How to Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresh

Overall:

1. Wash the fresh produce right before you use it, not before you store it.
2. Do not store fruit and veggies together. Fruits that give off high levels of ethylene (the ripening agent) can prematurely ripen and spoil surrounding vegetables.
3. Do not cram vegetables together—the closer they are, the faster they will rot.
4. Onions and potatoes—both not require refrigeration, but they should not be stored together. The onion will make potatoes sprout.
5. If you buy fresh herbs with the roots still attached, leave the bunch of herbs on the countertop in a glass filled with water. 

When you store produce in the fridge, separate fruit and vegetables into different drawers and set the humidity control appropriately.

• Fruit = Low Humidity
• Veggies = High Humidity  

Treat leafy herbs like freshly cut flowers. Trim the ends and put them in a glass of water. Store them in the fridge, covered with a plastic baggie to trap that moisture.

  

A lot of fresh produce is best kept out at room temperature, unwashed until right before use. In most cases, however, fruit will need to either be used or moved into the fridge once it ripens.

 

Store on Counter Until Ripe	Store on Counter Until Eaten
Grapefruit	Cucumbers
Grapes	Avocados
Kiwi	Onions (once cut, they go in the fridge)
Limes	Bananas
Lemons	Corn (in husk)
Mango	Garlic
Oranges	Squash
Peaches	Green beans
Pears	Tomatoes
Pineapple	Yams
Cherries
Apricots
Watermelon
Apples

 

Certain fruit and vegetables (mostly vegetables) prefer cool, dark places - not necessarily the fridge, but somewhere out of the sun and cooler than the kitchen: 

 

Store in the Fridge	Store in a Cool, Dark Pantry
Asparagus (in water, like flowers)	Shallots
Broccoli	Beets
Cauliflower	Eggplant
Bell peppers	Garlic
Brussels sprouts	Potatoes
Cabbage	Ginger
Carrots	Leeks
Kale	Peas (in the pod)
Mushrooms
Spinach
Radishes (trim tops before refrigerating)