Tips to Keep Fruit and Veg Fresh for Longer

Here are Ten tips for keeping your fruit and veg fresh for longer that you may not know about!

• Instead of storing your Onion in the fridge use some stockings to put them in and tie each one off individually then hang them in your cupboard. They will keep fresh and for up to 8 months! Then when you need to use one simply cut the stocking!
• Wrap your celery, Broccoli and Lettuce (separately) up in Al-foil! It will help keep them lovely and crispy fresh for 4 weeks or more!
• When storing a garden salad, Place some papertowel in the top of the bowl/container before covering with cling wrap. It will absorb the moisture and stop the lettuce from going soggy!
• When storing Tomatoes, don’t keep them in plastic bags. They emit a gas called ethylene and the plastic bag traps this in with the tomatoes and makes them ripen and therefore spoil quicker.For green tomatoes, store them with some fruit (like bananas) and they will ripen much quicker than normal. If your tomatoes are already ripe, the best way to store them is at room temperature, with the stems facing up, on some paper towel with space between them and out of direct sunlight. The air can flow freely around them and they will keep nicely for quite some time.
• If you use spring onions or Shallots but find they wilt in your fridge, grab an empty, clean, dry plastic bottle ( a water bottle is great for this), dry your onions well then chop up as you would for cooking. Pop them into the bottle then put them into the freezer! Simply pour out the desired amount when cooking and they’ll be defrosted, crispy and tasty in no time with no waste! Why not grow some more from the roots while you’re at it? Check out the helpful article on how to do it here
  
• Store whole Avocados and Mangos at room temperature and upright. They keep for much longer this way, plus the flavour really intensifies and gives you much nicer tasting fruit! If you’ve made Guacamole with your avocados, give it a light spray with some cooking oil before covering and refrigerating to keep it from drying out and browning and with left over Avocado, be sure to store with the seed still in it, spritz with spray oil and cover well before popping it in the fridge.
• Berries are beautiful this time of year and are so versatile when it comes to cooking. When you get them home make up a mix of one part Vinegar (I use white or apple cider vinegar) and 10 parts water then swirl them in it, drain and rinse them then pop them in the fridge. The mixture is diluted enough that you won’t taste the vinegar at all and the berries will last up to two or more weeks before any mould or soft spots appear!
• If you love Asparagus, cut the end off the stems and pop the rest into a jar with a small amount of water in the bottom, cover with a freezer bag and place them in the fridge. This will keep the stems super fresh and tasty for a week or more!
• Cover the end of a bunch of bananas with some cling wrap and store them at room temperature. The crown of the bunch emits a large amount of ethylene so keeping it covered will prolong the life of the bananas for around 4 days longer than usual. Remember to store bananas away from other fruit and veg so as they have a high ethylene content and will spoil your other produce fast!

**BONUS TIP!** Line the bottom of your crispers with some paper towel. The paper towel absorbs any excess moisture that would normally spoil the drawer contents and keeps them fresh and firm for longer! Just be sure to replace it every week or so.

Belinda is a full time SAHM to her three young children (2 boys, 1 girl), Wife and Writer for the Stay at Home Mum Website. With a flair for creativity and thinking out of the box, she likes to come up with new inventive ways of making the mundane, fun and useful.  She has a passion for family, Writing, Reading and helping people. Who although faces many day to day struggles like most parents do, wouldn’t change it for all the tea in china”¦and she sure does like tea!