How to Store Your Produce

It’s time for Sunday meal prep—you’ve chopped and roasted all your veggies, bought all your proteins, and cut up your fruit. Maybe this week you bought more than normal because you know you’ll have less time next week to prepare healthy food. Or maybe you made a big meal and have lots of yummy leftovers and want to know how to store them so that they last.

Have you ever bought fresh, ready-to-eat produce only to find that it was moldy or rotten just a few days later? How we store produce can impact how long it stays fresh in our refrigerators and on our countertops. In this post we’ll dive in to how to best store your favorite fruits & veggies so you get the most out of your whole, healthy foods!

The first thing to know about storing produce is that some fruits and vegetables release ethylene gas as they ripen. Ethylene gas is not harmful—it’s simply a byproduct of what happens as the fruit or vegetable ripens. You can’t see or smell ethylene gas, but you might be able to see its effects depending on how you store produce.

Fruit such as apples, bananas, and avocados release ethylene gas as they age. Have you ever noticed that if you keep these foods in the same basket as other fruits & veggies that those fruits & veggies will also ripen faster? Ethylene-sensitive produce goes bad more quickly if it is exposed to ethylene gas. It’s important to know which fruits & veggies give off ethylene and which are ethylene-sensitive so you can avoid barely-ripe produce going bad just a few days later.

Another thing to keep in mind when thinking about storing produce is that many items stay fresh for longer if they’re sealed. The less these items are exposed to oxygen, the slower they will decompose. Sealing in the refrigerator in tight silicone containers or even a plastic bag with all the air squeezed out will help avoid this issue.

That being said, other produce items require air circulation to remain fresh. These are the items usually left out on the countertop like onions and garlic. For these items placing them in a plastic bag or sealed container will speed up the ripening process, so it is best to leave them out to breathe.

So what is the best approach to take when it comes to storing your fruits and vegetables?

For raw veggies: leave items like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, onions, and garlic out on the countertop to breathe. Potatoes need a relatively cool environment, but don’t necessarily need to be in one so cold as a fridge. Onions and garlic will give off ethylene gas, so keep them separate from things like potatoes and squash which will decay more quickly upon exposure. Root veggies like carrots, radishes and parsnips can be kept in the refrigerator and last for weeks, and you won’t have to worry about which produce you store them next to. Things like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage will keep for weeks in the fridge—but be mindful that once you cut them they must be sealed in airtight containers. And finally for leafy greens—do your best to remove any excess moisture before refrigerating. Moisture causes leafy greens to wilt and rot pretty quickly, so be sure to use a salad spinner or leave your greens out to air dry before storing. *Pro tip for veggies: store your baby carrots and celery sticks in a sealed bag with a few drops of water. This helps prevent them from drying out!

For roasted veggies: unlike raw veggies, roasted veggies won’t last weeks in the fridge. 3-4 days is about the maximum you’ll get out of any leftover roasted veggies. Regardless, you’ll still want to follow best storage practices to keep your roasted veg fresh. Allow your veggies to cool completely before refrigerating, and then store in airtight containers. Storing veggies before they are completely cool will cause moisture to form in the containers, which will make your veggies soggy and go bad more quickly.

For fruit: apples, pears, grapes, cherries and citrus fruits can all be stored together in the refrigerator and will stay fresh for weeks. Apples and pears give off ethylene gas, so you’ll want to keep them separate from fruits like berries that will ripen easily. Similarly to leafy greens, berries should be stored in the fridge with as little moisture as possible. You can keep them in the containers they come in and wash them as you’re ready to eat them, rather than washing them all at once beforehand. This will allow them to keep for up to a week! Bananas, mangoes, and stone fruits like peaches and plums can all be kept on the countertop, but mangoes and stone fruits should be moved to the refrigerator once they’re ripe. *Pro tip: freeze overly ripe bananas instead of throwing them away! You can use these for a nourishing smoothie or add on top of a yogurt bowl.

And the age-old question: should you refrigerate your tomatoes or leave them out on the counter? The answer is you should allow your tomatoes to fully ripen at room temperature before refrigerating. Tomatoes are best consumed at room temperature, but you can keep your tomatoes for a little while longer if you refrigerate them. Just be sure to keep them away from ethylene-emitting produce.

The secret to getting the most out of your produce is learning to store it properly. Did you know that produce is the most nutrient-packed when it’s fresh?

What produce storage strategies do you use? Any tips and tricks to keep your produce extra fresh?

By Jessica Kaplan