Can’t get enough of apples? Did you buy too many at the grocery store? Did you get to walk in an orchard and left there with more than a handful of fruit? Well, now you need to find out how to store apples so they keep nice and fresh until you eat them, bake them into a pie, or make some homemade jam. You’ve come to the right place.
Recently, a visit to a friend’s countryside house meant an unscheduled apple and pear picking session. For all my trouble and balance act on a very tall ladder, I got to take home a whole wooden box of apples, definitely more than I could eat on a weekend. So that gave way to the question: how to store apples so they last longer?
I did my research and I am ready to share it with you. Follow this simple advice and you might enjoy those apples for 2-3 weeks more!
Tips on how to store apples until you eat them
1. Be mindful of the transport
When you pierce the skin of an apple in any way, the flesh starts to turn brown thanks to a process known as oxidation. So be careful how you bring those apples home, make sure their skin is not hurt in any way. I got the box of apples and my friend and I placed the fruit in layers, separated by a sheet of paper or newspaper pages, so they are not hurt by bumps in the road during the car ride.
2. Keep the apples whole
Don’t cut them in pieces, because they will turn brown very quickly. If there’s an emergency, you can slow down the oxidation process by using some acid – lemon juice and vinegar will do nicely. But that process cannot be stopped fully. So keep the apples whole and tasty until you decide to use them in a recipe.
3. Keep them isolated from other produce
Don’t let apples near other produce, because ethylene gas could also ripen other fruits and veggies. That’s good, for instance, if you want to ripen some green bananas, but not if you handpick some fruits and vegetables that look perfectly ripe. Also, don’t keep different types of apples together, because some of them have a longer shelf life than others.
4. Place them in the lowest drawer of the refrigerator
Apples still ripen, even after you’ve picked them. So once you take them off the branch, you’re in a race against time! This happens because apples put off a substance called ethylene gas which keeps softening their skin and their flesh every moment. Keeping apples in a cold place slows the emission of the gas. So place them in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator.
5. Check the apples
After you’ve stored the apples, your job isn’t yet done. You still need to keep an eye on them and look in on them regularly, every few days. Make sure none of the fruit is going bad. Because one rotten apple can ruin the whole batch, especially if they are touching.
Here are 3 recipes you can cook with your well-stored apples:
