Fruit Bowls Look Nice But They're Actually Ruining Your Produce

Fruit bowls have always been an aesthetically pleasing countertop display and a nudge toward healthier snacking. Alternatively, the fruit bowls filled with plastic or glass fruit have been the butt of jokes for years. However, it turns out that those fake fruit displays  also avoid a major food storage mistake. Not all fruit bonds well in a bowl, and not all fruit thrives outside of the fridge.

Thinking you can keep apples on the counter when you're out of room in the fridge is a mistake many people make when buying produce at the grocery store. Fruits like apples, cherries, figs, and soft berries should be stored in the refrigerator, but not all fruit needs to be refrigerated. In fact, many fruit do best at room temperature. This includes bananas, kiwis, melons, mangoes, apricots, and peaches. When you place these fruits out on your counter, you extend the window of time you have to eat them. 

However, just because a fruit doesn't need to be refrigerated doesn't mean it should be put in the fruit bowl with all the other produce. Your fruit contains a hormone called ethylene, which helps the fruit ripen. But not all plants use it in the same way.

Some fruits are climacteric — meaning they continue to ripen after they're harvested. Fruits that are climacteric include bananas, apples, avocados, pears, and tomatoes. These fruits transform starch into sugar and continue to ripen over time, like when your store-bought green bananas turn yellow. These can be left at room temperature until they're ripe and should then be refrigerated to slow down the ripening process so they'll stay fresh longer.

Fruits that are non-climacteric do all their busywork ripening before they're harvested. These tasty treats need to be harvested at just the right time to have the best flavor. This includes fruits like grapefruit and berries like blueberries, strawberries, and citrus. Climacteric fruit continues to produce the hormone ethylene as it ripens, while non-climacteric fruit is sensitive to the hormone after harvest. So putting all your fruit in one bowl may cause some of your non-climacteric fruit to go bad faster than it would if it wasn't forced to sit next to an apple. You can avoid wasting all your gorgeous summer fruit just by knowing how to store it properly. And if you miss your fruit bowl, you could always invest in some glass fruit.