Where to store your fruit and veg
How do you best ripen an avo, and where exactly should you store those luscious Rosa tomatoes? Follow our storage guide to get the best out of your fruit and veggies
In the cupboard
- Root veg like potatoes belong in the cupboard – preferably a cool, dark space. Big potatoes can keep for a while but baby potatoes should not be stored for too long – so eat up! As for sweet potatoes, like our Kara range of sweet potatoes with their delicious, velvety texture, belong in your cupboard too, preferably stored in paper bag.
- Unripened avos do best in the cupboard. So take that lovely GEM™ avo with its nutty taste, pop it in a paper bag and leave it until ripened. If you want to hasten the process, put a banana in the bag as well.
- Hard squash vegetables like butternut and pumpkin can comfortably live in the cupboard for a couple of months.
- Robust members of the allium family (brown onions, red onions, shallots and garlic) are best stored in a cool, dark kitchen cupboard.
In the fridge
- Brassicas: All members of the brassica family – as in cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage – belong in your vegetable drawer in the fridge. This also includes modern versions like our crisp Tenderstem™ broccoli, which is locally grown, hand-picked and fantastic in stir-fries!
- Also store colourful root veg like carrots, beetroot, turnips and parsnips in the vegetable drawer. The same goes for small green veggies like green beans, peas, mange tout, as well as soft summer squash like zucchini and patty pans – they like a cold, crisp environment.
- Salad vegetables like cucumbers need to be stored in the fridge to stay crisp.
- All leafy vegetables and herbs belong in the fridge. Leafy herbs like basil, mint and parsley do well if you snip off a bit of the bottom stems and stand them in a glass of water in the fridge. And all your lettuce – like our crisp, sweet Crunchita™ lettuce – should be stored in the veggie drawer, with the expiration date in mind.
- ‘Soft-skinned’ tropical fruit like mangoes, papaya and kiwi keep best in the fridge, however you can speed a mango’s ripening by placing it in a paper bag at room temperature. The same goes for pears. As for apples, they can be stored countertop but will stay crisp for longer in the fridge.
- All berries prefer the fridge. So take that punnet of our beautiful blueberries and pop them in the fridge on day one. The same applies to strawberries – our Flavourburst™ are picked only when they are perfectly ripe, so you should either enjoy them stat, or refrigerate immediately, so they’ll keep for a couple of days.
Countertop
- Store stone fruit like peaches and plums on the countertop until they’re juicy and ripe – you will know they’re ready by the soft, sweet smell.
- Many people don’t know that tomatoes should be stored countertop – this will help them ripen and keep that lovely sun-kissed flavour. You can store them in the fridge, but then you compromise on the flavour-development – our Rosa tomatoes are so wonderfully sweet, you wouldn’t want to miss out…
- ‘Thick-skinned’ tropical fruit like bananas and pineapples will ripen well on the countertop.
- Most citrus fruit can also be stored countertop – they will ripen best this way. However if you want them to keep for longer, they can also be stored in the fridge.