By Katie Vance
Learn how to store vegetables and fruit so they last longer. Following these simple storage rules will help maximize the life and freshness of your produce.
There is nothing better than farm market season. Each week I head to one or two farmer’s markets for the week’s freshest finds.
Occasionally I will buy some super ripe or “less than desirable” produce that I can turn into a quick sauce, jam, or freezer meal. However, there are many times when I find that mine does not last as long as I want it to. I hate throwing out produce! It is a waste on so many levels: money, resources, and time.
How to Store Vegetables and Fruit Properly
That’s why I follow some simple storage rules to maximize the life of my fresh fruits and vegetables. Learning how to store vegetables and fruit properly will help them stay fresh for quite some time.
Also, I’ve included a few ways to help get your family eating more fruits and vegetables that are sure to work. These simple tips are sure to save you some time and money.
Tip #1: Keep certain produce away from others
Recently I learned that certain produce can give off a natural gas, ethylene, as it ripens. Some fruits and vegetables are very sensitive to this gas and when exposed to it, will ripen and/or go bad very quickly.
To save your produce, keep this in mind:
Store these vegetables and fruit alone (they can produce a lot of ethylene): apples, avocados, ripened bananas, cabbage, lettuce, melons, mangoes, nectarines, onions, pears, peaches, plums, tomatoes
These are sensitive to ethylene: unripe bananas, green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, leafy greens, peas, peppers, squash, sweet potatoes, watermelon
Tip #2: Put things in their proper place
It can be so disappointing to bring home beautiful produce that seems to go bad in just a few days. Once you learn how to store vegetables and fruit properly they should last up to 14 days! With vegetables, like real estate, it’s always location, location, location. Here are some tips to help you find the proper place for your produce:
Store in the fridge: Asparagus, berries, carrots, celery, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, corn (husk on), grapes, lemons, oranges, bell peppers, ripe apples (after a week or two of sitting out), zucchini
Ripen on the counter, then eat right away or store in the fridge: tomatoes, peaches, pears, apricots, nectarines, and mangoes
Store these vegetables and fruits on the counter: Freshly picked apples, avocados, bananas, cucumbers, eggplant, watermelon, cantaloupe and honeydew, natural honey
Store in the pantry (a cool, dry, and dark location): potatoes, onions, garlic, winter squash
Tip #3: Wash some produce right away
When shopping at farmer’s markets, most of the fruit and vegetables come ready to eat. However, I find that my family is not always ready to eat their vegetables. I have developed a sure-fire strategy to get them to eat their veggies (and fruits too): wash it.
Here are some fruits and vegetables that I wash, process, and store right after bringing home: carrots, celery, sugar snap peas, bell peppers. I store them in the fridge in individual reusable sandwich bags that my kids (and husband) can grab and go.
I also love to make this easy salad with my tomatoes and cucumbers. It’s simple, quick, and my family loves it.
Tip #4: When in doubt, freeze!
A couple of weeks ago, I picked 8 pounds of very ripe strawberries. They were on the fast track to the garbage, so I decided to make a quick freezer jam. (I also learned how to make a naturally sweetened freezer jam.)
However, there are lots of fruits and vegetables that can be cooked, canned, and/or frozen to preserve their lifespan. To store vegetables like tomatoes I often make pasta sauce, or just blanch them and then freeze them whole. With peaches, apples, or pears, I will often make pie fillings that can be frozen for later use. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to taste a fresh peach pie in the middle of January!
One of my favorite freezer tips is to create individual portion sizes of healthful smoothies. Often I will freeze fruits and vegetables together to make healthy smoothie combos. Some of my favorites are spinach/mango, berry/carrot, berries/peach/carrot, and carrot/mango. They make delicious quick and healthy snacks and blend easily with your choice of liquid (milk, water, juice, almond/coconut milk).
Do you have any farmer’s market tips that you’d like to share with me? I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
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i enthusiastically endorse wrapping veg and fruit in a thin cotton tea towel or kitchen roll – less wasteful to use the former obviously and it’s more absorbent. It was revelation when I discovered it. A lettuce lasts 2 weeks – I just peel off and leave the stalk on. Mushrooms – I put a piece of kitchen towel under and over. Never goes slimy – similarly cucumber – I was always having to throw them out, salad leave too – I tuck a paper towel around them in the bag. I’ve just rolled up some coriander in a tea towel though, washed it, patted it dry then let it air dry for a bit, so I’m hoping that will work. I used to freeze it but it wasn’t the same as fresh.
I make ice lollies with smoothies, great for kids and me, it keeps me off the chocolate! For me, actually, I just make ice cubes with little wooden sticks in. The kids like those too.
I can’t think how to help when you don’t have anywhere cool – except just buy what you’re going to eat that day. Fruit that’s underripe would be ok – and tinned fruit in fruit juice I guess?
Hello, thank you for article! I just wanted to share something I discovered a few years ago to help prolong the life of my fresh veggies and fruit. I will wrap the item in a paper towel, like cucumbers, squash, celery, etc., and then put in a storage baggie, like Walmart sells cheaply, and get all the air out and twist the bag so that is is right next to the item. I can keep things for ages that way. I do change the paper towel out as some veggies are full of moisture and the towel gets damp and will mold. I also use mason jars instead of baggies sometimes. So, this discovery has saved me a ton of fresh produce, money and time. Someone might already know about doing this, but it was a revelation to me and I stumbled on it by God’s providence – so grateful! Just wanted to share this for those that do not know about this cheap way to save your produce.
What do you put in mason jars and do you cut it up or add water?
Great article! I’ve always wondered why my fruits and some vegetables ripened so fast. You are now officially one of my most favorite people and I’m sharing you with everyone I know! Rick
I really appreciate this. You’ve always been wonderful. Now I am more equipped with ways of storing my veggies and fruits. Kudos.
Titilola
I love making smoothies and make myself and husband one every morning but I think it is healthier to make a vegetable smoothie alone or a fruit smoothie alone. I do not mix fruit and vegetables as I think is best to make one or the other. I will throw in other things like, yogurt, seeds, nuts, avocado, probiotics and the smoothie I prefer for strictly vegetables is Maximized Living Plant Based Protein. No sugar–all vegetables and some stevia.
If I make a fruit smoothie, I simply use frozen fruit such as frozen blueberries, cherries, strawberries or pineapple. Sometime I will add a little stevia. Sometimes I add yogurt.
My husband does not like to eat salad but when I make him a smoothie putting in all kinds of vegetables by adding the stevia he loves it even if the color is green–and that way he is getting his vegetables he should be eating!!
You see part of the problem is where I live. I can keep stuff in dry,dark place; but not cool. In parts of Mexico it gets somewhat hot & humid in the summer. Winter is somewhat cooler & less humid, but still not what I would consider “cool”(from WA) . So, how would you tell me to store my fruits and veggies. I could use the help that information would give to me. Then I would be able to give it to the people who also live in this area. I love your website. It gives me many recipes, I can’t get anywhere else. You help and information will be greatly appreciated.