How To Properly Store Fruits And Vegetables
POSTED ON January 26, 2018 BY Kat Gal

How To Properly Store Fruits And Vegetables
Written by: Kat Gal
You have all your meals and snacks mapped out for the week. You do your shopping for delicious organic produce. You are excited about your healthy recipes.
Then the day of cooking comes. You reach for your ingredients one after the other and… half of them are a brown mushy mess already.
Ugh. This is upsetting and discouraging, not to mention all the food you’ve wasted on trying to eat healthy.
“What’s wrong with my veggies?” you may ask.
The good news is, there is likely nothing wrong with the quality of the produce you are buying. The problem is the way that you are storing the produce. Each vegetable and fruit has a different ripening time. Some need to be refrigerated, others are stored best on the counter top.
By using some simple storing methods you can keep your fruits and veggies alive much longer, avoiding spoilage and helping your meal planning.
What Goes In Your Fridge?
Store these in your fridge, keep them away from other produce:
- Apples (after 7 days)
- Apricots
- Cantaloupe
- Figs
- Honeydew
Store these in your fridge, unwashed in a single layer:
- Blackberries
- Raspberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
Store these in your fridge, unwashed in a plastic bag:
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Green onion
- Lettuce
- Peas
- Radishes
Store these in your fridge, in a paper bag:
- Mushrooms
- Okra
- Kale
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Beets
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Green beans
- Herbs, except for basil
- Lima beans
- Leeks
- Plums
- Spinach
- Sprouts
- Celery
What Goes On Your Counter Top?
Keep these on your counter top, away from other produce:
- Apples, for less than 7 days
- Bananas
- Tomatoes
Keep these on your counter top:
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Peppers
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Basil
- JIcama
- Limes
- Lemons
- Mangoes
- Oranges
- Papaya
- Persimmons
- Grapefruit
- Plantain
- Pomegranates
- Watermelon
- Pineapple
What Goes In A Cool And Dry Place?
Store these in a cool, dry place away from each other and other produce:
Store these in a cool, dry place:
- Acorn squash
- Pumpkins
- Butternut squash
- Sweet potatoes
- Winter squash
- Spaghetti squash
What Goes On Your Counter Then Into Your Fridge?
Keep these fruits on your counter until they ripen, then refrigerate them, storing them away from other produce:
- Avocadoes
- Pears
- Nectarines
- Plums
- Peaches
- Kiwi

What If I Can’t Find A Food On This List?
There are so many amazing greens, veggies and fruits on the planet that it is nearly impossible to list everything. If you can’t find something on the list, find something that it resembles the most and try that method. Don’t be afraid to experiment either, keep one piece on the counter top and one in the fridge to see how they each react.
Can I Reuse My Bags?
Yes and no. Reusing packaging and storage bags is a great rule of thumb. Always keep packing for raw foods separate from ready-to-eat foods. Do not mix packaging used for produce and bags used for meat, eggs and dairy. Check your bags for spillages and discard soiled and damaged bags.
What To Do With Spoiled Food?
If your product gets completely rotten and spoiled, do not eat it. Composting is the best option, otherwise, toss it into the garbage.
If your bananas just get a little too brown for your taste or your tomatoes are too mushy to put in a sandwich, use them up. Spotty bananas and other lightly mushy fruits can be frozen for smoothies and frozen desserts, can be used for baking (hello, pies and banana breads!) and puddings and jams. Mushy tomatoes and other veggies can be used for pasta sauces, dressings and stews.
What Should I Do With All This Produce? Do You Have A Recipe?
Sure thing! It is fantastic that you are ready for a healthy lifestyle full of greens, veggies and fruits. Now that you know how to store them, you can be sure they will be fresh and ripe when you need them.
You can find countless delicious recipes on our website and even more tips for a healthy lifestyle. As a start, why don’t you try my favorite green smoothie?
Green Zen Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 1 banana
- 1 pear (or apple)
- 1 small bunch of romaine
- 1 cucumber
- 1 scoop of Organifi Green Juice powder
- 1 cup coconut water or water
- 1 tsp chia or flax seeds (optional)
Instructions: Place all ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!
Eating lots of greens, vegetables and fruits is not rocket science, neither is storing them. Using these simple tips, you won’t have to deal with rotten foods. Healthy eating and meal planning is on.
What meals are you planning this week? Cooking together and exchanging recipes is so much fun. Share one recipe you are making this week. Pick a recipe you like from the comments section. Share your pictures of your kitchen creations.
And remember, we’re in this together.
Kat Gál is a holistic health writer who helps health, wellness, and nutrition businesses to market their products and services through quality online content. She is also a freelance writing mentor teaching wanna-be-freelancers how to make a living writing at freelancewriterschool.com. Reach out if you are looking for amazing blog content at katgalwriter@gmail.com or katgalwriter.com. Visit freelancewriterschool.com for freelance writing tips. Follow me on Instagram @freelancewriterschool and on Facebook at facebook.com/katgalwriter.
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