Do you remember the old saying "one bad apple spoils the bunch?". It turns out it's true that apples help other fruits ripen more quickly and this is the reason they shouldn't be kept together. Kiwis, mangoes and bananas and other ethylene-producing fruit can result in early spoilage and cause food waste.
Avoid mixing your watermelons, muskmelons, cantaloupe and honeydews with other fruits. Try not to mix acidic fruits, such as grapefruits and strawberries, or sub-acidic foods such as apples, pomegranates and peaches, with sweet fruits, such as bananas and raisins for a better digestion.
Fruits and vegetables don't play well together.
So don't store them together in a refrigerator drawer or next to each other on the counter or in the pantry. Why? Many fruits produce ethylene gas, which acts like a ripening hormone and can speed spoilage.
Tomatoes and bananas
This pair is actually on the list of what fruit and veggies not to store together. Fruits and vegetables that do a lot of ripening after they're picked, such as tomatoes, bananas, kiwis and honeydew melons, are best stored apart.
Start by having the largest fruit at the bottom of the basket. On each side, put pineapple, in the middle will be red and yellow apples, oranges, pears, mandarins, kiwis, and bananas. The small red fruits like strawberries, raspberries, and dates will be used to fill holes, but do it gently.
Another questions many people ask about storing apples is “Can I store apples and oranges together?” The answer about storing apples and oranges together is “No”. When apples and oranges are stored together, they emit some gas that causes both kinds of fruits to spoil faster!
Keep Them Separate From Other Ripe Fruits
Because bananas aren't the only fruits that produce ethylene, they should be kept away from other types of ripe fruit. On the other hand, storing them next to unripe fruit can help slow the ripening process.
Avocado, apples, bananas, citrus fruits, berries, peaches, apricots, and nectarines should be stored out of the fridge. Refrigerating these fruits will result in loss of flavors and textures. However, you can refrigerate these fruits for 30 minutes prior to eating if you want a crisp bite.
The gap between the two should be about two hours so that there's enough time for the stomach to empty itself.
Here's what I found: Some fruits and veggies produce ethylene, a small hydrocarbon gas, as they ripen. Alternatively, some other pieces of produce are particularly sensitive to ethylene. So if you want to keep things from spoiling too quickly, the trick is simple: you want to keep those two groups away from each other.
The fruits that produce ethylene, including peaches, bananas, apples as well as honeydew melons shouldn't be kept in the same place as avocados grapes, lemons onions and other fruit and vegetables tolerant to this chemical. Additionally, it is not recommended to keep ethylene-producing fruits in the same place.
Avoid mixing acidic fruits with sweet fruits
Acidic and sub-acidic fruits such as grapefruits, strawberries, apples, pomegranates, and peaches, should never be combined with sweet fruits such as bananas and raisins. This is because it often leads to digestive problems, nausea, acidosis, and headaches.
While sometimes a hybrid fruit or vegetable is the work of nature, it is often the work of an agriculturist cross-pollinating two or more fruits or vegetables. Hybrids should not be confused with genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which are genetically altered in a lab.
It lists “six pairs of fruits that should never be mixed because they cause death”. These are the combinations of orange and carrot, pineapple and milk, papaya and lemon, guava and banana, orange and milk, and banana and lemon. “You can save a life by sharing this message,” the post says.
And to keep bananas fresh for longer don't put them into a bowl with other fruits that release lots of ethylene when they start to ripen. Think apples, melons, peaches, and kiwifruit. Keep bananas separately from other fruits and separate the bunch, too for better airflow.
"Bananas make other fruit ripen because they release a gas called ethene (formerly ethylene)," added Dr Bebber. "This gas causes ripening, or softening of fruit by the breakdown of cell walls, conversion of starches to sugars and the disappearance of acids.
As for storing bananas to keep them fresh for longer, Siegler says, "The most important thing is selection at the store, and when you're home, keep the bananas away from other fruit, especially apples, which also release ethylene gas and can hasten the ripening process."
Not all fruits and vegetables are sensitive to ethylene, though. Cherries, pineapples, garlic, grapefruit and blueberries can be safely stored together or next to those that produce this gas. The same applies to white potatoes, but not sweet potatoes. Another important aspect is the refrigerator temperature.
Don't store apples, bananas, stone fruit or pears with other types of fruits, including lemons. Certain fruits emit a gas as they age that can cause other fruit to ripen (and then spoil) more quickly.