Cleaning and storing fresh fruits
Easy fruit cleaning technique; Only need one ingredient; This will save your fruits for a longer period of time; Tips on storing your fruits.
Don’t you just hate it when you buy fresh fruits at the store to only lose them a couple of days later because they have gone bad? Ugh! I hate it! For a little over a year now, I’ve been cleaning my fruits this way and I will not be going back.
Buying fresh fruits at the grocery store can be expensive but to have them go bad shortly after buying them really sucks! It’s a waste of money and time because now you’ll have to get more. Here’s the trick I found and have been sharing with friends and family ever since. I’ve even shared it with perfect strangers at the grocery store.
I’ve been following Brooke from Nesting With Grace on Instagram for a couple of years now. She shares her home decor ideas, recipes as well as tips and tricks that are practical for her family of five. She shared this fruit cleaning tip one day and I figured I had nothing to lose so I tried it!
Cleaning process
Basically, you fill your kitchen sink (or a large bowl) with water and add 1 cup of white vinegar. You then dump all your fruits in and let them swim for 10 minutes.
Quick Tip: If you don’t have many fruits, you can always fill half of your sink with water and add only 1/2 cup of vinegar. I’ve done it before and it works just as well.
Once the fruits have soaked in the vinegar water, you take them out. You can rinse them if you want, but just so your know, if you don’t, that’s fine. They won’t smell or taste like vinegar, I assure you.
Lay them on a hand towel, paper towel or rag of your choice. They need to dry so make sure to space them out so that they can evenly do so.
Little anecdote
I know that there are maybe some of you who are skeptics about the “fruit-cleaning process”, and that’s perfectly o.k. However, I would like to share an anecdote. While I was rinsing my fruits after they had soaked, a spider jumped out of a bunch of grapes I had in my hands. It surprised the heck out of me! I saw that “sign” as clear validation that it was not only recommended to clean fruits, but that it was very important to do so.
For all you that have an arachnophobia (phobia of spiders), don’t worry… I don’t have any other stories of this type so let’s carry on to the next steps of this process.
Once the fruits are all dry, it’s important to store them in air-tight containers or bags. Might as well make the best out of it, and save yourself some work in for the future. Here is what I mean.
Storing fruits
Would it be convenient to have the fruits proportioned for you and/or your family? If so, this is the time to do it. Take advantage of any opportunity you can to be organized and prepared. Once proportioned, the fruits are easy to grab. Either for when you’re on the go or when you are preparing snacks for work or school lunch boxes.
Quick tip: Have you tried to prep lunches on the night before? I’ve been doing it and I absolutely love it! I’m not as frazzled and rushed in the morning.
I use glass lock containers. I find them to be sturdy, easy to clean and more importantly they are transparent. When I glance in my fridge, I can easily see what’s in the containers. As far as containers go, you could use Glass Jar Options from another post which are good for dry or refrigerated food as well as to freeze your food.
I have recently also been using the Ikea resealable bags. I love using these bags for grapes. I have a quick snack already cleaned and portioned for me to grab and go.
Things I learned
I’ve been cleaning my fruits this way for well over a year now and I love it. The process is fairly quick and it saves me time in the long run. I did learn a few things along the way.
- Make sure to choose your cloth carefully. Depending on the fruits your are cleaning, some of them may be more prone to stain. Keep that in mind.
- I have found that the best fruits to clean this way are grapes, blueberries, apples and lemons. They stay fresh and crisp the longest.
- If you clean strawberries (1) make sure they are not already on the verge of turning bad and (2) don’t cut their stem off. Keeping their stems on will help them last a little longer.
- Some fruits are best kept in the fridge while others can bear to stay on your counter. For instance, cucumbers have a longer lasting life on my counter than in the crisper drawer of my fridge. Make sure to research what you have before storing it.
Other fruits
Usually, while I’m cleaning small fruits, I also try to prep any other ones I have on hand. For example: melons, pineapple, etc. These fruits don’t require cleaning per say because they have a thick exterior that you won’t be eating. However, they can be cut and prepped for quick and handy snacks.
The fruits I’ve mentioned above contain a lot of water so it’s important to drain them once they are cut. Once you have cut or balled your fruit, get your pieces to rest in a strainer for a bit.
balled sweet honey dew melon
You can either let the strainer in the kitchen sink or in a bowl. This will let the extra water and juice out. When you store them in a container, they won’t become “soggy”. This will also make them last longer.
I truly hope this post was helpful and that it will give you the urge to clean all your fruits when you get home from the grocery store. Let me know if you have already tried or plan on trying this cleaning method.
