1. select the freshest produce
Stating the obvious here but the fresher and better quality your veg and other produce, the longer it’s going to last.
2. minimise physical damage
Cuts and bruises damage the cell walls of your fruit and veg and open them up to spoilage by microbes. The bad news is that once you have one rotten piece of veg, it passes on to it’s mates so if you do notice any damaged veg, best to get rid of them.
Physical damage is also important for meat, fish, eggs and even cheese. And a squashed loaf of bread is always a disappointment.
3. dirt is good
Leaving dirt on root veg like carrots and jerusalem artichokes is said to increase their shelf life, although it can make a mess of your fridge. I find unscrubbed potatoes tend to be longer lasting and hope one day to be growing my own to really test out the dirt theory.
4. avoid cutting or trimming
A whole pumpkin or squash will keep for much longer than a cut piece. This is all about exposure to the air and to microbes. So best to leave trimming and chopping until the last minute.
5. select the best storage temperature
Just like some people love the heat and others, like my sister batgirl, are chasing an eternal winter going from ski season to ski season, different fruit and vegetables have different preferences for climate.
The other thing to consider with temperature is that lower temperatures, like the fridge, slow down microbial growth and decrease enzymic activity. So if your veg isn’t sensitive to the cold, generally the lower the storage temperature, the longer they’ll last.
I’ve pulled together a pdf that lists a whole variety of produce and their optimum storage temperatures. You can download it here:
6. protect from exposure to light
Sunlight can promote sprouting in things like potatoes so unless you’re trying to encourage ripening in your veg, best to store them in the dark.
7. minimise dehydration
One of the biggest contributors to aging in vegetables is loss of moisture. The air in your refrigerator tends to be very dry. So higher moisture things like celery or spinach or lettuce are best stored in plastic bags or containers to minimise moisture loss and wilting.
8. avoid condensation & sweating
Of course too much moisture can also be a bad thing and can encourage things to go slimy. Paper towel can be useful to absorb excess moisture without allowing things to get too dry. Avoid covering cut pumpkin (winter squash) surfaces with cling wrap as they tend to sweat. Just leave it uncovered and let the surface dry out and then trims and discards this before the next use.
Mushrooms are probably the most delicate petals when it comes to sweating. Best to store them in a brown paper bag in the fridge. If you do have to buy them from the supermarket in a plastic tray, take them out and free them when you get home.
9. ethylene gas can be friend or foe
Bananas produce heaps of ethylene gas when they are ripening which stimulates ripening (and over ripening) in anything they snuggle up to. So if you want your avocado to ripen more quickly, let it shack up in a paper bag with a banana. But if you don’t want it to over ripen keep them in separate spaces.
Different fruit and veg are either sensitive to ethylene or ethylene producers. I’ve listed the category for different produce along with the temperature preferences in a pdf. Best to keep ethylene producers away from ethylene sensitive things.
10. think about transfer of odours
A smelly cheese can overtake everything in your fridge, as can super garlicky sausages. Try to keep smelly things in closed containers and also keep things that are likely to absorb odours, like butter in separate enclosed spaces.
11. keep meat, poultry and fish as cold as possible
It’s simple, the colder your proteins, the less bacteria can grow and the less spoilage occurs. I read somewhere that a piece of fish will keep fresh for days at 0C but at 4C it will degrade in a matter of hours.
12. freeze asap
If you’re going to be freezing something, the fresher it goes into the freezer, the better quality it will be when it comes out.
13. consider other preservation methods
There are somethings which I know aren’t going to keep for long in their fresh state. Commercial basil comes to mind. So rather than let it quickly brown, I make pesto asap which will keep for a couple of weeks.
14. shop more frequently
This depends on your circumstances, but buying smaller amounts more frequently is the best way to ensure your fruit and veg are as fresh as possible.
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