How To Organize Your Fridge For Fresher Produce - Tasting Table

"Stocking up on fresh produce is a win-win, keeping your meals for the week both healthy and delicious. But if you've been burned one too many times by produce that goes bad before you get to use it, you might feel discouraged. Fear not: There are plenty of ways to keep produce fresher longer, and one promises to truly flip the script. It's all in how you organize your refrigerator. Your fridge has different spots that are warmer and cooler,"

"The first thing to know is where your produce will thrive. Some items fare best at room temperature, like winter squashes, potatoes, onions, and bananas; some like to be at room temperature while unripe and refrigerated when ripe, like mangoes. Those potatoes like cool, dark, high-humidity spots while onions prefer cool, dark, low-humidity conditions. Apples, pears, citrus, carrots, greens - these are all happiest in the fridge, but they may not play nicely together."

Different fruits and vegetables require different storage conditions of temperature, humidity, and light. Some items, such as winter squashes, potatoes, onions, and bananas, fare best at room temperature while others like apples, pears, citrus, carrots, and greens prefer refrigeration. Some produce should be refrigerated only after ripening, for example mangoes. Potatoes prefer cool, dark, high-humidity spots while onions prefer cool, dark, low-humidity conditions. Many items emit ethylene gas, which accelerates ripening; ethylene-producing items should be separated from ethylene-sensitive items. Using crisper drawers and separating producers from sensitive produce helps maintain freshness and reduce spoilage.

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