Produce Storage Tips

Produce Storage Tips

To get the very best out of your box of organic goodness, we recommend you store away your produce as soon as possible.

Here are some storage tips for your organic fruit and veggies:

  • ALL veggies need to be stored in refrigerator in a sealed container or reusable plastic bags or cloth bag (which you can dampen with water to help keep produce crisp).
  • Mushrooms are best kept in a paper bag in the fridge.
  • Leafy green veggies ideally should be washed, spun dry and stored in a container. If you don’t have time to do this, ensure they are well covered to avoid wilting, stored in fridge.
  • Celery can be cut to size (remove base), soak and wash in cold water before drying and storing away in fridge.
  • Onions, Garlic, Pumpkin & Sweet Potato can be kept in a cool dark cupboard.
  • Potatoes are best kept in a dark cool cupboard. Keep away from onions to prevent sprouting. Sprouting is a normal thing for potatoes and does not always mean they are not fresh as some varieties sprout easily than others.
  • Tomatoes, Tropical Fruits, like pineapples, melons, and mangoes are best stored at room temperature, as refrigeration can affect their quality and flavour. Keep an eye on them though and smelling for sweetness is a sign it’s ready to eat and can be refrigerated at this point.
  • Stone fruits, apples, bananas and pears, produce high levels of ethylene gas, so keep from other fruits and vegetables, unless you want to accelerate the ripening of nearby produce.
  • Firm avocados can be placed in a paper bag in a dark warm cupboard, add a banana to speed up the ripening.  
  • Firm stone fruit and kiwi fruit can be stored at room temperature then transferred to fridge once ripe, or keep out in the fruit bowl if the room isn’t too hot.
  • To ripen bananas (if a too green) store in a dark warm cupboard.  
  • Citrus fruit is fine at room temperature or in fridge.
  • Asparagus (trim the ends) and place in a glass of water in the fridge.
  • Fresh basil and mint are best kept out of the fridge in a glass of water.
  • Parsley, oregano, chives and coriander are best wrapped in damp paper or tea towel and put in the fridge.

Other helpful tips:

If you celery and leafy greens have wilted in transport, you can revive them by soaking them in cold water, dry and refridgerate.

Make sure you compost your tops and ends of produce you don’t use, or keep them for making veggie stock.

Any fruit or veggie that has been cut needs to be refrigerated.

Half avocado can be refrigerated with seed in and sprinkled with lemon juice to stop it browning quickly.

Here is a useful video to watch for preparing kale 

Other helpful tips available on our Facebook and Instagram pages.