There are so many benefits to eating a fruit and vegetable-rich diet. Fresh produce is packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and helps our digestive systems maintain good working order. However, keeping a house stocked with produce often feels like a race against the clock, as we try to eat it all before it inevitably…
How To Keep Produce Fresh
You can extend the freshness of your favorite fruits and vegetables by reaching for something you probably already have in your kitchen — a roll of paper towels. Just a few sheets are all you’ll need.
Start by making sure your refrigerator’s produce drawer is sparkling clean. Empty the drawer and remove it from the refrigerator for easier cleaning. Use a damp microfiber cloth or your vacuum’s crevice tool to get rid of any crumbs. Then fill a bucket with warm water and a few drops of liquid dish soap, and use a nonscratch scrub sponge to clean the drawer thoroughly, inside and out. Rinse the drawer with clean water and dry it completely using a clean microfiber cloth. To make sure there’s no remaining moisture, consider air drying it for a couple of hours.
Once the produce drawer is clean and dry, return it to the refrigerator and line it with a few paper towels; two to four sheets should suffice. You don’t need to create a cushiony bed for your produce, just a light, absorbent layer for it to rest on. Then, simply place your food on top and close the bin. That’s it!
Some fruits and vegetables benefit from being stored in their original packaging or plastic produce bags, but most do not, as plastic readily traps moisture. For example, leafy greens, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, snap peas, fresh peas, and apples are best kept in perforated plastic bags. Other types of produce — think asparagus, carrots, celery, scallions, and some leafy herbs — prefer to be stored in water, sometimes with a bag or lid covering them.
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Why Does It Work?
Fruits and vegetables frequently spoil in the fridge due to excess moisture. Plants are living things even after they’ve been plucked from their stems, vines, or branches, and they naturally release water as they progress through their life cycle. When we rest fruits and veggies on paper towels, the fibers slowly and steadily absorb that moisture, helping your produce stay fresh for longer.
Paper towels also provide better airflow than the plastic surface of a refrigerator’s produce drawer, helping to wick away excess moisture and prevent mold and bacteria growth.
We recommend swapping out the paper towels about once a week or whenever they become noticeably damp. If your produce drawer is filled with more delicate, highly perishable items, increase the frequency to every two or three days.
This hack isn’t a magic trick, but it can extend the shelf life of your produce by several days, or even a week or more.
