How to store apples for a long time, trying to make them last all winter. The best conditions between temperature, environment: where and how to keep them so as not to have to turn them into hospital baked apples after two weeks.The time of apples does not exist. Or rather, apples are found practically all year round and an article on how to store apples might be useless.
Apples should never be missing in a home, and not just because the proverb tells us so. An apple is good to eat at the end of a meal, for breakfast, as a snack but it can also be cooked and become the protagonist of countless recipes, both sweet and savory.
Despite being a fruit with a long shelf life, the apple needs some precautions to be kept optimally, especially indoors. From the choice of the fruit at the temperature of the refrigerator to the most suitable container: here are our tips for storing apples and always enjoying them crunchy and tasty.
How to store apples;Best Methods
The choice
If, when you buy apples, you do not intend to consume them immediately or within a few days, pay attention to their state. Bringing home a bruised or already deteriorated apple shortens the life of the fruit by a lot. If you can, check the apples one by one before buying them and choose only the ones in good condition. Otherwise, once at home, store the spoiled apples separately and eat them first.
In the fridge
Apples need to be stored in a cool, possibly dark place with the right amount of humidity. Not all of us have a cellar, so it’s also fine to put them in the fridge, in the fruit drawer. Keep apples separate from other foods and fruit or put them in a paper bag. Alternatively, you can store the apples in an uncovered plastic container to keep in the lowest shelf of the fridge.
At room temperature
Apples can also be stored at room temperature, in a fruit bowl or basket. This way they won’t keep for months but you can still prevent them from deteriorating quickly.
If, on the other hand, you want to keep them much longer, wrap the apples individually with newsprint and arrange them in a wooden or plastic box or in a cardboard box. Isolating them from each other serves to prevent them from touching each other because the ethylene released by the skins could cause them to rot quickly.
Do not store them together with other fruit
The release of ethylene, a colorless gas that ripens and later rot apples, is the reason why they should not be stored together with other fruit. For the same reason, do not store apples with potatoes which, as they age, could cause apples to ripen quickly.
Check them periodically
Whether you store them in the refrigerator, in the cellar or at room temperature, take care to periodically check that there are no rotten or damaged fruits that could compromise the conservation of the fruit. Spotting the so-called “bad apple” at the right time will prevent you from losing your entire supply of apples.
And, should it happen, you are spoiled for choice between preparing a nice jam, baked apples or homemade apple cider vinegar .
