If you have ever purchased luscious fruits and veggies, only to have them spoil before you can consume them, you are aware of how frustrating it is. To help you save money, reduce food waste, and relish in the tastiness of ripe and nutritious food, we are providing you with our best advice on how to make your produce last longer.

1. Fridge or Counter?
To help your produce last longer, you need to know where to store it. Several vegetables and fruits can be kept on the counter while some should go in the fridge. Here's a list of items that should go in each location:

 On the counter: bananas, cucumber, citrus fruits, eggplant, garlic, green beans, onions, potatoes, squash.

On the counter first, then in the fridge when ripe: avocados, kiwi, mango, melon, pears, stone fruits.

In the refrigerator: apples, asparagus, berries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, corn, greens, grapes, peas.

2. Wash and Dry
It is essential to clean all your fruits and vegetables to remove any soil, pesticide or herbicide remains, as well as any possible germs. Nevertheless, wet edibles can cause the growth of mildew and mold, causing them to spoil faster. After washing your produce, make sure to pat them dry completely before you store them. Take a look at my recipe for Homemade Produce Wash to have a secure and budget-friendly way to get rid of dirt and wax accumulation.

3. Put It in a Bag
To maintain the freshness of fragile items like carrots, celery, and hardy greens, you should place them in a pouch or bag in the refrigerator. Using a reusable cloth bag is a great way to minimize your plastic usage and make sure to thoroughly clean and dry it before re-using it.

4. Keep Them Separate
Certain types of fruits and vegetables (like bananas, apples, and potatoes) produce a gas identified as ethylene, which helps to make other produce ripen around them. This can be advantageous when you're attempting to get your unripe bananas to turn spotty yellow, but it can be disastrous if you are wanting to maintain your product in a fresh state for a longer time. When storing your bananas, keep them separate from potatoes and onions, and let apples be stored on their own in the refrigerator.

 5. Make Use of Your Freezer
If you are aware that you are not able to consume a completely ripe mango before it goes bad, you can always opt for freezing it! Cut the mango into pieces and spread it on a single layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Then, transfer it to a bag or Tupperware container so it can be stored in the freezer. If you have vegetables or fruits that you would like to keep frozen, it is possible to do so all year round by using your freezer. However, it is important to verify that the products in question can be frozen. Additionally, most vegetables need to be diced and blanched before they are frozen.

6. Create a List
Maintain a continuous record of the groceries you recently got on your fridge door. It is quite easy for things to be forgotten in the refrigerator, and all of a sudden, you have a mouldy box of blueberries. Having a visible sign of the product that needs to be used up will help reduce waste. Remember which items have the shortest duration and use them first. Items such as lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, peppers, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower are softer and tend to be consumed more quickly, while potatoes, carrots, and hardier greens such as kale will last longer.

If you are in search of fresh produce in Klang Valley, BELI e-mart is the place to go. They provide quality groceries and also offer delivery of their fresh vegetables in the Klang Valley area, so there is no need to visit their store as they will bring it right to your doorstep.