegetable Rack) and A.V.R (Anno Vegetable Rack). I still don’t have one, I have an enormous dish from Portugal sitting on the table top, piled high with vegetables. Obviously I am a late developer.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 9:16 am
18. Rob says:
    

    I remember Catherine Fox suggesting that she found realistic-looking plastic fruit and vegetables were useful, as they didn’t go slimy or mouldy, and had as much chance of being eaten by her children as the real thing. So there may be a sub-category of post-vegetable-rackism for pseudo-vegetarians.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 9:18 am
19. Jane says:
    

    Well I was an early vegetable-racker, coming to these things at the age of 20! I wonder now if this was a little early, as it soon seemed to be irrelevant to my lifestyle. The rack lay abandoned and dusty in the garage for many years. But you will be delighted to hear that we have rediscovered its joys, it has been fresh-expressioned and is now holding my husband’s beer.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 9:40 am
20. Youthblog says:
    

    Dave,

    Thank you for making me laugh (no disrespect to your important discourse on vegetable storage solutions intended)!

    For the record we have a classic 3 shelf (neatly avoiding the ‘shelver/shelffer’ debate) unit but it often disappears for use by the children as a medical trolley when they are playing Teddy hospitals!

    In terms of technology, commentators sometimes talk about the following categories:

    Innovator
    Early adopter
    Early majority
    Late majority
    Laggard

    I would reckon a mid 30′s acquisition is Early majority!

    Shalom

    October 3rd, 2007 at 10:32 am
21. Heather says:
    

    I used to have a vegetable rack, but our cat liked to sleep on top of the potatoes so we had to keep them in a cupboard (the potatoes, not the cat). We have a different cat now but we still keep the potatoes in the cupboard.
    I felt mildly depressed this morning and this discussion cheered me up no end, thanks Dave.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 11:23 am
22. learnerpriest says:
    

    A pox on all heretical hanging-rackers!

    And as for those who use the vegetable rack for purposes other than that for which the Lord created it – let them be anathema!

    October 3rd, 2007 at 11:27 am
23. Kirk says:
    

    We had a vegetable rack provided in the last house we rented, but it was so inaccessible it was not much use for vegetables. Like Lois above, we kept plastic containers and cleaning equipment and so on on it. Things we didn’t need as often as we need veg. (Note I say need veg, not eat veg…)
    This was when I was 20. I am now 25 and live in a different house where there is no vegetable rack or anywhere to put one. So I am sure I am still pre-VR, despite having one for a short time!

    October 3rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
24. Jeremy says:
    

    Yes, we have a vegetable rack. It comes in extremely handy, although I don’t think it’s held actual vegetables in recent memory.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
25. SarahW says:
    

    Although I’ve possessed a veg rack for many years, I’m not sure it has ever been used as intended. It has faithfully served various functions over the years (and houses). Currently my kitchen is too small for a veg rack, so its present incarnation is as an excess toiletries holder in the airing cupboard. It really is very useful in containing the extra BOGOF, three for two, buy two get one half price, jumbo pack bargins that one is continually offered these days

    October 3rd, 2007 at 12:37 pm
26. Jacqui says:
    

    I have a 3-tier ‘hanging rack’ style one that sits on top of the work surface. This is because there is no room for a trolley-style one, due to there being lots of cupboards, but as a result there is lots of spare work surface.
    I only bought it when I moved house 3 months ago, so I am a recent convert (aged 29).

    October 3rd, 2007 at 12:57 pm
27. Jack the Lass says:
    

    In what category does one belong if one used to own a vegetable rack but owns one no longer? I’m having an identity crisis.

    (and to complicate things further, when I did own a vegetable rack it was used as my main bathroom cabinet, my then bathroom being deficient in that particular department).

    Currently I keep veg that doesn’t go off quickly (onions mainly) and veg that’s too big for the fridge in a basket on top of the fridge (next to an identical basket used for fruit which is usually empty because I don’t actually really like fruit very much), and veg that goes off quickly lives in the fridge. It works for me, but I’m wondering if I’ve spent my whole life missing something important.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 12:58 pm
28. Dave says:
    

    Thanks everyone – more great responses.

    Trends I’m noticing:

    - Some vegetable racks are being used as bathroom storage. I don’t know whether bathroom storage devices are being used to hold vegetables too.
    - People with not a lot of space are using bowls rather than a rack. Good idea. Our problem was that our kitchen surface area was being used up such that it was becoming difficult to carry out kitchenny tasks.
    - I like Jane’s fresh expression of a vegetable rack – using it to hold beer. Nice.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
29. rosamundi says:
    

    I have a vegetable rack, and have had for some years. it’s a three shelf one – top shelf for onions and garlic and other aliums, second and third shelves for everything else that doesn’t need to be in the dark or the fridge.

    And it’s got wheels.

    I also appear to have an onion in my handbag. A relic from my shopping trip yesterday, when all I needed was an onion and a bottle of wine and I put them both in my handbag, rather than have a plastic bag. the wine (obviously) made it from bag to fridge and thence to glass and stomach, but the onion is still in my handbag.

