Grapes will last longer if kept away from three popular foods
Grapes will last longer if kept away from three popular foods
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Grapes make a great healthy and easy snack, particularly for those still on their New Year health kick – but is there a way to prolong their freshness? After all, there’s nothing worse than biting into a grape that’s begun to prune up, or that’s developed a vinegary tang. Even worse, the average UK household wastes about £1000 per year on food waste, according to the NGO WRAP, with the majority of casualties being gone off fruit and veg.
But why is this the case? According to the food waste expert and author, Kate Hall, a massive factor that people overlook when storing fruit is ethylene gas. It’s a chemical that contains a hormone which directly impacts plant growth – and which causes fruit to ripen. When exposed, certain fruits like grapes and berries are particularly susceptible to its overripening effects, causing their window of freshness to shrink.
Once exposed, the speed at which grapes ripen depends on a few factors. For example, the size of the berries, the acidity of the juice and the concentration of anthocyanin, which is the red or purple pigment that colours fruit. Also, it depends on how much ethylene that surrounding fruits are emitting.
When it comes to producing the hormone, some fruit are bigger culprits than others. Bananas, apples and tomatoes all give off relatively high amounts of ethylene compared to other fruit, which means that if you store your grapes near any of them, you are increasing the likelihood that they will rot faster.
Another way to ensure their freshness, according to the UCSD Centre for Community Health, is to avoid storing them in sealed plastic bags, as this concentrates the ethylene and causes them to go off sooner. A better way to keep them is by putting them in a bowl, or a well-ventilated container.
