Nobody likes a mushy peach or shriveled up lemon. There are ways to help your fruit last longer. Check out these tips for extending the life of your fruit.
Bananas
If you want to extend the life of your bananas there are a few tricks you can do. Start by buying bananas that are still a little green and don’t have any brown marks. These will have longer to ripen. Bananas will be happiest if they are left out on the counter. There are hooks that you can hang your bananas from and that’s a great way to store them. Another option is to separate each banana and wrap it in plastic wrap. If you don’t want to wrap the whole banana try just wrapping the stem. It helps to keep the moisture in and gases from other fruits out.
Peaches
Mushy peaches are the worst. To extend the life of this fruit keep it out on your counter until it is ripe. The cold temperature of a fridge will cause a peach (or nectarine) to go mealy and mushy. Once the peach has ripened you can move it to the fridge if you desire. If your peach is taking too long to be ready for you to eat you can pop it into a paper bag. This will trap the gases from the peach and help it to ripen quicker.
Berries
DON’T WASH THEM until you are ready to eat them to extend the life of this fruit. Once berries are wet they will mold much quicker. If you can’t eat all your berries before they go bad consider freezing them at their prime. They will be a welcome addition to your smoothies later. If you really want to wash your berries before storing them it’s suggested that you use a mix of one part vinegar to three parts water. Vinegar is your friend because it will help keep your berries safe from mold. After rinsing with the vinegar mix you can rinse them with water and dry them before storing them.
Lemons
The goal in extending the life of your lemons is to keep the moisture in. Moisture is lost through the pores of the lemon. On the counter your lemon might last a week. If you put your lemon in an airtight bag or container and then into the fridge you can extend the life of your lemon for 2-3 weeks. Don’t need your lemon right away? Freeze it. You can actually freeze your lemon whole. Just put it into a freezer bag and get all the air out. It’ll save for another few months. If you are using your lemon for its juice try poking a hole in it with a fork and squeezing the juice out that way. Your lemon will last longer this way than if you cut it in half.
It’s always nice to have fresh fruit to eat. It’s not always easy to keep the fruit you have fresh. Extending the life of your fruit is possible. Each fruit needs something a little different to stay fresh but by giving it you time and attention you can always have fresh fruit ready to eat.
