Storage & Handling Info for Consumers
- Ripe fruit is a living food and, as such, maintains its just-picked quality better under refrigeration than it does at room temperature. In fact, apples last up to 10 times longer if refrigerated than if left at room temperature.
- Fresh fruit looks lovely in a bowl, but display only what you plan to eat within a day or two at the most. This helps make sure you serve fruit that retains its fresh, hand-picked taste and texture.
- Don’t wash fruit until just before serving; store it unwashed in refrigerator. For info on washing fruit, click here.
- Avoid cross-contamination. Make sure to store fresh fruit away from unprocessed foods, such as raw meat and its juices.
- Apples emit ethylene, a naturally occurring gas that encourages ripening. So, store apples in a plastic bag to prevent them from speeding the ripening of other produce items.
- However, you can use this to your advantage! At room temperature, place an apple in a brown paper bag along with fruit to be ripened and it will speed up the process.
Apples
Store in crisper of refrigerator; low temperature; high humidity.
Apricots, peaches, nectarinesRipen at 65–70°F/17–21°C, away from direct sunlight. Refrigerate, unwashed and covered, for up to one week.
BlueberriesWill keep in refrigerator for up to 10 days. Place unwashed berries in shallow pan lined with paper towels. Store separately from apples.
CherriesStore refrigerated, unwashed, on paper towel in shallow pan. Will keep for several days.
GrapesStore, covered and unwashed, in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Pears
Place in brown paper bag at room temperature to ripen. (Placing an apple in the bag will speed up the ripening.) Store in refrigerator, unwashed, for up to a week.
Prune plumsRipen in brown paper bag at room temperature. Store, covered and unwashed, in refrigerator for up to a week.
