Apples are safe at room temperature, but their higher ethylene content contributes to faster ripening. Apples stored in the refrigerator can last for several weeks. Cut produce is more susceptible to pathogens, so storing in the refrigerator can limit pathogen growth.
They prefer the refrigeration. Apples keep longest when held at 31-36 degrees Fahrenheit. So, you want to keep them in the coolest part of the refrigerator.
Keep them cool
The ideal storage temperature is 30 to 35 degrees F. with 90 to 95 percent relative humidity. If you don't have a lot of apples, the refrigerator is a good option. Place them in the crisper drawer in a plastic bag with holes in it or cover the apples with a damp paper towel.
Fruits That Should Not Be Stored in the Refrigerator
Apricots, Asian pears, avocado, bananas, guava, kiwis, mangoes, melons, nectarines, papayas, passion fruit, pawpaw, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapples, plantain, plums, starfruit, soursop, and quince will continue to ripen if left out on the counter.
At room temperature, apples will last about 5 to 7 days. Beyond that they begin to degrade in quality and nutritional content. They begin to lose their flavor and freshness and either shrivel or get mushy. Once that happens, most people would rather toss them than eat them.
What is this? Not washing the fruit before storing it. Washing the fruit and exposing it to moisture, no matter how well you dry it afterward, can compromise your refrigerated apple's skin and leave it vulnerable to premature molding and rotting. Leaving it unwashed will lengthen its shelf life.
Chilly temperatures help stave off the ripening process in apples, meaning they'll last longer, as apples stored at room temperature have a much shorter shelf-life. Store them in the crisper drawer—set to low-humidity, if you have the option—for best results.
Ripen fruit at room temperature. Once they are ripe, refrigerate. Apples, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, oranges, pineapples, strawberries, tangerines and watermelon are received ripe and should be refrigerated.
Storing fruit in the fridge
Most fresh fruit, including apples, berries and grapes, will last longer if kept in their original packaging and stored in the crisper of your fridge. Berries can last in the fridge for about a week.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says washing your produce under running water can prevent you from becoming infected with food-borne illnesses like norovirus, which is the country's leading cause of disease outbreaks from contaminated food.
"If you don't want to encourage ripening of other produce, store apples in a plastic tub or a bag in the fridge, or in their own produce drawer." If they're on the counter, they can be stored in their own bowl, away from other fruits, or in a paper bag, she adds.
Because apples can absorb odors from other foods stored in the same area, keep apples in plastic bags. The plastic also helps apples retain their own moisture. Make sure that there are several air holes in the apple bag. Apples ripen six to ten times faster at room temperature than if they were refrigerated.
For this reason, he suggests keeping apples and carrots away from each other, adding that cabbage, figs and onions can also absorb an apple's odor. “The closer and more enclosed the fresh produce is, the more chance for odors to intermix,” he adds.
The ideal place to store bananas is on the countertop, where they can ripen naturally. You can refrigerate bananas once they've achieved your ideal level of ripeness; however, refrigerating bananas too soon or for too long can have detrimental effects on your bunch.
Do Fresh Eggs Need to Be Refrigerated? Freshly laid eggs need to be refrigerated immediately. Fresh eggs purchased from a farmers market need to be refrigerated as soon as you get home. Per USDA guidelines, eggs should be stored at 40 degrees F or below to help minimize the risk of Salmonella.
The refrigerator will slow avocados in the ripening process, so unless you're stacked with too many avocados for your weekly use, keep them out at room temperature. The cold temperature also hardens the texture of a ripe avocado, which might not be ideal for some when it comes to mealtime.
Ripe tomatoes should still be kept at on your counter, uncovered, if you are going to enjoy the tomato in the next day or two. But any longer than that – the recommendation is to refrigerate. A so-so tomato is much better than a rotten, moldy tomato. Refrigeration will slow down the decay.
*Never keep your bread in the fridge. The starch molecules in bread recrystallize very quickly at cool temperatures, and cause the bread to stale much faster when refrigerated. *Shop-bought loaves should be kept in an air-tight plastic bag at room temperature rather than in the fridge.
Storing lemons in the fridge is a great way to extend their shelf life. And if you want to keep lemons fresh for longer than a week, you'll definitely want to refrigerate them.
As is the case with most fruits, Anina von Haeften, co-founder of the food delivery service Farm to the People, recommends storing lemons in the refrigerator. "You can keep them on the counter but they won't last as long and will start to dry out," she explains.
Apples are safe at room temperature, but their higher ethylene content contributes to faster ripening. Apples stored in the refrigerator can last for several weeks. Cut produce is more susceptible to pathogens, so storing in the refrigerator can limit pathogen growth.
The best apples for storing are hardy varieties that hold up well over time, like Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith, and Gala. General apple storage tips include: Store unwashed apples in the coldest part of your refrigerator.
Apples will last longer in the refrigerator
Keeping apples in a cool, dark place will help them stay crisp. The best way to keep apples fresh is to store them in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator in separate plastic bags.