Tips to Keep Your Fruits and Veggies Fresh
There’s no need to find yourself in a pickle when it comes to storing your fruit and vegetables. Ultimately, the aim of the game is to discover a way you can keep them fresh and safe for as long as possible.
As the price of fresh food continues to soar, not to mention the limited sales of some fruit and vegetables by most UK supermarkets due to shortages, this is the best outcome for both your health and your wallet!
Safe and proper storage can prevent you from getting sick from a food-borne illness, as well as prolong the quality of your fruit and veg.
There’s nothing worse than looking forward to making a delicious veggie omelette and then finding that your mushrooms aren’t mushrooming like they should, and the tomatoes have black spots on the skin.
Give a person a cucumber and they’ll eat for a day...teach the person how to properly store the cucumber and they’ll eat for up to a week!
Here, Oceans have put together the best storage advice to make your fruit and veg last longer.
General storage tips
There are several things you can do to ensure that your fresh produce thrives for as long as possible from the get-go. It might seem a little fussy in the beginning, but in time you’ll see that these extra precautions in fact make your life easier (and safer!).
Store fruits and vegetables separately – A general rule of thumb is to keep fruits and vegetables apart in storage, such as by keeping them in different compartments or containers. This is because fruits and veggies give off different gases that can impact the ripening process as well as the shelf life of their fellow fresh cousins.
For example, apples, bananas, and peaches release ethylene gas, which can cause vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage to ripen and spoil faster. Furthermore, the different moisture requirements of each fruit and vegetable can mean that storing them together can cause a damaging build-up that encourages degeneration.
Use appropriate containers – Glass jars and tubs are great for fruits and veggies you want to keep fresher for longer. But separate them, of course. Appropriate containers provide protection, space, and convenience, which can help preserve the quality and extend their shelf life.
Airflow vs airtight containers is where it can get a little tricky. Some items require proper airflow to maintain their goodness, while others will be safer in an airtight setting. Examples of fruits and vegetables that require airflow include berries, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts, whereas those that need airtight storage involve apples, avocados, and artichokes.
Check produce regularly – Once you’ve appropriately stored your fruit and vegetables, it’s important you remember to check in on them on a regular basis. By doing so, you can spot any signs of spoilage early on, before it spreads to the rest of the produce, as well as make any necessary storage adjustments before it’s too late.
Clever storage hacks
Take things one step further by incorporating some of these clever hacks into the way you store your fruit and vegetables. The national shortage of items such as peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes – and the subsequent rationing of them across British supermarkets – means you need to be a little smarter and thorough for the foreseeable.
- Ethylene gas absorbers
By removing excess ethylene gas from the storage environment, you can slow down the ripening process and extend the shelf life of your fruit and veggies. Choose from the many types of ethylene gas absorbers available on the market, including sachets, strips, and containers.
- Kitchen roll in the fridge
The versatility and power of kitchen roll continues to make waves in the household! Utilise this product for food longevity by popping a piece in a pack of mushrooms, or in your salad greens container to stop them from spoiling or going soggy. How does this work? Well, kitchen roll helps to absorb moisture, keeping your fruit and veg fresher for longer.
- Vinegar to preserve produce
A natural way to keep your fruit and vegetables crisp. Make a vinegar solution by mixing ¼ white vinegar and ¾ water in a spray bottle, shaking well to combine. From there, spray across your fresh produce before rinsing with water to remove any remaining vinegar solution.
Specific fruit and vegetable storage tips
As discussed, not all fresh produce is equal. Some fruit and vegetables require a different approach to keep them looking and tasting good for as long as possible. Here are some storage tips for the UK’s most favourite perishables.
Apples – Keep them dry in the fridge to slow down the ripening process, at a temperature of around 0 to 4°C. Another top tip is to remove all bruised apples at the earliest convenience, as damage can quickly spread to the other apples.
Berries – A delicious snack perfect for those warm summer days! To preserve the quality of your berries, it’s recommended you do not wash them prior to storing (but make sure you do wash them just before eating or using) and keep them in the fridge on a paper towel-lined tray in a single layer.
Leafy greens – Items such as kale, spinach, and rocket (leafy greens) need to be washed and dried thoroughly before kept in a cool, dry place. The crisper drawer in the fridge is the ideal home to stop them from spoiling and wilting. Don’t forget our kitchen roll top tip!
Tomatoes – Right now, finding a packet of tomatoes in the supermarket is akin to finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Once you finally get your hands on some, it’s in your best interest to keep them fresh for as long as possible! Do this by storing them at room temperature stem-side down; if you want to extend their shelf life by a day or two, only refrigerate once fully ripe.
Try out this advice today, before it’s too late
Storing fruits and vegetables properly is key to ensuring safe, tasty consumption. In the UK alone, it's estimated that we bin around 9.5 million tonnes of food annually, which is a ridiculous level of waste that can be easily avoided.
When it comes to your fresh produce, try out the different storage techniques we’ve covered here to extend the shelf life and give you plenty of time to make use of these invaluable ingredients. Lettuce store fruit and vegetables the right way from now on!
