Are you tired of purchasing fruits and vegetables every week only to find they have gone bad days later? We are too! It’s so irritating that produce doesn’t have a long shelf life. But what if we told you there’s a way to keep these perishable items fresh for longer? Read on for some tips and tricks!
Rinse Berries With Vinegar
Vinegar is your friend when it comes to berries, which seemingly never last more than a week before mold starts to appear. To combat mold – and lengthen shelf life – wash all strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries in a mix of 1 part white vinegar and 3 parts water, then rinse well. Wait for them to dry before storing them in the fridge.
Freeze Onions
To keep onions fresh, simply chop them up however you like and freeze the pieces in a resealable bag. Defrosting them is easy enough!
Cut the Tops off Pineapples
If you want the juiciest pineapple, immediately cut the leafy top off and store it on the counter upside down. This will redistribute the sugars throughout the pineapple instead of pooling them at the bottom. This process will extend the pineapple’s shelf life.
Don’t Remove the Wax
Some fruits and veggies such as apples, eggplants, cucumbers, oranges, nectarines, lemons, bell peppers, and potatoes have a natural waxy coating to prevent shrinkage. Still, companies sometimes coat crops with artificial wax for preservation reasons. Waiting to wash your produce until you’re ready to eat it can help prevent bruising and premature rotting.
Keep Certain Produce Out of the Fridge
Knowing what produce needs to be stored in the fridge or what doesn’t can be tricky. In general, follow these rules:
Room Temperature:
- Cucumbers
- Garlic
- Lemons
- Limes
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Uncut Watermelon
- Zucchini
Refrigerator:
- Apples
- Asparagus
- Blueberries
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cherries
- Dark leafy greens
- Grapes
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Pomegranate
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
Certain foods should be stored at room temperature only until they fully ripen. These include:
- Apricots
- Avocados
- Cantaloupe
- Honeydew
- Mangos
- Peaches
- Pears
- Pineapple
- Plums
Cut Melons Into Large Slices
Cut watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew, and mangos into large slices when they go into the fridge to prolong their shelf life. Store them in Tupperware after cutting and put them somewhere visible in the fridge so that you don’t forget they’re there. Note that cantaloupes ripen fast, so don’t wait too long to cut into them.
Do you have any tips for keeping fruits and vegetables fresh? Share them with us in the comments below!
I put lemon juice on my fruit and it seems to last longer also it keeps it from darkening