9 easy ways to make fruit and veg last longer (2024)

Throwing away food is obviously a waste of money, but it's also worth considering the effect it has on the planet.

We waste up to 40% of the food we produce in the UK, and 70% of this waste is created by households, according to WRAP. But how does food waste contribute to climate change?

When food rots in the landfill, it emits methane, one of the most damaging greenhouse gases. Another issue is that when food is produced but not eaten, the carbon it produced to get to your plate was all for nothing!

The good news is there are practical steps you can take to prevent waste. Here are some ways to make your fruit and veg last longer.

1. Keep salad crisp

It's hard to beat a fresh, crispy salad for a healthy lunch!

You can make bagged salad last longer by transferring the leaves to a bowl or storage container, placing a couple of sheets of kitchen paper on top and tightly wrapping the whole thing with a wax wrap (or clingfilm) to exclude as much air as possible. This will help it to stay crisp and prevent the leaves from wilting in the fridge.

If you've bought a whole lettuce, remove the individual leaves and leave them to soak in a bowl of cold water for a couple of hours.

Rinse them, shake off the excess water (or use a salad spinner) then spread the leaves out on a clean muslin or tea towel before rolling it up. Pop the whole thing into a large, airtight food storage box and keep it in the fridge. You'll be surprised how long the leaves stay crisp and fresh and you'll have a supply of pre-washed leaves to hand whenever you want to whip up a green salad.

2. Chop and freeze

If you find that your onions and spring onions are going bad before you get the chance to use them, chop them up and freeze them inside an empty water bottle or re-sealable bag. Once they are frozen, simply shake or take out what you need and return the rest to the freezer. For other vegetables, blanch them and refresh in cold water before you freeze them.

3. Veggie vase

Wrap damp paper towels around the bases of your asparagus or herbs, or try storing them upright in a glass with about an inch of water. This will keep them hydrated and slow down wilting.

4. No more floppy herbs

Soft herbs like parsley, coriander, dill, mint and basil can be stored upright at room temperature in a glass with cool water.

Chop any leftover herbs and store in an ice cube tray, fill with water and place them in the freezer. When you’re ready to use them, just pop as many cubes as you need into your cooking.

Hard herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, sage and chives, will last longer if stored in the fridge — wrap them in dry kitchen paper before putting into airtight containers or resealable bags.

5. Beautiful berries

Wash the berries in a diluted vinegar bath (1 part vinegar to 3 parts water) and leave them to dry completely on kitchen paper. Store them in a container lined with kitchen paper, leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow any moisture to escape. The vinegar lowers the pH level on the surface of the berries and helps keep bacteria and mould spores to a minimum.

6. Give them space

Don’t store fruit and veg together. Many fruit, such as bananas, avocados and peaches, produce ethylene gas, which acts like a ripening hormone and can speed up the ripening process of other produce.

7. Storage solution

Avocados, tomatoes, mangoes, melons, apples and pears will continue to ripen if left out on a countertop, whereas fruits such as grapes, citrus and berries will only deteriorate and should be refrigerated.

8. Ripe and ready

Allow stone fruit, such as nectarines and mangos, to ripen in a fruit bowl and then move them to the fridge once they’re soft enough to eat to help preserve them.

9. Cut carefully

Once you've cut fruit and vegetables, they rapidly soften and can go bad even in a cold fridge.

Protect them with a reusable stretch food cover. This is better for the planet than clingfilm and flexible enough to create an airtight seal around your produce to give it the longest life.