The right storage can keep fruit and vegetables crisp for longer!

In contrast to many other foodstuffs, fruit and vegetables are living products. Even after they have been harvested, metabolic processes continue to take place. Cool temperatures and storage away from direct light slow down these processes. That is why the vegetable drawer in the refrigerator is usually the best storage place, especially for leaf vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, carrots, salads, asparagus and fresh berries.

But not all vegetables like such an atmosphere. Apples, bananas, mangoes, citrus fruits, aubergines, cucumbers, ginger, potatoes, sweet peppers, tomatoes and onions keep better if they are stored at room temperature in a dark place. Since these fruits are to some extent naturally protected from drying out they can even be stored temporarily unwrapped.

Vegetables with a large surface area, like cabbage and leaf vegetables, however, lose a lot of water through evaporation and should be protected by packaging. Plastic foil with holes is ideal in this respect and can easily be produced at home using plastic bags. Packaging of this kind is essential for everything which is stored in the refrigerator, because the stream of cold air draws large quantities of moisture out of the foodstuffs. Air-tight packaging is unsuitable for fresh fruit and vegetables, however, because they will “suffocate” inside it and spoil more quickly.

Not all fruits can tolerate each other’s company. Some emit ripening gases which accelerate the spoiling of more delicate types of fruit. Apples, pears, mangoes and tomatoes produce ripening gases of this kind and should not lie next to oranges, mandarins, beans, cucumbers, carrots, leaf salads, broccoli and other brassicas. On the other hand this effect can also sometimes be put to good use: hard, unripe kiwis and avocados will become soft and flavoursome more quickly if they are stored near a ripe apple.

Source: aid, Dr. Maike Groeneveld