How to Store Fruits

A typical family in the US throws out almost 500 pounds of food a year, it’s a lot of wasted money and food. Well, it does not mean to purchase less fruit, you just need to store it in better ways that will keep them fresher for longer.

If you are living in the Northern area of the US, you can find there a good storage bin to store your produce such as beets, carrots, potatoes, turnips, apples, celery, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and broccoli. But beet tops need to be refrigerated. Well, on the other hand, if you are living in the Southern areas then I would suggest you store your fruits in the refrigerator.

There are many ways to properly store fruits. You should refrigerate your fruit after they start getting soft. Fruits will last more days or another week if you let them ripen on your kitchen table, and then if you think that those fruits are getting soft, you can refrigerate them for another week. In addition, if your fruits already ripened when you purchase them, then make sure to refrigerate them.

Some veggies and fruits produce a gas that is called ethylene as they ripen, that gas can prematurely ripen foods that are sensitive to it, so you need to keep ethylene-producing foods away from the ethylene-sensitive foods. Bananas, Avocados, kiwis, cantaloupes, mangoes, pears, nectarines, tomatoes, and plums should be stored in a different place than your broccoli, leafy greens, apples, and watermelon.

Keep all other things such as onions, potatoes, and tomatoes in a dry place that should be cool, but not in the fridge. The coldness will ruin their tastes. Store fresh herbs and salad greens in bags that are filled with a little air and sealed tightly. Citrus fruits such as lemons, tangerines, oranges, and limes will do fine for up to a week in a dark, cool place, away from direct sunlight, but you can extend their lives by storing them in the fridge in a mesh or perforated plastic bag.

Cover celery in aluminum foil and store that covered celery in the veggie bin in the fridge. In addition, produces such as lettuce, carrots, and broccoli will start to spoil as soon as they are picked, so to overcome this problem you need to place these in separate plastic baggies in the crisper in your fridge as soon as possible.

Avoid to wash berries until right before you are ready to eat them. Well, if you want to dry, wash, and cut all your fruits and veggies at once, then you need to store them in covered glass container lined in paper towels. By doing that you will not only be able to see them but you will also be keeping the moisture out. At the end, the most beneficent tip is that buy only what you need. Don’t waste your money if you can’t store those fruits somewhere safe.