About The Buzz: Certain Fruits and Vegetables Should Not Be Stored Together? (2024)

FAQs

About The Buzz: Certain Fruits and Vegetables Should Not Be Stored Together? ›

The Fruits and Vegetables You Should Never Store Together

When certain fruits and vegetable are stored together, they cause early spoilage. When fruits approach maturity, they release ethylene. Ethylene promotes the ripening of fruit. It can cause premature ripening in some foods, while in others it can actually cause damage.

It is important to store fruits and vegetables separately because some fruits give off a gas called ethylene glycol which quickens ripening and may cause spoilage in some vegetables. Also, some fruits absorb odors from vegetables making them unpalatable.

What fruits shouldn't be stored with lemons? Similar to onions and potatoes, there are some fruit combinations that shouldn't be stored together. Don't store apples, bananas, stone fruit or pears with other types of fruits, including lemons.

Fruits and vegetables digest differently. Fruits have a quicker pace of digestion and in fact, many nutritionists say that they are partially digested by the time they reach the stomach. Also, fruits have more sugar content, something that can hinder the digestive process of vegetables.

Some fruits and veggies should be stored separately no matter where they land. Ethylene gas, a natural gas that some fruits emit, can speed the ripening process of some (but not other) fruits and vegetables.

WHAT VEGETABLES SHOULD NOT BE REFRIGERATED? Vegetables that should not be refrigerated include avocados, bell peppers, onions and potatoes. Some vegetables that you may want to refrigerate include mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and asparagus.

Ethylene-producing fruits, such as apples, bananas, peaches and honeydew melons, should not be stored next to avocados, lemons, grapes, onions and other fruits or vegetables that are sensitive to this compound. Also, you should never store ethylene-producing fruits together.

Ethylene-Producing Fruits and Vegetables

“To be safe, just store the ethylene-producers away from other produce, by themselves, and not in sealed bags or containers,” Grant-Vose suggests. “Celery, peppers, potatoes, and tomatoes also produce a moderate amount of ethylene,” Hill adds.

Can I store apples and bananas together? ›

Keep ethylene fruits in separate containers. For instance, you could place apples in a medium-sized bowl and bananas in a separate bowl. As a general rule, ethylene-producing fruit like those listed above should not be kept in close proximity to the ethylene-sensitive fruits, like: Avocados.

Avocado is a fruit!

While avocados are often prepared with salt and spice and consumed like, and alongside, vegetables, avocados are biologically fruits since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a flowering plant.

Tomatoes and bananas

This pair is actually on the list of what fruit and veggies not to store together. Fruits and vegetables that do a lot of ripening after they're picked, such as tomatoes, bananas, kiwis and honeydew melons, are best stored apart.

In fact, some ethylene producers should be stored alone to avoid anything becoming unintentionally overripe. Keep your apples, apricots, bananas, avocados, melons, mangoes, onions, pears, persimmons, tomatoes, and plantains away from each other for best results.

You can eat two different sweet fruits together only if they don't contain any acid. For instance, watermelon, apples and plums can be eaten together. Grapefruit, lemons, oranges, blueberries, grapes and kiwis contain acid (citrus) and therefore, they shouldn't be randomly combined with any other fruit.

Store each group in different produce drawers in the refrigerator to minimize the detrimental effects of ethylene produced by the fruits on the vegetables.

Fruit & veggies are frenemies

Avoid storing them in the same drawer in your fridge. Many fruits give off ethylene gas as part of their natural ripening process – especially apples, berries, pears, peaches, and apples. Unfortunately ethylene gas also ripens vegetables as well as it does fruits.

“The easiest rule to follow is to just store like produce together,” Grant-Vose says. “Berries can be stored together, brassica vegetables can be stored together, leafy greens can be together, and most root vegetables (except potatoes) can go together.”

05/6​Apples and oranges

That is because fruits release ethylene gas, which spoils things faster. It is best to store your apples in the fridge and oranges should be stored away from apples. Also, it is best to put oranges in a mesh bag to allow the air to circulate around them.