Apples

Once you bring your apples home, it is important to store your apples in a cool environment. It is ideal to keep your apples in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator, in a separate perforated, plastic bag. Try to avoid storing your apples near onions or other fragrant foods because apples can absorb flavours of other foods. Storing apples in your refrigerator will slow the ripening process. It is the best option to keep your apples fresh and crisp.

If you don’t have space in your refrigerator, keep your apples in a cool, dark place. A garage, unheated porch or basement are all good options, as long as the temperature does not go below freezing. Take them out of the bag and spread them out to allow the air to circulate around them.

All apples are not created equal when it comes to storage. Apples with a thicker skin will keep longer than thin-skinned apples.

For more information about the care and handling of apples, visit the link provided:

https://www.onapples.com/care-and-handling

Pears

Unlike other fruits, pears ripen from the inside out, so when you see that your pear is ripe on the outside, it is already very ripe on the inside. Storing your pears in the refrigerator will slow the ripening process. If you would like to speed up the ripening process, place your pears loosely in a brown paper bag, at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. Check pears daily to see when your pears are your desired ripeness.

If you don’t have space in your refrigerator to store your pears, find a cool, dark space, take the pears out of the bag and spread them out to allow air to circulate around them.

For more information about pears, including delicious recipes, go to the link provided:

https://www.ontariotenderfruit.ca/storage-handling.php

Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots and Plums

In many cases, your fruit may be firm when you bring it home. If you would like to control the pace at which your fruit gets ripe, keep it in the refrigerator and take a few pieces of fruit at a time (at a pace that you will use them), for it to ripen on your counter, at room temperature. If you would like to ripen firm fruit, store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for a couple of days in a loosely closed paper bag. Do not store your fruit in a plastic bag. Plastic bags trap moisture and air and cause your fruit to spoil more quickly.

For more information about storing and handling peaches and nectarines, along with delicious recipes, go to the link provided: https://www.ontariotenderfruit.ca/storage-handling.php?type=peach

For more information about storing and handing plums, go to the link provided: https://www.ontariotenderfruit.ca/storage-handling.php

For more information about apricots, including delicious recipes, go to the link provided: https://www.ontariotenderfruit.ca/home.php?type=apricot