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How to store apples? While apples keep for a couple of weeks when you just bought them from the grocery store and plan to eat them right away, what if you get a big amount of apples from a friend who lives in the countryside for instance?
Apples will keep for a long time, even months if you store them properly. It’s a good idea to stock up while apples are in season, then take these steps to extend their storage life and enjoy delicious apples all year long.
How to choose apples that last long
First, you need to choose apples properly to ensure they won’t spoil: look for firm apples, with the stem attached and without any soft spot due to shocks when handling or meaning that they fell from the apple tree. These soft spots are slightly darker in color than the rest of the skin. Inspect also for any bruises, cuts, or damages. Apples with imperfections won’t keep well and are to eat immediately. Some of the best apple varieties for long storing time are:
- Red Delicious
- Ida Red
- Winesap
- Crispin
- Stayman
- Rome
- Northern Spy
- Turley
How to store apples
1. Sorting apples for storing: A good idea is to sort apples by their size because large apples don’t keep as long as smaller ones. Sort apples from small, medium, to large so you know you’ll have to eat or use larger apples first. Also, sort your apples by variety because different apples ripen at different rates.
2. Place the sorted apples in crates, boxes, or baskets. To maximize their storage life, it is best to wrap each apple in a piece of newspaper before you place it in the basket. This way, if one apple turns bad, the paper will protect the other apples from spoiling too.
3. Store the apples in a cool, dark place such as a basement, garage, shed, or the bottom of the refrigerator. Avoid storing your apples near onion or potatoes because they’ll likely absorb the flavor of other foods and could ripen too fast. The ideal storage temperature is 30-32°F (-1ºC to 0ºC) with 90% humidity. Apples are prone to freeze damage if the temperature dips below 30°F (-1ºC). On the other side, if room temperature rises above 40ºF (5ºC), they will likely ripen quickly. If you have some room available in the bottom compartment of your fridge, that’s really the best place for storing your apples because temperature and humidity are constant.
4. Check your apples regularly for any signs of spoilage, and remove any rotten apples before they spoil the whole batch. You can count on your apples lasting up to four or five months in storage if the conditions are ideal.
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