How to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresher Longer

There’s nothing worse than getting ready to prepare a delicious meal only to discover that the lettuce, kale, carrots, or cauliflower you need has gone south. You’re also likely upset because you wasted what was perfectly good or even organic, and the money spent has gone down the drain.

No matter how many times it happens and how many times we’ve resolved to do better, we just can’t seem to keep fruits and vegetables fresh.

You’re not alone! We all do this. Unless you organize compulsively, you probably know this frustrating scenario. Between our hectic work and family schedules and the myriad demands on our attention, it’s just plain hard to stay on top of it all. We are only human, after all.

5 Tips to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresh

So how do we do better? Below, you’ll find five helpful tips for making sure that your fresh produce lasts as long as possible. And that you get to it in time.

1. Good Shopping Habits

One cause of wasted produce can be simply buying too much at once. While sale items are enticing, it’s no bargain if we throw out the produce. Resist the urge to buy fresh produce in volume quantities unless you’re preparing for guests or a party. You may need to shop more often is the truth.

Try to locate a small neighborhood grocery or specialty shop nearby for added convenience. The prices may be a bit higher, but you’ll end up saving in the long run if you use more of what you purchase.

Keep a plant-based grocery list nearby to help you stay on track. Pair it with a meal planner, and you’ll be able to shop smart.

2. Staying Organized

To use your produce while it’s still fresh, you first have to remember that it’s there! It’s so easy to buy some fruits or veggies, stick them in the crisper drawer, and forget all about them until it’s too late.

One way to ensure you track what you have is to purchase a mini magnetic erasable dry-erase board and stick it to your refrigerator door. (Most office supply shops carry these.) Use this whiteboard exclusively for tracking produce. Whenever you purchase fruits or vegetables, add them to the list along with the date by which you wish to consume them.

When the produce has been used, simply erase it from the list. Alternatively, if you have room in your fridge, you can pull your produce out of the crisper and put it on the shelves. You forfeit the humidity control, but you gain visibility. If you’re going to do this, you can mark your ideal “use by” date on each item with small strips of masking tape in addition to using a whiteboard.

3. Ethylene Gas Precautions

Ethylene is a gas released by some fruits and vegetables as they ripen. It can cause certain other fruits and vegetables to become overripe, soft, or mealy. The trick is to keep the ethylene “producers” away from the ethylene “sensitives.”

In alphabetical order, the ethylene producers that you need to be aware of are apricots, avocados, bananas, cantaloupes and honeydew melons, kiwis, mangoes, nectarines, papayas, peaches, pears, plums, and finally, tomatoes.

The ethylene sensitives are apples, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, eggplants, green beans, lettuce and other greens, potatoes, summer squash, and watermelon. If you want to extend the life of your produce, do not store any of the producers in close proximity to the sensitives.

4. Storing Fruit

How to keep fruit fresher longer

• While washing fruit before refrigerating it may seem like a time-saver, this is generally not a good idea. Rinsing or washing fruit adds extra moisture and can make it decay more quickly.
• Citrus fruits can be kept on the counter, but refrigerating them will extend their lifespan, so why not do that?
• Bananas, peaches, mangoes, melons, and other fruits that ripen off the tree or vine should be refrigerated once ripe but not while still in the ripening process. NOTE: Bananas will turn brown in the refrigerator, but this won’t affect the quality of the fruit; it’s purely an aesthetic concern.)

5. Storing Vegetables

How to Keep Vegetables Fresh Longer

• Potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and gourds are stored well in a cool, dry place but not in the refrigerator. Once cut open, you can refrigerate the unused portions of tomatoes, covering the exposed interior portion.
• Carrots go in the fridge in plastic bags or glass containers, making sure that the carrots are completely enclosed and not exposed directly to the air.
• Broccoli can likewise be stored in bags or containers.
• Cauliflower, as well as parsnips, turnips, and other root vegetables, can be stored loosely in a bag with a paper towel to soak up extra moisture.
• Salad greens (like kale or arugula) and herbs can be stored in bags or glass containers sealed with air.
• To store lettuce, remove the store band, cut the end off, and separate the leaves. Wash the leaves with cold water and then dry them partially by spinning them in a salad spinner or shaking off excess water manually. Next, add paper towels to a container (or even the salad spinner or colander), top with the lettuce, and cover the leaves with paper towels, which will help absorb the excess moisture in the container.
  • Store in the fridge. Make sure the leaves are just damp, not completely wet or soggy – you don’t want to induce rotting from excess moisture.

A Healthy Body and a Healthy Wallet

With all the effort and resources that go into food production and purchasing, we all want to keep waste to a minimum.  I hope this article gave you some useful tips for keeping fruits and vegetables fresher longer. And if you ever find yourself with excess that you know you won’t be able to use in time – well, that’s what neighbors are for, of course!

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