7 TIPS TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

It’s often taken for granted that we live in a world of refrigerated goods where the produce we enjoy is available on our local supermarket shelves almost year round. We put food items in the refrigerator and hope to use them up, and often end up throwing them out when they begin to look a little off.

Rather than spend a little extra on buying fresh produce more often, and disposing of half-finished produce, why not trying some of the suggestions below to extend the life of what you grow or buy?

Varying estimates put the wastage of fruit and vegetables that are thrown away needlessly through improper storage at over 10%.

Here’s 7 tips to extend the life of fruit and vegetables:

1. Gas produced by various fruits such as apples and bananas is known to reduce the life of other produce, so be sure to keep them separate.
2. Pears going off quicker than you like? Keep them in a paper bag on the kitchen counter to protect them from the light that speeds up their ripening process.
3. Most refrigerators today have a separate area for storing fruits and vegetables. If yours happens to be one that doesn’t, try to reserve a shelf exclusively for their storage.
4. In terms of temperature, keep your refrigerator at or around the upper limit of 5 degrees Celsius. We all like a well-stocked refrigerator but piling in the goods stops the flow of air, making it harder to maintain the desired temperature, which in turn causes certain food items to go off more quickly. Keep them cooler by leaving room for ventilation between your food.
5. Most fruit and vegetables require a quick rinse before being eaten. They will fare much better if they are washed immediately before use.
6. If you are in the habit of buying more than you can eat within the time it takes for a certain item to pass its used-by date, why not freeze it? Although the preparation will vary, vegetables such as cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, broccoli and cauliflower can be available to you long after their non-frozen counterparts have to be thrown away.
7. Turned off by limp salad leaves? Simply seal lettuce and other green leaf vegetables in a Ziploc bag and you will significantly extend their shelf life, and crispness.