Understanding how to store different types of food properly in your fridge can dramatically affect their taste, texture, and shelf life. Ethylene gas, a natural plant hormone that speeds up ripening, is released by many fruits and can adversely affect nearby vegetables.
Conversely, some foods absorb flavors or moisture from their neighbors, leading to undesirable changes. This guide uncovers which foods should be kept apart in your refrigerator to maintain their best quality and extend their freshness.
Apples and Carrots
Storing apples near carrots can lead to the carrots tasting bitter due to the ethylene gas released by apples. This gas accelerates ripening in many fruits and vegetables, which can lead to premature spoilage. Keep your apples in a separate drawer from your carrots to maintain their freshness and flavor.
Bananas and Leafy Greens
Bananas emit high levels of ethylene gas, which can cause leafy greens like spinach or kale to wilt and decay rapidly. It’s best to store bananas away from the fridge entirely, as they thrive at room temperature. Meanwhile, keep your greens in the crisper, where they can stay cool and fresh.
Tomatoes and Cucumbers
Tomatoes can cause cucumbers to spoil faster due to ethylene gas, leading to limp, water-logged cucumbers. Store tomatoes on the counter instead of in the fridge to keep them tasting their best, while cucumbers should be kept in the fridge, away from ethylene-sensitive produce.
Onions and Potatoes
Onions and potatoes are often stored together, but this can lead to the potatoes sprouting faster. The moisture from the onions can accelerate decay in potatoes. Store them in a cool, dry place separately to extend their shelf life.
Avocados and Apples
While storing avocados near apples can ripen the avocados faster, this isn’t ideal if you don’t plan on using the avocados right away. The ethylene from the apples can make avocados overly soft and mushy prematurely. It’s better to ripen avocados on the counter and then move them to the fridge once they’re ready to eat.
Citrus Fruits and Sweet Potatoes
Citrus fruits can cause sweet potatoes to spoil quickly due to the moisture and ethylene gas they emit. Keeping them separate ensures that sweet potatoes will last longer and maintain their firm texture. Store citrus fruits in a mesh bag in the fridge to avoid trapping moisture.
Broccoli and Tomatoes
Broccoli, being sensitive to ethylene gas, should not be stored with tomatoes, which emit a fair amount of this ripening agent. This combination can cause the broccoli to turn yellow and become bitter. Store broccoli in the crisper drawer away from fruits and tomatoes to preserve its freshness.
Garlic and Fruits
Garlic can easily absorb the flavors and moisture of nearby fruits, which can alter its taste and shorten its lifespan. Store garlic in a cool, dry, and ventilated place, away from fruits to maintain its flavor and longevity. This also helps prevent the garlic from sprouting prematurely.
Cabbage and Strawberries
Cabbage, like many other vegetables, is sensitive to the ethylene produced by strawberries, which can lead to a quicker deterioration of the cabbage. To keep both your cabbage and strawberries fresh, store them in separate areas of your fridge. This prevents flavor transfer and decay.
Melons and Apples
Melons should not be stored with apples, as they are extremely sensitive to the ethylene gas apples emit. Storing melons away from apples can prevent them from becoming overly ripe and mushy. Keep melons on a different shelf in the fridge, or even better, at room temperature until they’re cut.
Peppers and Bananas
Peppers can become soft and lose their crispness if stored near bananas, which release a lot of ethylene. To preserve the crunch of your peppers, store them in the crisper away from bananas and other high-ethylene fruits. This also helps maintain their vibrant color.
Green Beans and Peppers
Green beans can become tough and discolored if stored near peppers due to ethylene sensitivity. To maximize their shelf life and texture, store green beans in a bag in the crisper and separate them from peppers and other ethylene-producing foods. This keeps them fresh and ready for cooking.
Kiwis and Oranges
Storing kiwis next to oranges can overly hasten the ripening process of the kiwis due to the ethylene gas from the oranges. If you want to extend the shelf life of your kiwis, keep them separate from oranges and other citrus fruits. Store kiwis in a different compartment of the fridge until they’re ripe enough to eat.
Grapes and Bananas
Grapes can absorb the ethylene from bananas, leading to premature spoilage and a loss of firmness. To keep your grapes fresher longer, store them away from bananas in a ventilated bag in the fridge. This helps maintain their juiciness and prevents over-ripening.
Mushrooms and Strong Odors
Mushrooms can easily absorb odors from strong-smelling foods like onions and leftover cooked meals. To prevent flavor alteration, store mushrooms in a separate, mildly humid part of the fridge, ideally in a paper bag. This keeps them fresh and free of unwanted flavors.
Pears and Peaches
Both pears and peaches produce ethylene gas, which can accelerate each other’s ripening process. If not consumed quickly, this can lead to over-ripening and spoilage. Store them separately in the fridge to control their ripening stages better.
Asparagus and Apples
Like many vegetables, asparagus can wilt and spoil faster if stored near apples. To preserve its crispness and freshness, wrap the ends of the asparagus in a damp paper towel and store it in the crisper, away from any ethylene-producing fruits. This helps maintain its texture and flavor.
Blueberries and Bananas
Blueberries can become soft and moldy quickly if stored next to bananas. To extend their shelf life, keep blueberries in their original container in a cooler part of the fridge away from high-ethylene producers like bananas. This keeps them firm and fresh longer.
Celery and Apples
Celery can go limp quickly if stored near apples due to ethylene sensitivity. To keep celery crisp and fresh, wrap it in aluminum foil and place it in the crisper drawer away from fruits that emit ethylene gas. This simple step can significantly extend its crispness.
Carrots and Pears
Storing carrots near pears can lead to soft, bitter carrots as the ethylene from the pears accelerates their ripening. To maintain the firmness and sweetness of your carrots, store them in a separate bag in the crisper drawer away from ethylene-producing fruits like pears.
Radishes and Apples
Radishes stored near apples can become soft and lose their crisp bite. To preserve the texture and sharp flavor of radishes, keep them away from apples and other ethylene-releasing produce. Store radishes in a separate section of the crisper drawer in a loosely tied bag.
Beets and Bananas
The gasses released by bananas can cause beets to spoil faster, which diminishes their flavor and nutritional value. To keep beets firm and tasty, store them in the coolest part of the fridge, away from bananas and other fruits that emit ethylene. This isolation helps maintain their quality.
Lettuce and Melons
Lettuce can wilt rapidly if stored near melons due to the ethylene emitted by the latter. For crisp, fresh lettuce leaves, store them in a separate crisper drawer or in a sealed container away from melons and other ethylene-producing fruits. This practice ensures your lettuce stays salad-ready for longer.
Eggplants and Avocados
Eggplants stored near avocados can degrade quickly due to the ethylene gas avocados emit. To keep eggplants firm and extend their shelf life, it’s best to store them separately in a cool, dry part of the refrigerator. This separation prevents the eggplants from becoming overly soft and discolored prematurely.
Cucumbers and Tomatoes
Cucumbers can become limp and lose their crisp texture when stored near tomatoes, which release a significant amount of ethylene. To ensure that cucumbers retain their freshness, store them separately in the crisper drawer, away from tomatoes and other ethylene-producing fruits. This helps maintain their crunch and freshness for salads and other dishes.
