Why you should never store onions with potatoes, plus other fruits and vegetables that don’t go together

potatoes onions

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  1. On this page

    • Onions, apples and potatoes

    • Melons

    • Cauliflower, Apples, Kiwi and Onions

    • Mushrooms

    • Using your fruit and vegetable drawer

    • Ethylene producers versus ethylene sensitive products

Reducing food waste is always a good idea, especially when a few simple shifts at home can help reduce grocery bills And help our environment. Any way to do it? Know which fresh produce can be safely stored together and which fruits and vegetables they should never be too close. Following our tips will prevent your apples from smelling like onions, prevent your fruits from ripening too quickly, and eliminate the moisture that turns fresh lettuce into mush.

Related: Should You Refrigerate Lemons?

Keep onions away from apples and potatoes

Ultimately, understanding what types of products can and cannot be safely stored next to each other will maximize the longevity of your foods. “In general, don’t store ethylene-sensitive fruits or vegetables with fruits or vegetables that produce a high amount of ethylene gas,” says John Adler, vice president of culinary industry at Blue Apron. “Probably the best example of this is storing onions with apples – you’ll end up with onion-scented apples! – and, more commonly, onions with potatoes. Storing onions and potatoes together will speed up the ripening process of potatoes, leading them to grow eyes. and sometimes roots “. This also applies to garlic, despite the fact that potatoes, onions and garlic should all be stored in a dark, cool place.


More Apple Storage Tips

What about other quick facts to know about apples to store? Don’t put them in a bowl with other fruits: them Power be stored on the countertop, but as they emit a lot of ethylene gas, try to keep them at least 6-8 inches away from other fruits and vegetables. Consider placing a bowl of apples on a coffee table, cage, or entryway to keep apples safe away from ethylene sensitive products.

There is one exception to this: if you want To quickly ripen over-the-counter fruits, such as bananas, “placing them closer to the apples on the counter will help them ripen faster,” says Adler.

Store the melons on their own

Like apples and bananas, melons produce ethylene, which can lead to over-ripening of neighboring products. Melons are typically best stored on the countertop, until they are ripe enough to be cut, eaten, or stored in sealed packages that will protect the fruit itself. And his neighbors in the refrigerator.

Keep the cauliflower away from apples, kiwis and onions

Cauliflower is a vegetable that belongs far from most fruits and alliums. “Cauliflower is very sensitive to ethylene, so it’s best not to store it in the same drawer as apples, melons, kiwis or onions,” says Adler. It needs air circulation to stay cool, so if it’s in a dotted plastic bag, feel free to keep it intact. If the cauliflower is in a plastic or compostable bag, make sure the top is open so it can breathe. It is best kept in a refrigerator drawer with other vegetables or on a shelf. The same goes for broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts, all of which are sensitive to ethylene.

Put mushrooms away from pungent foods

Although technically they are a mushroom, not a fruit or a vegetable, most of us consider mushrooms to be produced and generally store them with Other produce iterations in the refrigerator. But our favorite mushrooms are likely to absorb odors from nearby smelly foods, such as take-out leftovers, so be careful to store them near less pungent options in the refrigerator.

Ultimately, it is best to keep the mushrooms in a paper bag; this lets the mushrooms breathe, prevents contamination, and should also absorb excess moisture to prevent the mushrooms from deteriorating. Change the bag if it looks wet or fragile, and make sure the wet bags aren’t in close contact with other products.

Use your fruit and vegetable drawer

Storing vegetables in the fruit and vegetable drawer is the key to prolonging their freshness. “The biggest thing that will spoil vegetables quickly is excess moisture and temperature abuse, so you want to keep the vegetables crunchy and make sure they’re dry,” says Adler. Check them both, she says, Before put the food in the fruit and vegetable drawer.

Temperature control

Put the vegetables that get hot in your car or bag on your way home from the farmer’s market apartment and let them come to room temperature before moving them to their new home in your vegetable drawer, says Adler. This ensures that the vegetables don’t condense as quickly and makes the rest of the produce in your fridge moist and spoiled.

Humidity reduction

“The vegetables must be washed, dried well and then stored with layers of absorbent paper [between leaves] to prevent condensation from causing damage, “says Adler.

Separate ethylene producers and ethylene sensitive products

When in doubt, or if storage space is insufficient, the most important element of fruit and vegetable storage is to separate ethylene producers from their sensitive product relatives (see the table below for a complete list of products that do not should never be stored together).

Note that there are some fruits that they are not sensitive to ethylene, such as citrus fruits; they can be stored with ethylene producers if space is limited. Products, such as containers and sheets, can help absorb ethylene in the fruit and vegetable drawer to keep products as fresh as possible.