How should I store vegetables?

Vegetables spoil for three different reasons — cold damage, moisture loss and ethylene gas from neighbours. Storing them well is mostly a matter of knowing which of the three applies to what.

Step by step

1. Keep potatoes cool, dark and dry — not in the fridge.Cold converts their starch to sugar, which makes them sweet and causes them to brown oddly when cooked. A paper bag in a dark cupboard.
2. Keep onions and garlic dry and airy, away from potatoes.Onions release moisture that makes potatoes sprout, and potatoes release gas that softens onions. Separate cupboards, or at least separate containers.
3. Keep tomatoes out of the fridge.Refrigeration destroys tomato flavour and gives them a mealy texture. Room temperature, stem up, out of direct sun.
4. Put root vegetables in the fridge, loosely bagged.Carrots, parsnips, beetroot. Remove any leafy tops first — they draw moisture out of the root within a day.
5. Wrap leafy greens in a damp cloth.Lettuce, spinach, chard, herbs. Damp kitchen paper in a box or bag in the fridge crisper. Wet leaves rot; dry leaves wilt.
6. Separate the ethylene producers.Apples, bananas, tomatoes and stone fruit release ethylene, which ripens and then spoils everything nearby. Keep them well away from leafy greens and broccoli.
7. Keep mushrooms in paper, never plastic.A paper bag in the fridge. Plastic traps moisture and they go slimy within two days.
8. Store squash and pumpkin in a cool room.Whole winter squash keeps for months at room temperature. Once cut, wrap and refrigerate.

Tips

• Use the crisper drawers as intended — they control humidity, and the settings genuinely make a difference for greens.
• A green tinge or sprouts on a potato means it has been exposed to light. Cut those parts away generously, and discard any potato that is widely green or shrivelled.
• Do not wash vegetables before storing. Surface water is what starts the rot.

Questions people ask