    It’s a worry.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 1:38 pm
30. Sue says:
    

    We had a vegetable rack once, but when we got a dog we discovered that he likes to steal carrots, so the rack is now used for random decorating items. Technically I suppose its now a paintbrush rack.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
31. jody says:
    

    can I admit to never having heard of one of these before?

    I am slightly worried that most people don’t keep their veg in the fridge – am having to do yet another mental shift that I do things differently to other people and am maybe more weird than previously thought. I progressively get more weird as this process goes on and am thus very weird.

    I do occasionally keep bags of potatoes that don’t make it into the fridge on top of the tumble drier (which we don’t use, just in case you were wondering about the ‘heat’ problem)

    October 3rd, 2007 at 5:15 pm
32. Denise says:
    

    Our vegetable rack, which we got many years ago from Argos (a nice bamboo three shelfer) has been the home to many a mouldy item. Sometimes these have required a chisel to remove them from the rack. In recent years the three-racker became a two racker, then the two racks were separated in a kind of surgical intervention, and finally, post widowhood, the whole thing has been consigned to the bin in favour of handy bags of presliced veg that can be flung quickly in the pinger machine.
    Thus a whole marriage can be summed up in the life cycle of the vegetable rack.

    October 3rd, 2007 at 5:29 pm
33. Michelle says:
    

    I am another backslidden vegetable rackee… I had one in my twenties, but now in my thirties I have no idea what happened to the vegetable rack (which I believe was a three-shelver). I was obviously trying to be grown-up then and am trying to be youthful now. Or perhaps there’s a slightly less philosophical answer, like one of the wheels fell off?

    October 3rd, 2007 at 9:13 pm
34. Canadian says:
    

    I have never heard of a vegetable rack before. Is this a British thing? I keep my vegetables in the fridge, except for potatoes and onions of course.

    October 4th, 2007 at 1:53 am
35. ee says:
    

    Like many people above, I am a post-vegetable racker, by which I mean that I used to own one but found it ineffective. The vegetables dried out too quickly.

    So I’m going to get Dave Tomlinson to write a book about it, and me and some other post-wrackers can form a new club on the margins devoted to Emerging Vegetable Storage.

    October 4th, 2007 at 8:36 am
36. Lynda says:
    

    I have a three shelver in the larder – top shelf=tea bags, second shelf=cat food, bottom shelf=more tea bags … hmm, doesn’t sound good, does it?

    October 4th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
37. Autumn Rose says:
    

    I must be a late starter, I didn’t get my vegetable rack until my early forties…

    but, mine is a subversive vegetable rack…the top shelf holds bread, the middle shelf plastic tubs, with or without lids, and the bottom shelf has my hairdryer, hair straighteners and curling tongues on it. Not a vegetable in sight.

    Hmmm, I must be a vegetable rack anarchist then…

    October 4th, 2007 at 2:27 pm
38. Andy says:
    

    mmmmmmm first one must use the fruit bowl more then once a month before you can move on a stage…

    October 4th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
39. Tiffer says:
    

    I think I inherited mine from a parent when I became married, but I might be wrong. We use our shelves on a rotation system, the top being the oldest most mouldy and dead vegetables, the next tray down being a weekn newer, and so on and so forth. It means we always use up the oldest and about to die vegetables first but it also means we never eat anything fresh.

    October 5th, 2007 at 9:29 am
40. Erika says:
    

    ARghghgh how scarey and true!! Im 32 and have been “thinking” about getting one!!!!!

    October 9th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
41. jody says:
    

    does it worry anyone that whilst, obviously, all of dave’s posts illicit comments, the one to illicit the most comments (41 now) is one about vegetable racks?

    I suppose it doesn’t have to worry anyone, just something to flag up.

    October 9th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
42. Russ says:
    

    It is indeed worrying, but it’s always the trivia that prompts the most comments. The flotsam and jetsam of life, perhaps.

    I suspect it’s elicit, by the way, rather than illicit, which is something else entirely. Sorry to be a pedant

    October 10th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
43. jody says:
    

    ahem, of course ‘elicit’ – doh.

    of course some may consider the posts illicit, but as you say that is another story.

    October 10th, 2007 at 3:53 pm
44. Arti says:
    

    I have a veg rack (bought in my early forties). It stores a miscellany of items, vis: a tray, an ice cream container containing plasticene, a jar of glass chips of the sort used in flower arranging, a little bag full of bouncy balls, felt letters, sticky backed plastic, an empty toblerone box, assorted shopping bags, a collection of tops from milk cartons (mainly green), a plastic bag containing mixed sand and glitter and an alphabet jigsaw – amongst other things. For some reason these are all items I consider essential for tutoring.

    The veg is in the fridge.

    November 16th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
45. Captain Rugeley says:
    

    My wife and I have had a brown plastic Addis three-shelf vegetable rack for 30 years or so. We really just wanted a dustpan and brush (brown plastic etc) but I think there was some sort of special offer so we came away with a matching veg rack as well.

    For about 10 years, the veg was banished and it acquired a new role as a Lego rack – base-boards and other really big bits in the bottom, ordinary bricks in the middle, and the little, fiddly decorative bits in the top.

    Then my daughters told me to stop buying them Lego for me to play with, and Lego rack reverted to veg rack.

    February 6th, 2008 at 8:39 pm