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!

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.

But what’s the best way to juice a lime? Most people simply cut the citrus crosswise, then squeeze each half by hand or with a press. But it turns out there’s a better way. The trick is to slice the lime into wedges around its core, which exposes more of the flesh. Not only are these wedges much easier to squeeze than lime halves, but they also yield considerably more juice.

How To Get More Juice From a Lime

1. Hold the lime vertically on your cutting board.

2. Cut the lime into thirds vertically. You should end up with two rounded “cheeks” and a flatter middle piece containing the core.

3. Lay the middle piece flat on your cutting board, then cut it in half, trimming away the core.

4. To juice, simply squeeze each wedge into a bowl or other receptacle.

This method can yield up to double the amount of juice compared to a lime cut crosswise. By removing the core, you reduce resistance, which is good news for your joints and your next batch of spicy margaritas. If you prefer to see this hack in action, here’s a helpful video tutorial.

If You Need To Juice a Lot of Limes

This hack works best when you need juice from just a couple of limes. If you’re juicing a whole bunch for a party or a lime-centric recipe, here’s another tip: Microwave your limes for 10 to 20 seconds. (Start with 10 seconds to be on the safe side.) After that, juice them as normal, either by hand or with a citrus juicer. We’ve previously covered this technique for lemons, but it also works well for other citrus fruits.

Bonus Hack: Store Your Limes at Room Temperature

It’s tempting to refrigerate limes, especially in summer, when hot weather can wither fruit quickly. But refrigerating citrus fruits sucks the moisture out of them, which is why professional chefs always store them at room temperature. Room-temperature limes will consistently produce the most juice. Once a lime is cut, however, it should be refrigerated.