Foods that Shouldn’t Be Stored Together – or Should They?

Some fruits and veggies produce a hormone called ethylene that tells them to start ripening – some fruits and vegetables are producers and others are hyper sensitive to the “gas.”

Knowing which are which will help you know what produce can be stored together and what ones can’t. And will also tell you how to use ethylene-producing veggies and fruits to help ethylene sensitive produce to ripen faster. UC San Diego School of Medicine, has posted this list (other sources add and subtract from this – but it’s a good start):

So, bottom line, it’s a good idea to not store fruits and vegetables that produce ethylene with those that are sensitive to ethylene. For example, do not store ripe bananas and unripe apples next to each other or onions and potatoes. – whether they are refrigerated or unrefrigerated.  Also don’t store produce in bags or sealed containers which trap the gas causing the produce to ripen faster.

On the other hand, if you want an unripe fruit or vegetable to ripen, then use this to your advantage. Put the fruit or vegetable in a closed container or bag, and then to speed the process even further, pop in an ethylene producer like a ripe apple or banana. So a hard avocado and a ripe apple is my favorite duo.