The best place to store apples so they stay crisp for weeks is one that almost no one thinks about.
Apple is the perfect fruit in fall and as winter approaches. Crunched as is, transformed into compote, baked or integrated into a cake, it appeals to young and old alike. But beyond its culinary versatility, the apple is full of health benefits. Rich in fiber, it helps regulate transit, acts as an effective appetite suppressant for those who watch their figure, reduces bad cholesterol and provides a nice dose of vitamins.
Another significant advantage of apples is that they can be kept for a very long time, provided they are stored properly. Many people are unaware that the way you store apples greatly affects their freshness and crunch. If you are lucky enough to have a cool cellar, this is the ideal place to store them, taking care to place them, for example, in a crate, tail down, next to each other, without them They touch each other, and in a single layer.
Not everyone lives in a house and has a cellar. The trick that many people neglect is to place them in the refrigerator, in the vegetable drawer, wrapped in a paper bag, tail side down. This method may seem surprising to some, but it guarantees crisp apples for up to six weeks. Few of us have this reflex, and yet storing apples in the fridge allows them to be kept longer than in the open air and at room temperature in the good old fruit basket. While it may be visually appealing, storing them in the fruit basket is the best way… so that they rot quickly!
The refrigerator is the ideal place because cold temperatures slow the release of ethylene, a natural gas that accelerates the ripening of fruits. This means your apples stay fresh and tasty for much longer. It is essential to find a cool, dark environment, with good ventilation and a suitable humidity level, to best preserve your apples. For those who are not lucky enough to have a cool cellar, the alternative of the refrigerator is all the more relevant.
And for apple lovers who have a large quantity of them and who doubt their ability to consume them within six weeks, there is another solution: freezing. This method requires a little preparation: peel and dice or slice the apples before placing them in a freezer bag. You can then keep them for around 10 months.