With groceries getting more and more expensive, extending the shelf life of fresh products can be a nightmare – but this one method will help apples stay edible
Everyone loves apples, but not when they become mushy and brown. The shelf life of apples varies from a few days to a few weeks, but by using this one material, you expect them to stay perfectly ripened for six weeks.
Just like bananas, apples produce ethylene gas. It’s a natural plant hormone, which causes the fruit to ripen and age faster, becoming brown. But don’t worry, by following this simple trick and a few steps, your apples will stay fresh for up to six weeks or even more.
Therefore, it’s important to keep apples away from other fruits and vegetables, as the ethylene gas they release can actually accelerate the ripening process. Just one blink, and you’ll have to throw them away.
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How to keep apples fresh for longer
Do you read newspapers? As shared by The Kitchn, apples (and other fruits like bananas) can stay fresh for more than a month by individually wrapping them with newspaper.
This unusual method actually works wonders, as it helps extend their shelf life by preventing damaged apples from affecting one another. The newspaper wrapping also gives them a layer of extra protection from bruising.
Nonetheless, it’s also important to store them correctly. As explained by the site, the apples have to be arranged in a single layer in a cardboard box and kept in the pantry, away from other fruits and vegetables that also produce ethylene gas.
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Revealing the results, they said: “At the end of my testing period, all of the apples looked just as pretty as they were the day I purchased them – bright, smooth, unblemished skins and firm flush with no soft spots.”
“Wrapping them individually helped to contain each apple’s ethylene gas emissions, meaning that if one went bad, it wouldn’t taint the others and cause them to spoil,” they added.
So next time you grab a newspaper on the way to work or even on the way home, keep it by finding a second purpose. Not only is it cost effective, but it will also help you keep apples for a longer period of time without needing to go to the supermarket to keep restocking them.
In the UK, around 800,000 apples are thrown away every day, as reported by Coventry Live. By following this simple advice, this will also help households reduce food wastage.