World Environment Day:

preserve fresh fruit longer in 3 easy steps

For over forty years, World Environment day has been held in June.

If you are wondering what you can do to contribute to the health of the ecosystem, our advice is to start from everyday life, from your house  and from your kitchen.

How? For example, trying not to generate waste: raise your hand if you’re ever thrown away half of the fruit, just bought a few days before, because bananas were already blackened, strawberries moulded or the pears suddenly became all bruised.

So, what can we do? Since summer is here, with all the cravings for  smoothies and fruit salads, here are 3 simple tips to keep fresh fruit longer:

1. A flat plane for apples and pears

Have you ever noticed? At the grocery store or at the supermarket, apples and pears are always arranged in crates on a single level, never placed one on top of the other in a basket, for example.

The reason is very clear: despite appearances, they are very delicate fruits. In fact, the pressure of an apple or a pear on the underlying one may be enough to cause a bruise. The bruise is in fact a form of stress, to which these fruits react by producing a vegetable hormone, ethylene, which also accelerates the ripening of the other apples and pears, which will get spoiled if we do not immediately remove the damaged fruit.

2. Soaking strawberries and berries

Delicious fruits, which are especially rich in vitamins and minerals and low in sugars. Who could ask for more?

However, they have one weakness: they become mouldy very easily.

To keep them fresher for longer, place them in a bowl of water with a little apple cider vinegar, making sure to dry them well afterwards.

This slightly acidic soak will slow down mould growth, and will not leave any taste on our delicious berries.

Keep bananas cool

Once ripe, we need to eat them quickly: after a few days the skin is covered with little black spots, the pulp becomes floury and the taste is no longer what we love.

If you’d like to avoid this, simply store your bananas in the fridge. The , low temperatures greatly slow down the ripening of this fruit of tropical origin.

In the fridge the skin may still turn into a slightly brown colour, but the taste and texture will be those of a perfectly ripe.