The cost of living crisis has made us all more conscious of food waste. But did you know that storing certain fruits in your fridge could actually be causing your vegetables to spoil faster?
As fruits ripen, they release a gas called ethylene. This gas can cause other produce to brown and spoil prematurely. While refrigeration generally helps preserve the freshness of fruits and vegetables, placing certain fruits in the fridge can lead to a buildup of ethylene, damaging your other ingredients.
Have you ever noticed that your bananas seem to ripen faster when stored near other fruits? That’s because bananas, along with apples, pears, grapes, and passionfruit, are high ethylene producers.
Gardeners use this phenomenon to ripen tomatoes, but for home cooks, it’s best to keep these fruits separate from your vegetables.
Green vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, and lettuce are especially susceptible to ethylene. Asparagus, cauliflower, and aubergine can also be affected.
If your cucumber is going soggy or your lettuce is wilting, it might be due to the fruits you’re storing it with.
It’s a good idea to monitor any produce that appears to be spoiling and separate it from your fresh food.
Tomatoes, bananas, avocados, and apples can be stored in a cool place outside of your fridge to reduce ethylene buildup.
For maximum freshness, store them on a flat surface rather than in a fruit bowl, which can trap ethylene.
The University of California San Diego Center for Community Health has compiled a list of fruits and vegetables that produce the highest amounts of ethylene:
* Apples
* Avocados
* Bananas
* Grapes
* Cantaloupe
* Passionfruit
* Kiwi
* Peaches
* Pears
* Peppers
* Tomatoes
There are also fruits and vegetables that are particularly sensitive to ethylene:
* Apples
* Asparagus
* Avocados
* Bananas
* Broccoli
* Cabbage
* Cauliflower
* Collard Greens
* Cucumber
* Eggplant
* Grapes
* Kiwi
* Lemons and Limes
* Lettuce
* Mangoes
* Melons (cantaloupe, honeydew)
* Onions
* Pears
* Peppers
* Squash
* Stone Fruits (peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots, cherries)
* Sweet Potatoes
Not all fruits and vegetables ripen with the help of ethylene gas. This list includes blueberries, cherries, grapefruit, green beans, oranges, pineapples, potatoes, raspberries, and strawberries.
By understanding how ethylene affects your produce, you can store your fruits and vegetables properly, minimizing waste and maximizing freshness.
