The Best Ways to Store Fresh Produce
It can sometimes be confusing trying to work out where to store your fresh produce when you get back from the store. Some fruits and vegetables need cold storage to keep them from spoiling, while others thrive at room temperature. Everyone has their own little tricks of how they prefer to keep things, and what works for them, and these tips sometimes contradict. We’ve done some research, and put together a list of where you should store different types of produce, to ensure you get the most out of them.
People often think that the fridge is the best place to store fruits and vegetables in order to preserve them longer. However, some produce do better at room temperature. This list includes citrus fruits, bulbs like garlic and onions, all types of potatoes, cucumbers and zucchini, eggplant, green beans and bananas. Some fruits such as stone fruits, pineapples and kiwi should only move to the fridge when they’re ripe.
Produce that prefers a colder environment include berries, leafy greens and fresh herbs, broccoli and cauliflower, pomegranates, peas and corn. The location and temperature is only half the battle. It is also important to understand which fruits and vegetables are loners, and which ones like the company of others. Some fruits such as bananas, produce something known as ethylene gas. This can help the ripening process of some other fruits and vegetables.
So if your avocados are ripening too quickly, you may need to separate them from your bananas. In general, it’s best to keep stone fruits, apples, avocados, and bananas away from other fruits, to prevent them from spoiling too quickly. Onions and potatoes are also a bad mix. Onions like to share their odor and may cause potatoes to soften and sprout quicker than they would have if they were alone.
