Where To Store Your Produce — Fridge Or Countertop?

We’re Here To Help You Fight Food waste!

We all know what it’s like to toss out wilted leafy greens, mushy bananas and mouldy bread into the bin. According to OzHarvest, the top 5 most common wasted foods in Australia are vegetables, bread, fruit, bagged salad, and leftovers. 

Food waste costs Australian households $2,000-$2,500 per year. Can you imagine holding that amount of money in your hands and throwing it away? All in all, creating food waste is frustrating, expensive, time-consuming, and harmful to our planet. So, what can we do about it?

There are two simple ways to reduce food waste: proper education, and proper storage. That’s it! We need to know how to store food, and where to store food to keep it from spoiling too quickly. Below, we’ve listed some of the most common items to store in your fridge or on your countertop.

Image: Hello Fresh

How + Where To Store Fruits

Store In Fridge (Chilled): Apples, Blueberries, Cherries, Cranberries, Grapes, Pomegranates, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries.

Store On Countertop (Room Temp): Bananas, Grapefruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Watermelon.

Countertop, Then Fridge (When Ripened): Apricots, Avocados, Kiwi Fruit, Mangoes, Melons, Nectarines, Papayas, Peaches, Pears, Pineapple, Plums.

FRUIT STORAGE TIPS 

• Store your ethylene-producing apples, bananas, mangoes and kiwis away from other fruits and vegetables (they tend to quickly spoil other produce!).
• Berries typically last in the fridge for less than a week, so it’s a good idea to eat them quickly or freeze them before they spoil. Also, to preserve their freshness, only wash them and take off caps and stems just when you’re about to eat them (same with grapes!).
• Our Reusable Food Pouches are freezer safe, perfect for storing your fruit and turning them into smoothies.
• Keep stone fruits (apricots, nectarines, peaches) in a cool spot in your kitchen, out of direct sunlight.
• After cutting up fruit, keep it sealed in an airtight container in the fridge.

How + Where To Store Vegetables 

Store In Fridge (Chilled): Asparagus, Beans, Beetroots, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Capsicum,  Carrots, Cauliflower, Celery, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Lettuce, Mushrooms (in paper bag), Parsnips, Spinach, Zucchini.

Store On Countertop (Room Temp): Onions (separately), Shallots, Garlic, Pumpkin, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes. 

Countertop, Then Fridge (When Ripened): Tomatoes. 

VEGETABLE STORAGE TIPS

• Store your potatoes, onions and garlic separately in a cool, dark place. 
• Wash, dry and wrap your leafy greens in a towel or place in The Swag Reusable Veggie Bag to extend the life of your leafy greens and other veggies!
• Most veggies should be blanched for 1-2 minutes before being placed in a Food Storage Container and frozen.
• Treat fresh herbs the same as salad greens! Wash and dry thoroughly, then wrap them in a damp towel to keep them fresh in the fridge. Alternatively, pop them in a small jar of water like a flower bouquet.

How + Where To Store Bread

Freshly baked bread is delicious, but it’s notorious for developing mould quite quickly. In this case, a Reusable Bread Bag is your best friend.  

BREAD STORAGE TIPS:

• If you plan on eating your loaf of bread within 2-3 days, store it in a paper bag or a reusable bread bag.
• Store fresh bread in a cool, dry place (away from heat and moisture), preferably in a bread box. 
• Slice up your loaf and freeze it in a Reusable Bread Bag. We love the Onya Reusable Charcoal Bread Bag because it’s double-lined to prevent freezer burn. This nifty bag can be used to retrieve your loaf from the bakery, too!
• Got stale bread? Blitz the loaf into breadcrumbs, cube it into croutons, or pop in the oven at 200°C to revive it.