Now that it’s warm, fruit ripens and spoils faster. NU.nl investigated how to store your peaches and strawberries for as long as possible.
“Fruit stays fresh the longest if you store it in the right place,” says Maartje Boot of the Nutrition Center. Apples are best stored in the refrigerator, especially in warm weather. “In the refrigerator, apples can be kept for two to four weeks, and on the fruit bowl for three to seven days.”
Bananas are sensitive to cold. Therefore, store them preferably in a dry, cool place (not the refrigerator). You can keep them good longer by wrapping the top with cling film. “Bananas are also good for freezing,” says Boot. Another tip: slightly overripe bananas are delicious in banana bread or oatmeal-banana pancakes.
Also useful to know: bananas produce a substance that makes fruit around it ripen faster (and therefore spoil faster). That substance is called ethylene. Do you want your other fruit to stay good longer? Then don’t put the banana on the fruit bowl. Conversely, you can also use this to your advantage: a rock-hard avocado becomes soft earlier with a banana next to it.
Not only bananas, but also many other fruits are suitable for the freezer. Boot recommends using ice cube trays for freezing. Or plastic containers with well-sealable lids or special freezer bags with ziplock.
Tips for freezing fruit
Boot shares some tips to preserve the taste and vitamins of fruit in the freezer for as long as possible:
In general, most fruit stays good longer in the refrigerator. Think of strawberries, peaches and nectarines. That doesn’t apply to exotic fruit. Like bananas, mangoes, pineapples or melons cannot tolerate the cold.
“If you put one of these fruits in the refrigerator, there is a chance that watery spots will form in the peel, which can then rot,” says Boot. Citrus fruits, such as lemons and grapefruits, are also better stored on the fruit bowl. Unless the weather is warm, then they can possibly be stored in the refrigerator.
Furthermore, a high temperature can also attract fruit flies. It is then extra important to wash your fruit well. “That is always wise. If fruit is overripe or has rotten spots, it can quickly contaminate the rest of the bowl. Fruit flies can come to that.”
“So make sure there is no overripe fruit on the bowl where fruit juices are leaking.” And don’t forget to check if the refrigerator is at the correct temperature. “At 4 degrees, food and drinks stay good longer and disease-causing bacteria hardly grow.”
No matter how warm it is, you don’t have to let the fruit in the fruit bowl spoil. Fresh or frozen, you can do a lot with it. Is the almost overripe fruit not coming up yet? Also consider making yogurt popsicles, pancakes filled with fruit, or topping your sandwich with strawberries, apples or pear.