Just yesterday you filled your refrigerator bin with fresh fruit, but today you open the drawer to find nothing but fuzzy green lumps and black mush. It's not only disappointing--it's expensive. There are ways, however, to make sure the next time you buy fruit, it will still be edible when you're ready to enjoy it. Just read the following steps to learn how.
Instructions
1. Buy fruit that isn't yet fully ripe. Fruit goes from ripe to bad very quickly, so you're better off buying them a little green and letting them ripen at home.
2. Wash all your fruit as soon as you get home. Remember the adage "one bad apples spoils the whole bunch." Look over each piece, discarding bad ones. This is especially true of bunches of grapes or containers of berries where packaging prevents you from seeing all sides of every piece of fruit you are buying.
3. Store bananas at . Don't separate them; instead hang the entire bunch by the stem to prevent bruising and allow them to ripen. Also store citrus fruits, tropical fruits, melons and avocados at .
4. Place apples in a brown paper bag before placing them in the refrigerator's crisper. The crisper keeps the contents from losing moisture too quickly.
5. Pour berries into paper bags and store on a refrigerator shelf.
6. Store tomatoes on the countertop, away from direct sunshine, stem side down. Tomatoes placed in a refrigerator quickly lose their flavor.
Tags: room temperature, them ripen