How to Store Fruit at Work

Photo Credit: Kelmon via Compfight cc

It can be such a pain trying to eat well, only to come back to the fruit you bought yesterday for a healthy snack to find it wilted, mouldy or a colour you definitely don't think it should be.

Not only does it mean you go hungry without a sweet snack, it causes large amounts of waste having to throw away piles of rotten fruit that would have lasted much longer if you had stored it correctly!

So who better to tell you how to store your fruit properly than an office fruit supplier?

Keep Gassy Fruits Away

Certain fruits emit a ripening gas called ethylene that can speed up the decaying process of other fruits that are susceptible to its powers. This means that if you pop bananas next to your apples, you'll notice your apples turning ripe - then rotten - much quicker!

Keep track of what to store next to each other or at other ends of the kitchen:

But remember some fruits both produce and are sensitive to ethylene (just to make things more difficult!)

Ethylene-producing

• Apples

• Apricots

• Bananas (ripe)

• Cantaloupes

• Honeydew melons

• Mangoes

• Nectarines

• Papayas

• Peaches

• Pears

• Plums

Ethylene sensitive

• Apples

• Bananas (unripe)

• Blackberries

• Citrus Fruit

• Kiwis

• Raspberries

• Strawberries

• Watermelon

Ethylene producing fruits should not be placed in a closed container as this concentrates the amount of gas and can speed up ripening! So take your fruit out the bag and pop into a fruit bowl if it appears in the first list!

Spoiled Rotten

The old saying "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" isn't just a metaphor you'd hear as a school kid after hanging around with that one naughty child in your class. It's really true as the ripening gas we mentioned before will really cause you trouble once the fruit has spoilt. 

So be sure to remove the one mouldy fruit in the bowl/box/container otherwise the rest will turn rotten before you can even call us up for your next office fruit order.

Keeping it cool

Especially during the warm summer months, you can always be tempted to think that the fridge is the best place for your precious office fruit.

However, it really depends on the fruit as whilst some are best stored in the chilly confines of the fridge, some fruit will suffer.

For example, bananas turn black when stored in the fridge - not nice!

Here's another of our famous expert lists about where you should be keeping that delicious fruit:

Room temperature (store in fridge once ripened)

• Apricots
• Bananas
• Cantaloupe melons
• Guava
• Honeydew melons
• Kiwi fruit
• Mangos
• Nectarines
• Papayas
• Passion Fruit
• Peaches
• Pear
• Persimmons
• Pineapple
• Plums
• Quinces
• Star Fruit

Storing these fruits in the fridge before they are ripened will cause them to lose flavour and develop odd textures 

Refrigerate immediately after purchase

•  Blackberries
•  Blueberries
•  Cherries
•  Cranberries
•  Currants
•  Elderberries
•  Figs
•  Grapes
•  Raspberries
•  Strawberries

Room temperature OR Fridge (Doesn't matter too much but fridge will keep them fresher for longer)

•  Apples
•  Clementines
•  Grapefruit
•  Kumquats
•  Lemons
•  Limes
•  Oranges
•  Pomegranate
•  Tangerines
•  Watermelon

Tweet us @Office_fruit if you have any more questions about how to store your fruit or leave us a comment below if you want any more information!