Food preservation

How to Keep Fruit Fresh in Mason Jars (And Why?)

Did you know that you can keep fruit fresh by storing it in mason jars? This method is particularly useful for soft fruits such as berries and will keep your fruit fresher for much longer than if you were to just put it in the fridge in the plastic packaging that it comes in.

Here are some simple steps to storing fresh fruit in mason jars.

The Mason Jar Storage Method

Follow these steps to store your fresh fruits in mason jars in the fridge.

  • As soon as you get home from the grocery store, take the fruit out of the plastic containers that it came in.
  • Fill your sink with clean water. Alternatively, you can use a large bowl and fill this with clean, cold water.
  • Add a few tablespoons of distilled vinegar to the water. This will eliminate any bacteria on the fruit that may cause it to spoil too quickly.
  • Soak the fruit in the vinegar water for a short time.
  • Pour the fruit into a strainer and rinse it well with cool water.
  • Place the fruit onto a paper towel so that it can dry.
  • Once the fruit is completely dry, put it into clean and sterilized mason jars.
  • Put the lids on the jars and make sure that they’re sealed tightly.
  • Place the jars in the fridge.

Although this method is perfect for soft fruits such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, you can also use it to store other types of fruit. You just might need to do a little extra preparation.

Fruit in mason jars

Prepping Different Fruits To Store In Mason Jars

Here’s how you can prepare different fruits to store in mason jars. For all of these, make sure you follow the vinegar and water-soak method outlined above.

  • Grapes can be stored whole, but you just need to take them off the stems first.
  • Cherry tomatoes are great for storing this way too.
  • You can store fresh watermelon by cutting it into cubes or just use one of those melon ballers. Other types of melons, such as cantaloupes, work equally as well.
  • Kiwi fruit can be peeled and sliced before they’re soaked, dried, and put into the mason jars.
  • If you’ve bought some fresh pineapples, just peel these, cut them into cubes, soak them, dry them and store them in your mason jars.
  • Even savory fruits such as cucumbers and peppers can be stored this way. Just slice them up, soak them, dry them, and pop them into a mason jar.
  • Cut up sticks of celery into bite-sized pieces and store them in the mason jars. This makes it easy for your kids to just grab a few to top with cream cheese or peanut butter when they feel like a snack. You can do carrot sticks this way too.

Useful Tips For Keeping Your Fruits Fresher For Longer

Here are some other useful tips for preserving your fresh produce for longer.

  • Make sure that you remove and discard any damaged fruit that has gone past its prime.
  • Add a piece of paper towel to the bottom of the jar to absorb any condensation or moisture that may still be present.

Why Does Storing Fruit In Mason Jars Keep It Fresher For Longer?

If you prep and store your fruits and vegetables in mason jars in the fridge, you can expect them to stay fresh for around 1 to 2 weeks. But you might be wondering why this is possible.

The answer is fairly simple. Mason jars that have their lids put on correctly are generally airtight. Exposure to air usually continues the ripening process for many different types of fruits and vegetables, and that’s why fruits left on the kitchen counter will spoil much faster than those kept in the fridge.

You’ll also find that your fridge is quite a damp environment. Therefore, you have a mixture of both air and moisture that can spoil your fresh produce much faster. The only thing that keeps your fruits and vegetables fresher is the cold air.

However, when you pop prepared fruits and vegetables into sealed mason jars, you’re not only removing any external moisture, but you’re also keeping the air away from your produce. This is precisely why this preservation method works so well.

Other Advantages To Storing Fresh Produce In Mason Jars

Apart from keeping your fruit fresher for longer, there are other advantages to storing your produce in mason jars.

  • Because your fruit and prepped vegetables are easy to see rather than being hidden in the vegetable crisper, you’ll use them much more quicker.
  • Having your fruits and vegetables already prepped makes meal preparation much faster.
  • You save money because you won’t be throwing out produce that you’ve forgotten about.

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