How to Store 15 of Your Favorite Fruits for *Maximum* Shelf-Life
There are so many different methodologies when it comes to storing fruit. Should you refrigerate it? Slice it? How long does it last in the fridge? Can you use overripe fruit in fruit-infused water recipes? Here’s the secret: Fruit is actually *really* simple to store, but a little refrigeration goes a long way toward keeping your produce fresh after it has ripened. Here’s a handy guide on how to store every type of fruit.
1. Apples: Apples don’t need to be refrigerated, but doing so can certainly make them last longer. Either store them in a fruit bowl and transfer to the fridge after a few days, or put them into the fridge right away. They’ll last for up to three weeks in there.
2. Grapes: Grapes are easy. Rinse them off, place them in a bowl (you can keep them in their ventilated bag if you wish), and store them in the refrigerator. They generally keep for up to a week.
3. Blueberries: These guys are small and can get moldy quite easily. Remove any overripe or shriveled berries, place the remaining berries into a container with a lid, and store in the refrigerator.
4. Strawberries: Ditto blueberries. Get rid of any weird guys, place them into a good container, and store in the fridge.
5. Raspberries: Again with the berries.
6. Melons: Store melons at room temperature, unless you’re planning to wait more than two or three days to eat them (in which case they should go in the refrigerator). If you only eat half of a melon, cover the other half in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge.
7. Mangoes: Mangoes are super sensitive and ripen quite easily, so it’s best to keep these succulent fruits in the fridge.
8. Pears: If your pears are already ripe, eat them right away or place them into the fridge. If they still have a ways to go, let them ripen at room temperature.
9. Bananas: Nothing convoluted about these delicious fruits. Store them on your countertop and enjoy ’em while they’re ripe. If they become *too* ripe, put them into your freezer and use them to make banana bread.
10. Avocados: Ah, the avocado… the trickiest of all fruits. These bad boys are only good for a window of about two days (sometimes it seems like less), so transfer them to your refrigerator as soon as they feel soft. Pro tip: Keep the pit on your avocado and drizzle it with some lemon juice if you’ve only used half, as this will prevent browning.
11. Oranges: Easy-peasy: Keep oranges on your countertop, and they’ll be just fine.
12. Peaches: Once peaches are ripe, they expire quickly. Store these on your countertop until they become soft, and then gobble them up as quickly as you can (or move them into the fridge).
13. Pineapple: You can feel totally comfortable keeping a pineapple on your countertop (it’s pretty, no?). But once it has been sliced, it should be moved into the fridge.
14. Cherries: Cherries can be placed into a small bowl and stored in your fridge — nothing complicated about that!
15. Grapefruit: Keep these controversial citrus fruits on your countertop.
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