Buying quality, fresh, seasonal fruits can be quite an adventure, but it’s worth it. The problem appears when they begin to spoil. We explain how to keep fruits at home for longer.
Table of Contents
How to preserve healthy fruits
Fruits are the most striking foods due to their diversity of colors and shapes. In addition, they are essential to maintain good nutrition and health.
They are rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and other ideal nutrients for a healthy diet. Its benefits are very varied. In addition, eating them is an authentic experience due to its texture, aroma and flavor.
We have to pay special attention to its season. You can check the list of seasonal fruits to know what is the best time of consumption.
Ideally, to preserve these foods is that they can be in a cool, dry place and protected from sunlight. Likewise, they don’t always need to be in the fridge, even if it seems weird.
Choose a quality fruit
Currently we can get fruit at any time of year. It is true that we always recommend the consumption of raw, fresh and, above all, seasonal fruits .
Nature is wise and in each season it dazzles us with an ideal fruit for the season . For example, in summer, it refreshes us with watermelon or melon.
On the contrary, in autumn it is ideal to have energetic foods such as figs in our kitchens . Meanwhile, in winter, nature takes care of our defenses by offering us citrus fruits rich in vitamin C.
Be careful with the appearance
It is important to choose fruits that look good. On many occasions, appearance gives us many clues.
We recommend the fruit that we can choose and avoid the one that is already packed in a bag. On many occasions, supermarkets offer them to us packaged in a plastic bag, with which we have to take special care. Likewise, also review them when we have them in our kitchen.
Before preserving fruits: handling
To maintain a healthy life we have to include seasonal fruits and vegetables in our diet. However, fresh food can sometimes contain residues when it comes into contact with a dirty surface or with toxic substances.
Furthermore, fruits and vegetables are continually in contact with fertilizers and pesticides. We may find unhealthy microorganisms in irrigation or cleaning waters of these foods before they are sold.
Therefore, when we get home after the purchase we must maintain basic hygiene rules:
- Take them out of the plastic bag when we check them in our kitchen.
- Wash your hands well before handling and storing the fruit.
- Treat the pieces with delicacy so as not to cause damage that accelerates their deterioration.
- Separate the pieces that are in poor condition so that they do not infect the rest.
- Wash all the pieces very well, especially if they are going to eat you with skin. If they are small like berries, use a strainer.
- Follow packaging instructions such as “Keep cold”, “Best before (date)”, or “Expires on (date)”.
How to wash the fruit?
To have a balanced diet we have to include any type of fruit in our diet, but also vegetables. We have to consume these products, but always with the maximum guarantees of health. Since, it is essential to avoid certain food risks.
It is the World Health Organization (WHO) that warns of the different bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances that fruits can carry.
For this reason, we must be careful to wash them, when arriving in our kitchen and before putting away the purchase. Especially when we consume these raw and unpeeled products.
To wash the fruit and vegetables, once we arrive from the supermarket, we must introduce them under a stream of clean water , especially when they are consumed raw.
To wash the smaller ones with clean water, you can use a strainer to rinse them. For fruits with thick skin such as watermelons or melons, you can use a brush to scrub the outside.
How to keep fruit at home?
Most fresh fruits do not need special storage conditions at most times of the year. We recommend keeping the fruit in cool, dry places without direct light.
We can always opt for the fridge option, but in this case try to place it in a reserved section, without contact with other foods.
Now we will see which fruits we recommend to be refrigerated and which ones not.
Do not put together fruits of different types of conservation
It is also not advisable to put together short-lived fruits such as strawberry, pear or peach with long-lasting fruits such as oranges or apples .
Use paper to store fruits and vegetables
When we come to our kitchen after making the purchase at the market, it is important to clean and store the purchase. We can keep food in a cool and dry place, in the fridge or even in the freezer.
A very effective method is to store these foods in a paper bag. Many markets already offer us this type of bags. In addition to being ecological, they are practical for our kitchen.
The paper helps us to keep the fruit dry and clean. In contrast, plastic is antiperspirant and can damage breaths more quickly. In the case that we cannot use paper, you can pierce the plastic bag to make it breathe.
