How To Keep Fruit Fresh In The Fridge
There is nothing quite like the fresh taste of fruit, but all too often, it goes to waste before you have the chance to enjoy it.
Let Beko help you reduce waste and embrace a healthier lifestyle with our expert guide. Discover which fruits can be stored in the fridge and learn the best storage methods to keep them fresher for longer.
Should fruit be kept in the fridge?
The simple answer to this is that yes, all fruit can be kept in the fridge. The cool temperature helps slow spoilage by preventing bacteria growth, keeping your produce fresher for longer.
However, it’s important to note that different fruits should be refrigerated at different stages of ripeness to maintain their best flavour and texture.
All the following fruit should be refrigerated from the moment you bring them home:
- Apples – store them separately from other produce, as they emit ethylene gas, which can speed up ripening
- Cherries
- Citrus fruit like grapefruit, lemons, limes and oranges should be stored in a produce drawer
- Figs
- Longans
- Lychees
- Mangosteens
- Pomegranates
- Soft berries which includes blackberries, blueberries, cranberries, currants, grapes, raspberries and strawberries
However, the following fruit can be left at room temperature to ripen before refrigeration. Once perfectly ripe, they can be stored in the fridge for a few days to extend their freshness. Storing them too soon can affect their texture and flavour:
- Apricots
- Avocado
- Bananas (surprisingly, even if the peel darkens, the fruit inside remains fresh for a few days)
- Kiwis
- Mangoes
- Melons
- Nectarines
- Papayas
- Passionfruit
- Peaches
- Pears
- Persimmons
- Pineapples
- Plums
- Quince
No matter which fruit you are storing, a Beko HarvestFresh™ fridge freezer helps preserve their essential vitamins for longer, keeping your produce fresher and more nutritious.
Beko’s HarvestFresh™ crisper drawer makes use of three colour light technology which cleverly mimics the sun’s 24-hour light cycle as follows:
- The crisper drawer shines blue during its first cycle in the morning, mimicking the early light of dawn as if the produce were growing outdoors.
- The light in the drawer switches to green as the day progresses. This replicates the sun cycle reaching its daily peak at midday.
- Towards the end of the day, the drawer transitions to a red light to represent the more muted tones experienced as the sun sets at dusk.
The crisper drawer even turns dark once the day has drawn to a close, to represent night-time.
With the sun’s natural cycle being replicated inside one of our HarvestFresh™ refrigerators, the vitamins A and C found within fruit and vegetables can be preserved for an additional five days* to support a healthier lifestyle.
Tips for storing fruit in a fridge
Here are some additional steps that you should always follow to keep fruit fresh for longer in a fridge:
- Store fruit in sealed containers when refrigerating to maintain a cool environment while preventing the absorption of unwanted odours from other foods.
- Never put fruit and vegetables in the same container – ethylene given off by certain fruit can cause some vegetables to spoil.
- Keep the fridge clean – a spotless, hygienic fridge reduces the risk of your fruit encountering issues, helping it stay fresh for longer.
- Wash all fruit before eating – even if you plan to peel them, bacteria can cling to the skin, so it’s important to give them a good rinse first.
How to keep cut up fruit fresh in the fridge
You may choose to cut up your fruit before storing it in the fridge, which can save space and make snacking easier. However, avoid slicing apples, avocados, bananas and pears for storage means, as these fruits brown quickly and are best kept whole to maintain freshness.
Many other fruits, such as melons, pineapples, grapes, and strawberries, can be cut up and stored in airtight containers in the fridge until eaten. When properly stored, these fruits can stay fresh for about five days.
How long will a fruit smoothie last in a fridge?
If you're health-conscious, you're likely making delicious and nutritious fruit smoothies with fresh, homemade ingredients. Once prepared, smoothies can last up to two days when stored in airtight containers, filled to the top to minimise oxygen exposure, and placed towards the back of the middle shelf in the fridge.
You’ll know a smoothie has gone bad if it shows signs of separation, with frothy foam on top, develops a fermented smell, or turns grey or brown in places.
Keep fruit fresh for longer with Beko fridge technology
Did you know that as well as HarvestFresh™ technology, many Beko refrigerators come packed with other beneficial advanced features designed to preserve the freshness and nutritional value of fruit for extended periods?
Our range of AeroFlow™ fridge freezers minimises temperature fluctuations inside the fridge and reduces temperature differentiations between shelves with surrounding gentle air distribution, keeping food fresh for up to 30% longer**.
A Beko EverFresh+® fridge freezer is set up with breathable smart textiles in the crisper section of the appliance to combat moisture loss, for instance.
Shop our range online today and discover how to keep your produce at peak freshness for longer.
*Tested by Intertek. Based on Vitamin C and Vitamin A measurements in tomatoes, green peppers, carrots, spinach and celery directly exposed to the light technology compared with Day 0 conditions over a 5-day period.
** Weight loss and sensory evaluation tests based on the parameter “overall acceptability”, used for the determination of the self-life, were conducted by Intertek on carrot, fresh-cut iceberg, fresh-cut tomato, strawberry, salami, and kashar cheese samples stored in the AeroFlow™ refrigerator and control refrigeration (without the AeroFlow™ technology) for a 12-day period. The results were evaluation by comparing samples stored on the bottom front shelf of refrigerators.