Tips on how to Make Produce Final Longer

[ad_1] <img width="800" height="534" src="https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-1024x683.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Hand placing bag of frozen mixed vegetables in organized freezer with meal prep containers" decoding="async" srcset="https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/shutterstock_2003016905-scaled.jpg 1800w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" /> Maintaining a healthy diet is in no way a straightforward feat, however it's fully potential with a bit of little bit of know-how and energy. One concern that usually arises for people who find themselves beginning to eat extra entire meals is produce going dangerous. After a couple of days, or perhaps a few hours for some grocery objects, your meals would possibly spoil.

So, how do you repair this? Fruit and veggies are confirmed to be good sources of vitality, vitamins, dietary fiber, nutritional vitamins, and minerals (1). Produce is important for a nutritious diet—and to be able to eat it, it's essential know what to do with it to maintain it recent. Right here’s tips on how to make produce last more.

The place Ought to I Retailer My Produce?

The primary concern with regards to holding produce recent is the place you select to retailer it: fridge, countertop, or elsewhere. Location can actually make all of the distinction with regards to how lengthy your meals lasts.

Meals that must be saved in your countertop are people who nonetheless must ripen. Sure produce (normally fruits) could also be bought earlier than they’re ripe, so that you’ll need to put them in your countertop till they’re able to be eaten. From then on, it’s a good suggestion to eat them instantly, or retailer them within the fridge for a pair extra days. Examples of some produce that you could be need to pass over of the fridge are (2):

Tomatoes

Avocados

Bananas

Pears

There are additionally sure greens that it is best to retailer in a cool, dry area comparable to a pantry—these embody (2):

Onions

Garlic

Potatoes

Winter squash

A lot of these produce can't be saved within the fridge as a result of when uncovered to moisture, their texture and taste can change for the more severe.

Every other produce must be put in your fridge. This particularly consists of vegetables and fruit which can be already ripe or reduce up into items.

<img decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fridge-organization-tips-1024x683.jpg" alt="someone putting food away while practicing food organization for optimal freshness" class="wp-image-63640 size-full" srcset="https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fridge-organization-tips-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fridge-organization-tips-300x200.jpg 300w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fridge-organization-tips-768x512.jpg 768w, https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/fridge-organization-tips.jpg 1504w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /> You may additionally like

How To Set up Your Fridge So Nothing Will get Misplaced Or Wasted

Don’t Retailer These Meals Collectively

Ethylene is a gasoline launched by most vegetables and fruit that causes produce to ripen (3).

“The extra ripe an ethylene-producing fruit or vegetable is, the extra gasoline it produces. So if different produce objects are close by, the gasoline will make them ripen extra shortly as properly,” says MyFitnessPal dietitian Katherine Basbaum.

Most tree fruits put out giant quantities of ethylene, amongst a bunch of different produce. Listed here are some ethylene-producing vegetables and fruit (3):

Apples

Pears

Apricots

Avocados

Cantaloupe

Nectarines

Papayas

Peaches

Bananas (when totally ripe)

Peppers (when totally ripe)

Tomatoes (when totally ripe)

The above produce objects shouldn't be saved with vegetables and fruit which can be delicate to ethylene, which embody (3):

Carrots

Parsnips

Broccoli

Cucumbers

Asparagus

Iceberg lettuce

Squash

Herbs

Apples

Decrease temperatures assist cut back sensitivity to ethylene (3). You’ll need to retailer these ethylene-sensitive meals within the fridge, in a crisper drawer. Ethylene-producing vegetables and fruit must be bagged and saved in a special crisper drawer.

Concerning the Knowledgeable

Katherine Basbaum, MS, RD is Meals Knowledge Curator at MyFitnessPal. She acquired her Masters in Vitamin Communication from the Friedman College of Vitamin Science & Coverage at Tufts College and accomplished her Dietetic Internship at UVA Well being, the place she additionally works as a diet counselor for cardiology sufferers.

4 Tricks to Make Produce Final Longer

Now that we’ve lined the place to place sure produce and what kinds of produce to not retailer collectively, let’s dive into extra particular suggestions and tips on tips on how to make produce last more.

#1: Take away Tops Off Root Veggies

Root greens like carrots, beets, and radishes all have leafy tops that are inclined to rot shortly, so if you're not planning on consuming the leafy tops, it’s a good suggestion to chop them off instantly after buying (4). Go forward and retailer the destemmed root greens within the fridge after that.

#2: Use Your Crisper Drawer

Don’t put produce on fridge cabinets—crisper drawers are there for a motive! Placing produce in crisper drawers helps shield it and hold moisture in for longer (5). This in the end maintains freshness for longer intervals of time. Ensure that if you use crisper drawers, although, it is best to separate fruits from greens, in addition to ethylene-producing objects from ethylene-sensitive objects.

#3: Hold Contemporary Herbs Upright

In case you purchase recent herbs, don’t depart them within the produce bag that you just purchased it in. As an alternative, deal with the herbs like flowers: snip off a little bit of the ends and put them in a mug, then cowl them with a produce bag (5). This can hold the herb stalks alive, so that you've got the freshest substances to make use of.

#4: Wash Leafy Greens

Basbaum recommends rinsing leafy greens underneath cool water, patting them dry with a paper or dish towel, wrapping them in a clear towel to soak up extra water, and storing them in a sealed container (6). This results in optimum freshness for the leafy greens—good for salads, stirfrys, and anything.

Steadily Requested Questions (FAQs): Tips on how to Make Produce Final Longer

How ought to I retailer reduce vegetables and fruit? It’s greatest to retailer pre-cut or packaged produce within the fridge (7). This additionally applies to vegetables and fruit that you'll have reduce your self.

Ought to I wash my produce earlier than storing it? Except for leafy greens, most produce objects will keep recent for longer if they're saved unrinsed (4). It’s most likely greatest to clean your produce proper earlier than utilizing it.

What produce normally goes dangerous sooner? “Tender fruits (like berries) in addition to recent leafy greens are inclined to spoil extra shortly than different heartier vegetables and fruit,” says Basbaum (8). You would possibly need to eat these produce objects inside days of buy.

What kinds of containers are greatest for preserving freshness? “Containers manufactured from glass, stainless-steel and ceramic are good decisions for storing produce as these supplies are non-reactive and non-toxic, might be simply sanitized, and hold meals recent,” says Basbaum (9). Plastic containers are additionally alright, however Basbaum recommends checking that they're dishwasher secure and BPA-free.

The Backside Line

With so many kinds of produce and totally different storage strategies, it may possibly really feel overwhelming to constantly eat recent, entire meals with out waste. However studying tips on how to retailer your vegetables and fruit correctly doesn’t must be sophisticated.

Begin small: select a couple of produce objects you purchase typically and apply the ideas outlined above. Over time, you’ll get extra comfy with which meals have to be refrigerated, which of them are higher off on the counter, and tips on how to hold ethylene-sensitive objects recent for longer.

Finally, making produce last more isn’t nearly stopping meals waste—it’s about getting probably the most dietary worth out of your meals and making wholesome consuming extra handy and sustainable. Somewhat planning and care can go a good distance in serving to you follow your well being targets whereas saving time and cash within the kitchen