Fruits and vegetables have always been an important part of peoples diets, but sometimes it is a mission to try and stock up your favourites because they get spoiled within days.
An expert has revealed the clever tricks to make your fruit and vegetables last longer, and what to avoid when storing the green stuff.
Vlatka Lake, working for storage company Space-Station.co.uk, told the Daily Mail that a common mistake people make, is to store their bananas near other fruits, causing them to go off faster.
She also advised that excess water left on fruit after washing will shorten their shelf life in the fridge, and it is advisable to wrap them in kitchen roll when storing.
And sharing a savvy hack, she revealed how chopping up herbs and placing them in an ice cube with oil would help keep them fresh for longer, and allow them to be used for cooking at a later date.
Keep fruit and veg separate
Keeping fruits and vegetables stored too closely together is a common mistake that can lead to food going bad.
Build-up of the chemical compound ethylene will cause them to go off, so apples, melons, apricots, bananas, tomatoes, avocados, peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, figs, and other fruits and vegetables should be kept separate as these produce the most ethylene.
Buying loose vegetables fresh then chopping and storing them in an airtight container in the freezer can ensure no food is wasted.
Wrap up cucumbers
Wash cucumbers straight away and ensure they are thoroughly dry, as excess water will turn them bad.
Wrap them in either a tea towel or kitchen roll to prevent sogginess and store in the fridge in a reusable vegetable bag.
Store salad in Tupperware
For loose leafy salad, wash and dry in a salad spinner then wrap loosely in kitchen paper and store in Tupperware to stop the leaves going soggy.
Tomatoes and avocados should be stored outside the fridge until ripe.
Put potatoes in a basket
Onions, potatoes and shallots should be stored in a cool dark place to keep them fresh, such as in a wicker basket in a cupboard or a cellar.
Avoid storing these products in plastic bags as this encourages spoilage. A clever hack to keep onions fresh is storing them hung up in an old pair of tights in a cool, dry place.
Once cut, onions should be stored in a zip-lock bag in the fridge where they will last for around a week or stored in Tupperware and kept in the freezer.
Hang bananas from a mug tree
Buy bananas when green and store them away from other fruits in the fruit bowl as they release a gas that can cause other fruits to go off more quickly.
Consider using a banana tree to keep them separate and minimise bruising.
Or a mug tree can work just as well. Store apples in an uncovered fruit bowl on a worktop and make sure to keep the fruit out of direct sunlight.
Slice-up citrus fruits
Netting for lemons, oranges and limes is very dangerous to sea life and birds so these types of fruits should always be bought loose.
They should also be kept in the fridge and, if citrus starts to go on the turn, slicing them up and freezing them will make great ice cubes for drinks.
-Daily Mail
