Comfort Food Kitchen

Fruit Storage

Apples
Apples continue to "breathe" after they're picked, and it's essential that they be allowed to do so. When storing apples in an unrefrigerated area, put them in a bowl with plenty of ventilation. In refrigerators, keep them in perforated food-grade plastic bags at the back of the refrigerator, but to sustain proper levels of humidity. Also, store apples away from other strong-smelling foods, so they don't absorb the odors.
Pears
To ripen pears, store them at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Since these fruits become more fragile as they ripen, try to store them loosely in a bowl or on a plate. When ripe, most pears will give slightly when pressed gently near the stem. Some pears, like Bartlett, turn from green to yellow and produce a fragrance as they ripen. Once a pear hits its peak ripeness, transfer it to the refrigerator crisper and eat within a few days.
Asian pears will remain quite firm when they are ripe, so the key to determining if they are ready to eat is aroma: a ripe Asian pear will be quite fragrant. If they are unblemished, most Asian pears should keep in the refrigerator crisper for up to 2 months. Wrap each pear in a paper towel to protect it, and place in a perforated plastic bag.
Berries
Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Boysenberries and Raspberries should be eaten as soon as possible. Do not wash until you are ready to consume them. If you must store them, place them on a paper towel in a tightly-covered container in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. They may also be frozen whole or in pieces. To freeze, wash and sprinkle with sugar to taste, and toss gently with your hands. Place in freezer containers or zip-top bags. Use within 1 year.
Cherries
Since cherries don't ripen after harvest and tend to spoil quickly, they should be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for several days. They tend to absorb the odors of other foods, so keep them stored separately. Wash cherries just before serving.
Oranges
When selecting oranges, look for fruit with a shiny skin free of blemishes, wrinkles, soft areas, or mold. The oranges should be heavy for their size indicating they are full of juice. Store oranges in a cool place outside the refrigerator and try to eat them within a few days. If you need to keep them longer, refrigerate in a plastic bag or in the vegetable crisper section of the refrigerator.
Lemons and Limes
Lemons and limes should stay fresh for about a week at room temperature if kept out of bright sunlight. For ideal storage, place lemons and limes in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator. They should keep for up to a month.
Tangerines
Ideally, tangerines should be eaten soon after purchase, but they will keep in the refrigerator for 1 or 2 weeks.
Bananas
Bananas can be refrigerated for several days to stunt ripening. Although the skins of refrigerated bananas will turn brown, the fruit itself will be fine. Allow the refrigerated fruit to come to room temperature before consuming for full flavor.
Kiwifruit
Kiwifruit can be stored for 4-6 months at 31-32°F if protected from dehydration. Storage life is substantially reduced if ethylene producing fruits such as apples or pears are present in storage. For maximum storage life, store kiwifruit alone. Fruit will ripen at room temperature when removed from cold storage. Ripening can be hastened by exposure to ethylene. This hastened ripening can be accomplished in the home by placing kiwifruit in a plastic bag with an apple.
Melons
Store under-ripe melons in a pierced paper bag at room temperature for a few days. Adding an apple to the bag will coax the fruit into ripeness. A ripe melon will give slightly when pressed on the stem end, and will produce a delicate fragrance from the blossom end — once it does so, store in the refrigerator. Despite their hardy appearance, melons are quite perishable. Keep ripe melons away from other fruit so that the ethylene gas that they produce does not speed up the fruit's ripening. Uncut ripe melons should keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. When storing a halved melon, leave the seeds in to help keep it fresh. Once you've cut into a melon, wrap the remainder in plastic and it should keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
Papayas
Select fruits that are mostly yellow with a bit of green and let them fully ripen at home. When fully ripe, the skin is bright yellow. Unripe fruit will be an overall light yellowish-green, but not completely green. As with most fruits, use your nose. The ripe papaya should have a sweet aroma. Papayas will ripen within a few days at room temperature, and even faster if you put them in a paper bag. Ripe papayas should be refrigerated to slow down the ripening process. Once ripe, this fruit will quickly turn to mush if not properly stored. Place ripe, whole fruit in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, and it should last about a week.
Mangos
To ripen hard green (unripe) mangos store at room temperature (about 70 degrees) in the open air for up to several days. The fruit will become sweeter and softer as it ripens at room temperature. To store a fully ripe mango, refrigerate whole fruit at 40 to 45 degrees for up to a week.
Plums
Select unwrinkled, smooth-skinned fruits with no blemishes, free of soft spots or discolorations. The grayish sheen on plums is perfectly natural and does not affect quality. If the plums seem a little hard, leave them at room temperature for a few days to soften up, but be aware they will not actually ripen further to develop more sugar like some fruits. Refrigerate ripe plums in a plastic bag and use within four days. Wash just before using.
Peaches
To ensure their quality and taste, look for peaches that are "tree ripened" or "California Well Mature". This will mean that the peaches reached their maturity before being picked. Also, pay attention to how your supermarket stores their peaches. Supermarkets should store their peaches in the open bins, not in the cold section.
When selecting your peaches, look for those that are well-rounded with shades of deep yellow coloring skin coloring under a red blush. Ripe peaches will yield to gentle pressure, particularly along the seam, and give off a sweet fragrance. Peaches selected when they are brightly colored but firm to moderately hard will ripen in two to three days at room temperature.
Apricots
Apricots range in color from yellow to deep orange, often with red or rosy touches. When selecting fresh apricots, look for fruits with no touch of green. The flesh should yield to gentle pressure when held in the palm of your hand, and the fruit should have a bright, ripe aroma. Apricots will continue to ripen if left at room temperature in a paper bag, away from sunlight. Check the ripening progress often as they will quickly deteriorate. They will never achieve the same full sweet flavor as tree-ripened, but will be better than off the shelf. Once ripened, store for no more than a few days in the refrigerator.
Pineapple
Once a pineapple is cut from the plant, it will not ripen any further, so forget about letting it ripen on the counter. Without any starch reserves to convert to sugar, it will simply begin to rot and ferment. Storing at room temperature will increase the acidity level of the pineapple, but will not improve sweetness. You can extend the lifespan to three to five days by refrigerating the whole pineapple in a perforated plastic bag.