How to Store Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

You’ve just returned from the farmer’s market with two canvas bags full of gorgeous fresh fruits and veggies. You sit down at the kitchen table to plan out the delicious dishes you’ll cook up for the week. But after one look at your calendar, you know deep in your heart you can’t possibly eat and cook all of this produce in one week. And sadly there’s a high probability that some of it will go to waste.

You are not alone. The typical American family throws out almost 500 pounds of food a year. That is a lot wasted of money! Here are some tips on how to store fresh fruits and veggies so you don’t become a statistic.

Know Which Fruits and Veggies Produce Gas

Fruits and veggies naturally emit an odorless, harmless, and tasteless gas called ethylene, and some produce it in greater quantities than others. When ethylene-producing foods are stored next to ethylene-sensitive foods, the gas will speed up the ripening process of the other produce. This is great if you need to ripen a piece of produce, for example, pair an apple with an unripe avocado. However, if you don’t want to speed up the ripening (or decay) process, store or keep the following fruits and veggies separate.

Produce That Creates Ethylene Gas: Apples, apricots, avocados, ripening bananas, blueberries, cantaloupe, citrus fruit (not grapefruit), figs, grapes, green onions, honeydew, ripe kiwi fruit, mangoes, melons, mushrooms, nectarines, papayas, passion fruit, peaches, pears, peppers, pineapple, plums, prunes, tomatoes and watermelon.

Produce That Is Damaged by Ethylene Gas: Asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, kale, kiwi fruit, leafy greens, lettuce, parsley, peas, peppers, potatoes, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress and yams.

Take the Time to Plan Your Meals

  • Plan your meals for the week before you go shopping and create a shopping list
  • Only buy what’s on your shopping list
  • Eat and or cook the produce with the shortest shelf life first
  • If you still can’t manage to eat all of your fruits and veggies, throw them in your compost pile (along with your food prep scraps)

Follow These Food Storage Guidelines

ProduceStorageLife Expectancy
Applesrefrigerator (loose, not in bag)up to 1 month
Apricots, Nectarines, Peaches, Plumscounter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag2-4 days
Artichokesrefrigerator, in a bag1-2 weeks
Asparagusrefrigerator, trim stems, upright in a jar of water3-4 days
Avocadoscounter, store uneaten portion with the pit intact in a bag in the fridge3-4 days
Bananascounter2 days
Berries & Cherriescovered in the fridge. Don’t wash until you use them (too much moisture in the package speeds spoilage).1-2 days
Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Cauliflowerrefrigerator, bag in the crisper4-7 days
Carrotsrefrigerator, take tops off2 weeks
Celeryrefrigerator, wrapped in aluminum foil1-2 weeks
Citrusroom temperature of 60-70 degrees1-2 weeks
Cucumberrefrigerator, bag in the crisper4-5 days
Eggplantcool, dry, dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)3-4 days
Garlicunpeeled – cool, dry, dark place; peeled – sealed container in refrigerator or freezerunpeeled – several months; peeled – several weeks in refrigerator, months in freezer
Gingerstore in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, then freeze remainderif refrigerated – 2-3 weeks; if frozen – 2 months
Grapesrefrigerator, in a bag1 week
Green Beans & Peasrefrigerator, in bag or container3-5 days
Greens (lettucekalespinach, cabbage)refrigerator, bag in the crisper1-2 weeks
Herbs (fresh)refrigerator, trim stems, upright in a jar of water1 week
Kiwiscounter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag3-4 days
Mangoes, Melonscounter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag4 – 7 days
Mushroomscool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket) in a bag2-3 days
Onionscool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)2 months
Pearscounter until ripe, then refrigerate in a bag3-4 days
Peppersrefrigerator, bag in the crisper4-5 days
Potatoescool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)1-2 weeks
Root vegetables (radishesbeetsturnips)refrigerator, leave greens on1-2 weeks
Squashcool, dry dark place (counter, cupboard, basket)4-5 days
Tomatoescounter, uncovered; refrigerate if very ripe2-3 days

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