How to Store
Read MoreFruit
Organic fruit needs to be treated differently from conventional fruit; it will not keep as long as it is not chemically treated for storage.Oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and apples should be fine in a cool room for at least a week, but will go off very quickly in a hot room. Apples kept cool and dark will keep much longer.
Kiwi – These are usually unripe and will ripen slowly in a warm (16C) room. You can feel when they are starting to get soft they are usually at there best, this could take several weeks sometimes depending on the condition they arrive in.
Pineapples – these arrive mostly in a ripe condition. People are probably used to buying pineapples when they are yellow. This is not natural they only go yellow at a very advanced stage when they are beginning to rot. Conventional pineapples are sprayed with a chemical to encourage a yellow colour; which makes them look nice under supermarket lights – so use them up immediately, there may be darker areas of flesh inside the skin this is normal in naturally ripened fruit and is usually the best flavoured part.
Bananas – these usually they come to us with some green which allows a few days for consumer use. Sometimes due to problems of supply shortages they may not have been fully ripened before they arrive with us so we have to send them out green. They will ripen providing you:
- Wrap in plastic
- Place in dark place
- Keep at 14C
They will ripen within a week or so. At cooler temperatures they will slowly ripen but lose flavour and become woody. Skin colour is not necessarily an indication of ripeness. Many people find that the best flavour is attained if the skin has dark brown spots (like freckles) all over it, but this is a matter of personal taste.
Mangoes – these are the most difficult of fruits to assess whether they are ripe or not. They will always need ripening off as they arrive in a green state. Do not press the skin to see if it has ripened this will bruise the fruit and start it rotting. Store at room temperature. A very gentle touch to the skin will with experience indicate ripeness. Different varieties have different ripening characteristics.
Avocados – treat these in the same way as mango, do not squeeze the flesh as this will cause the fruit to become bruised and rot.
Vegetables
Much like the fruit attention need to be taken in order to store the vegetables correctly and get the best longevity from the produce.
Potatoes & Roots – the most important thing to remember when storing your roots such as potatoes, carrots, parsnips etc is to keep them cool and dark. Ideally you should never wash your veg’ before storing, the soil acts as a natural preservative and washing them will cause them to go off far quicker. Keep them wrapped in brown paper and keep in somewhere like a cool, dark cupboard. The optimum temperature is 5 degrees.
If stored correctly your spuds will last many months, and if they begin to sprout, don’t worry they are still edible, just knock them off!
Beetroot on the other hand keeps best in the fridge, keeping them solid for longer.
Leafy Greens – keep in the fridge, wrapping in a plastic bag will also help to keep them succulent and fresh.
Onions, Garlic – these keep easily, cool, dry and airy will do the trick.
Squash – keep at room temperature with air to breath, too much moisture may cause them to go off. If you do notice mould occurring cut it off and the remanding squash will still be good to eat.
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