Organic Fruit and Vegetable Storage Tips

Experts say saving food waste can do more for the environment than switching off the lights. Fruit and veggies are among the top products wasted by households. And part of the challenge is that each product has its own individual needs when it comes to keeping fresh.

Here are some storage tips for your organic fruit and veggies to ensure they last as long as possible. 

• Trim leaves off root vegetables (these can be used in soups, broths, stews and salads or composted) before keeping in the fridge.
• Store all vegetables in the fridge in a sealed containers, reusable plastic bags or cloth bags (which you can dampen with water to help keep produce crisp). This rule excludes mushrooms, which are best kept in a paper bag.
• Leafy green veggies should be well covered to avoid wilting and stored in fridge.
• Onions, garlic, pumpkin, sweet potato & potatoes are best kept in a cool, dark cupboard. Note - keep onions and potatoes seperate as onions will make potatoes sprout.
• Tomatoes, tropical fruits like pineapples, melons, and mangoes are best stored at room temperature initially, as refrigeration can affect their quality and flavour. Keep an eye on them though. Sweet smells are a sign they’re ready to eat and can be refrigerated at this point.
• Stone fruits, apples, bananas and pears produce high levels of ethylene gas, so keep seperate from other fruits and vegetables, unless you want to accelerate the ripening of nearby produce.
• Firm avocados can be placed in a paper bag in a dark warm cupboard or if you want them to ripen faster, pop them in your fruit bowl.
• Firm stone fruit and kiwi fruit can be stored at room temperature then transferred to fridge once ripe, or keep out in the fruit bowl if the room isn’t too hot.
• To ripen bananas store in a dark warm cupboard.
• Citrus fruit is fine at room temperature or in fridge.
• Any cut fruit or veggie needs to be stored in the fridge.
• Asparagus can be trimmed at the ends and placed in a glass of water in the fridge.
• Parsley, oregano, chives and coriander are best wrapped in damp paper or tea towel and put in the fridge.
• Fresh basil and mint are best kept out of the fridge in a glass of water.
• Parsley, oregano, chives and coriander are best wrapped in damp paper or tea towel and put in the fridge.
• Store cut avocados in the fridge with the seed in and sprinkled with lemon juice to stop it from browning quickly.