How to preserve fruits: fridge or out of the fridge
It is ideal to eat fruits in perfect condition so that we can take advantage of their flavor, aroma, texture and all their nutrients. For this, we have to keep them correctly.
Do all fruits need refrigeration? Not all of them need to be in the fridge.
Seasonal fruits that we should keep in the fridge
Some of these foods, due to their physical characteristics, it is advisable to keep them in the refrigerator.
As a tip, it is advisable to separate the fruit from the vegetables so that they do not spoil. In addition, try to consume them in a few days, since a long time in cold can make the food quality.
Before storing, wash it with clean water . Next, dry it very well and keep it, you can use paper or another separation method.
Finally, it is better to remove it from the refrigerator before consuming it. In this way you will have a more intense and natural flavor, texture and aroma.
These are some of the fruits that need to be in the fridge:
- Apricot
- Berries such as blueberry, strawberry , raspberry or blackberry.
- Cherries
- Apples, if we are going to consume them after a week.
- Grapes
- Figs
- Macedonian sliced fruit
Seasonal fruits that must first be kept out of the fridge and then in the fridge
Some fruits, when harvested, may not be at the optimum time of maturity. It does not mean that they are of poor quality, only that they need to mature a little more outside the tree.
In this case it is better that they are for a few days at room temperature in a dry, cool place and out of sunlight. Better to prevent them from withering quickly by detecting fruits or vegetables that are damaged. Better to separate them from the rest to keep these foods intact and last longer.
Some of these fruits can be:
Seasonal fruits and vegetables that should preferably be kept out of the fridge
Not all fruits or vegetables do well when cold in the fridge. Therefore, it is better to keep them at room temperature so that the cold does not affect their flavor, aroma and texture.
For this, it is ideal that they can be kept in a dry, cool place and out of direct light.
Some of these fruits can be:
Option to freeze
It is advisable to always consume seasonal products and at their optimum point of maturity. In this way, we take advantage of all the properties of fruits . In addition, we collaborate with sustainability.
However, there are times that we have a surplus of fruits or vegetables that we can freeze , either to make a delicious fruit smoothie or to make different recipes.
In addition, a frequently asked question is how we can preserve fruits and vegetables so that they last us longer. You can follow the tips that we have already explained and depending on the types of fruits or vegetables in question. In addition, you can also freeze these foods.
To freeze food we will use hermetically sealed bags or containers. In addition, you can label them to know the packaging date and other descriptions.
Recommended fruits for freezing
Not all fruits are equally optimal for freezing. We recommend to freeze:
- Pineapple
- Apple
- Apricot
On the contrary, special care must be taken with tropical fruits, cherries or grapes. For this reason we do not recommend freezing.
Dehydrating fruits and vegetables at home
An option that has always been used to preserve these foods is to dehydrate. Currently we can use three methods:
- Sun dried
- Drying in the oven
- Using a dehydrator
With the passage of time, he has lost the habit of preserving these foods at home by the dehydration method. It may be due to lack of time or because this option is very easy to find in our markets.
The method is very simple, we only have to eliminate almost all the water from these foods, leaving approximately between 4% and 8%. With this method we ensure that they do not oxidize and become infected with bacteria. Therefore, we can keep them longer.
Fruit preserves with sugar
Finally, we cannot ignore mentioning a traditional way of preserving fruits. After the abundance of certain times, such as summer, you can keep these foods for long periods.
This type of preserve with sugar is called jam. With this method you can keep whole fruits (even vegetables) for a long time. Likewise, in pieces, ground or in juice. The main types of jams are mentioned below:
- Fruits in syrup
- Jams
- Jellies
- Nectars
My name is Ellie Lauderdale, MD and I am USA based professional Nutritionist .
I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and board certified specialist in sports dietetics who is trained in integrative medicine. I have worked with hundreds of clients, from those suffering with chronic disease to professional and olympian athletes. My goal is to help optimize you from the inside so that you can feel, perform, and look your best on the outside.