Hints on storage of vegetables and fruit

This can actually get into a lot of detail. Especially if you consider that advice for your home may not work for mine. In England I could store butter on the counter, whereas here I need to keep it in the fridge lest I come home to a small puddle.

Some of the very basics off the top of my head:

• Leafy greens are best stored at 12 degrees Celsius. For those in warmer climates, better 4 degrees than 24.
• Salad vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, carrots etc.) can be stored in the fridge for longer life. In my experience this doesn't affect their flavour.
• Root vegetables (onions, potato, beetroot etc.), except carrots, can be stored at room temperature, even when it's warm.
• Potatoes should be stored in the darkest place possible.
• vegetables from the solanum family (tomatoes, aubergines and peppers) should be kept apart from the squash family (cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins). I can't remember why this is, though it causes the squash family to spoil faster.

There's plenty more, but I can't think of them right now.

There is a very good book called On Food and Cooking, by Harold McGee. It is a great source on food science, and has chapters on all food groups. In the chapters on food and vegetables, he gives a short text on each fruit resp. vegetable, including storage recommendations. He covers most common plants eaten in Western cuisine, plus quite a few rare ones (fiddleheads, nopales).

The book is also a highly recommended reading material for anybody who wants to know what is happening in their pan, not just for practical advice. It makes a good reference work, but can be also read from beginning to end. If you find the matter interesting, this is one of the best books you can choose.

In general, I store fruit and veg in approximately the same conditions that the supermarket does. You can bet your bottom dollar that they've researched how to get the most time out of their stock.

One book that I really like is the Encyclopedia of Country Living. It's more a gardening (and other oddities) book, but after the growing tips for each item, there will be a section discussing storage ... if you should blanch before freezing, canning, dry storage, etc.

It seems I didn't put it back on my shelf when I last referenced it, but I've quoted from it a couple of times, such as for onions and capsicums. Amazon also has it scanned for the 'search within the book' feature.

Since other people have given good book resources, I'll provide an answer based on experience.

No matter where you are storing your fruits and vegetables, Debbie Meyer Green Bags will help keep them fresh longer, and thereby tasting better (assuming you follow the instructions like one type of produce per bag, don't use twist ties that will rip the bag, wipe out condensation daily, etc.). I was skeptical about their efficacy (and I typically don't buy any as-seen-on-tv products), but I came across them at a discount store and gave them a try. For most produce, the green bags helped keep them fresh much longer than any other type of storage I've tried.

• I'm not being compensated to write this. It's just the solution that works for me. :)

[...] I have yet to find a unified resource to learn about best practices in storing these goods.

Are you acquainted with such a resource or have knowledge yourself about this topic?

StillTasty is a useful database.