How to Store Apples Over Winter
Unfortunately, apples will start to lose their fresh flavor when left on the counter or in the fruit bowl. The good news is that if you store them properly, you can enjoy them for months.
Choose the right apples for storage - sweeter varieties are best. Apple varieties picked late in the season tend to keep longer.
Harvest apples carefully - when harvesting apples, handle them carefully - like eggs. They bruise easily. Store perfect apples for the long term, but use bruised apples for direct consumption or for preparing different types of dishes.
Storing apples - wooden crates are suitable. There, apples, stacked side by side, can "breathe" and air can circulate freely.
Another way is to wrap each apple in newspaper so that they do not touch each other. Keep them cool - the ideal storage temperature is -1 to +1 degrees Celsius with a relative humidity of 90 to 95%.
If you don't have a lot of apples, the refrigerator is a good option. Place them in a drawer in a plastic bag with holes in it, or cover the apples with a damp paper towel. Do not store other vegetables in the same drawer as the apples, because apples give off ethylene gas, which can accelerate the ripening (over-ripening) of neighboring products.
If you have larger quantities, look for a cool, dark place that is relatively humid, such as a basement or garage.
The temperature should be close to 0 degrees! Wrap each apple - preferably with the stem - on a piece of newspaper or kraft paper. The paper keeps the apples separate.
Place the wrapped apples in a box or basket, side by side. Check the apples periodically and remove any that are rotten. Use the large ones first because they tend to go soft before the small ones. Apples continue to ripen, so separate the different varieties (each variety ripens at a different time).