A Guide on How to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Longer

August 31, 2020

Fruits and vegetables are often purchased by a lot of people due to the health benefits that they bring. For one, they help strengthen the body through the set of nutrients they possess. They can make body systems strong and active. Consumption of these food products also allows the body to reduce the risk of getting heart diseases, stroke, or cancer, promote natural weight loss, prevent blood sugar spikes, lower risk of eye and digestive problems, and replenish its needed vitamins and minerals.

All these health benefits of fruits and vegetables can only be obtained if they are consumed fresh. You see, these food products can spoil easily if they are not stored or preserved well. Alternatively, they can cause negative effects to your body once you have consumed them beyond their fresh age or state. So, if you want to keep your fruits and vegetables fresh, then here are some tips that you can do and follow.

Separate Ethylene Produce

Some fruits and vegetables tend to produce ethylene whenever they ripen. Ethylene is a type of colourless flammable gas that is being applied to harvested fruits and vegetables even before they start to ripen. The application of ethylene allows the fresh produce to be stored and transported to far places before they finally develop and mature. Typically, your avocados, bananas, kiwis, pears, and tomatoes must be separated from your apples, broccoli, carrots, leafy greens, and watermelon.

Utilise Breathable Produce Bags

Keeping fruits and vegetables to their sealed bags is not recommended since they do not have enough space to absorb any air or moisture. The absence of these elements can easily spoil them after a few days, which can be wasteful for your part. As a solution, you must remove them from their sealed packaging and transfer them to some breathable produce bags. These bags will allow them to obtain the needed elements that will maintain their overall flavour and freshness.

Place Products on the Counter

Fruits and vegetables that are not yet ripe must be stored and placed on the counter first. Some of these products include pears, peaches, plums, kiwis, mangoes, avocados, melons, and bananas. You can only move these products to the refrigeration or freezer units once they are ripe. Placing them on these units whenever they are fully ripe keeps them sweet and fresh longer. Citrus fruits, alternatively, can be placed on the counter even if they are already ripe to effectively resist the growth of mould. 

Dry Washed Vegetables Fully

Fresh greens are recommended to be washed right away. However, it is not suitable to store them right away in the refrigeration unit while damp as it can make them soggy. Once you have rinsed them, you must dab them dry, wrap in a paper towel, and store them in the said unit. They must be placed in an open container to make them fresh. 

Keep Cold-Sensitive Items Cool

While storing most food products in cold places slows down their decay, some of them do not go well with cold or freezing environments such as refrigeration and freezer units. While potatoes, onions, and garlic can be stored in cool places, their freshness does not stay for a long time whenever they are stored in freezing temperatures. The flavour of these mentioned products does not likewise stay the same when stored on these refrigeration units. Following these tips can help you keep your fruits and vegetables fresh and flavourful. The lives of these fresh products, after all, will depend on the way you handle and store them.

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