How to Store Bananas, Avocados and Other Counter Fruit (and When to Move Them to the Fridge)

Step by step

1. 1

   Set counter fruit in an open bowl out of the sun

   Pick a spot where the sun does not hit the fruit, so it does not get too warm. Use an open bowl or basket, not a sealed plastic bag. The University of California says a sealed bag on the counter slows ripening and can bring on off smells and rot.

2. 2

   Keep fruit away from lettuce and leafy greens

   Ripening fruit gives off a gas called ethylene, and it can spoil vegetables that are sensitive to it. Penn State says lettuce gets rust colored spots, and carrots can turn bitter. Keep the fruit bowl away from the greens, and use separate fridge drawers for fruit and vegetables.

3. 3

   Give apples and pears their own spot

   Apples and pears are big ethylene makers. Keep them a little apart from the bananas and avocados, unless you want those to ripen faster.

4. 4

   Check avocados with a gentle squeeze

   Hold the avocado in your palm and press gently. A ripe one feels firm but gives a little. Do not go by color alone, because the California Avocado Commission says some kinds stay light green even when ripe.

   What it looks like: a slight give under your fingers. Hard as a rock means it needs more days.

1. 5

   Move ripe avocados and stone fruit to the fridge

   Once avocados, peaches, nectarines, plums or pears are ripe, put them in the fridge. That buys you a few more days to eat them.

2. 6

   Keep bananas on the counter until they are ripe

   Bananas do best on the counter. The University of California says bananas kept in the fridge get black skin and never get properly sweet. Once they are ripe, USDA says you can move them to the fridge for about 3 more days.

   What it looks like: in the fridge, the peel turns black. That is expected.

3. 7

   Speed things up with a paper bag and an apple

   When you need an avocado in a few days, put it in a brown paper bag with an apple and leave it on the counter. The California Avocado Commission says a paper bag at room temperature ripens avocados in about 2 to 5 days, and an apple speeds it up.

   What it looks like: a closed paper bag sitting on the counter. Check it once a day with a gentle squeeze.

4. 8

   Store a cut avocado in the fridge

   If you only use half, sprinkle the cut side with lemon juice, lime juice or white vinegar. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container, and refrigerate it.

   What it looks like: the cut side wrapped snugly, with the plastic pressed right against it.

When it will not work, and what to do instead

If your fruit still goes too fast or too slow, one of these is the likely reason.

• The bananas went brown too fast. Ripe bananas can go to the fridge for about 3 more days. If you cannot eat them in time, freeze them. USDA’s FoodKeeper gives frozen bananas 2 to 3 months.
• The avocados will not ripen. Use the paper bag and the apple. Skip the microwave, because the California Avocado Commission does not recommend it.
• The lettuce keeps getting brown spots. It may be sitting near the fruit. Move the fruit bowl, and keep fruit and greens in separate drawers.
• The fruit got soft spots or mold in the bowl. USDA says soft fruit with mold goes in the trash. If a piece is only bruised, FDA says to cut away the damaged part before you eat it.

Why it works

Here is what is going on. Many fruits keep ripening after they are picked. As they ripen, they give off ethylene, a gas you cannot see or smell, and ethylene helps nearby fruit ripen too.

That is why one ripe fruit in a bowl can hurry along the rest. It is a little like one person yawning in a room, until everybody is yawning. Apples and pears are big ethylene makers, and avocados and peaches make plenty too.

You can use that on purpose. A paper bag keeps the gas around an avocado, and an apple adds more, so it ripens faster. When you want things to slow down, the fridge buys you a few more days on ripe fruit.

Bananas are the exception people argue about. The grain of truth in “never refrigerate bananas” is that the fridge keeps them from getting sweet. Once they are ripe, the fridge buys about 3 more days, and the peel turns black.

So many of us buy a beautiful bunch of bananas on Sunday and find a sad brown pile by Thursday. The avocados are either rock hard or past saving, never ready on the night you need them.