omgwtfbbq mandarin oranges

[thistlechaser]

Okay, you little oranges, listen up! I'm tired of you going moldy just days after I buy you! Last week I bought you on Saturday and by Tuesday you all had mold. This week you made it to Wednesday. I bought from a different stall at the farmer's market this week, one that sold nothing but citrus, so I thought I'd get higher quality and you'd last!

Same thing with you, apples from the all-apple booth. What's with the mold! :| *shakes fist at*

Stupid fruit, I cannot eat you when you are moldy, and I buy you to eat. See the issue here?

Mandarin oranges are wonderful oranges -- you can eat them at the computer! They peel easy as pie and they're not messy at all. They're my new favorite fruit. I know apples can be stored in the fridge, but I didn't think citrus was supposed to be? How the heck do I keep them from getting moldy!

Are my fruit expectations just off? Is fruit not supposed to last more than a couple days? Am I unreasonable to want my non-refrigerated citrus and refrigerated apples to last a week?

Comments

[tersa.livejournal.com]

If your farmer's market fruit is molding that quickly (and IIRC, you had a similar issue with berries), it may be an environmental issue (i.e, the surroundings of your apartment) rather than a problem with the fruit.

Unbruised apples can last for weeks if stored properly (in fact, I have a couple on my counter from late December/early January). My main issue with citrus isn't mold, it's dessication (and then mold).

Some tips:

Make sure you pick up whole, unblemished fruit. No nicks, cuts, bruises, or soft spots.

In your case, you may want to wash the outside well in one of the commercial fruit washes, then store in a closed up brown paper bag (to keep out the worst of the spores).

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

Farmer's markets around here tend to sell fruit that are more ripe and closer to the "expiration date" because they can't sell those to supermarkets. Maybe that is the case over there too?

I buy "b-grade" orchard peaches in season, and they will go bad in just a couple days. But they are super cheap, absolutely delicious, and couple days are usually enough time for us to can all the extras. Supermarket peaches last for weeks in the fridge, but taste really bland.

You CAN store citrus in the fridge, but that tends to dry them out faster so eat them within a week.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, berries needed to be eaten the same day if I wanted to use them. At best I could cut them up and cover them in plastic and eat the next day.

Make sure you pick up whole, unblemished fruit. No nicks, cuts, bruises, or soft spots.

I think that's a likely cause, too. I'm too quick to pick things out and shrug at small defects.

Thanks!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Mmm, suddenly I have a craving for peaches!

And yeah, most things I see at the market tend to be really ripe, that probably adds to the issue.

[tersa.livejournal.com]

The skin is the fruits barrier against rot. If you're buying fruit that's damaged, then, duh, yes, it's going to spoil more quickly. :)

Also, to counter what the other commenter said: my experience with the vendors at the Mountain View farmer's market, at least, is that my produce from there tends to last twice as long (or longer!) than supermarket sourced produce, because it is fresher, and hasn't had to be picked and/or packaged early. The supermarket stuff tends to be older!

You may want to consider doing a thorough clean down of your house, too. If stuff spoils that quickly, you may have a ton of spores on counters, floors, in the fridge, etc.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

My folks store their oranges (that they get from Florida) in the basement. Cool dry place, not much sun.

Just a data point.

[fealubryne.livejournal.com]

Bah, now I want fruit. And this time of year the pickings are generally slim/nasty. Apples? Sure. Oranges? Yup. Anything beyond that? Pffft, good luck. And it doesn't help the fact that I love stuff that's more on the "exotic" side, like pomegranates, mangoes, etc. Sigh. I hate winter so much.

[veloxe.livejournal.com]

Mandarin oranges tend to be a pain in the ass for me at work. Even when we store them properly they tend to just mold up. Damn you mandarin oranges!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

The skin is the fruits barrier against rot. If you're buying fruit that's damaged, then, duh, yes, it's going to spoil more quickly. :)

A couple weeks back I learned some other thing that was that basic. I can't recall what it was, but it was another "duh" thing. Sooner or later I'll become a fruit-buying expert!

Cleaning's a good idea, too. I'm going to make time for that this weekend! Out out, spores!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ah ha! So maybe it's more them than something I'm doing. That's good to know!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Sun is a good point! I've suspected that the spot I store my fruit in gets sun in the early afternoon while I'm at work, but I can never remember to check on the weekend. I think moving the fruit spot is a worthy thing to try.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, oranges and apples are about as far as we have fruit-wise too. A few weeks back there was something else (kiwis?) at the market, but that only lasted a short time.

I like fall fruits (stone fruits) a lot. Plums, plutos, and of course cherries! Peaches. Mmmmmm. Spring is coming!

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Plums are the freaking best, I really hope our plum trees survive the move to the back yard (the idiots who owned our home first put them right in front where people can help them selves while walking by).

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Honestly it's whoever planted it's fault, I mean by planting fruit trees RIGHT next to the fence, so you don't really even have to reach in is silly because how can they expect people not to pick it?

It just bugged the heck outta me since I didn't plant it there, and wouldn't have >.<.

Thanks! If it does maybe I'll give you some plums, we actually had 2 varieties of some sort...red and white/yellow. There were a LOT of plums, that I would happily WILLINGLY share lol.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I could see the temptation being even greater if they're just hanging right there! (Isn't there some saying about the temptation of low hanging fruit?)

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Not only that but people think they can get away with it without anybody noticing since they can be more discreet about it (but they sucked at it...I even caught a guy peeking in to see if anybody was watching but evidently he didn't notice me looking back at him).

Haha maybe that's where the saying came from~

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

Girl for real, around this time of winter I start thinking I would punch a nun for a proper tomato.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

*laughs* You would totally punch a nun. I KNOW YOU! :D

[teaandfailure.livejournal.com]

I think it just happens with farmers market produce - I agree with ani-mama about farmers markets selling more ripe produce, and also the fm's here tend to be hippie organic earthmother farms (you know I love it) and organic fruit goes bad faster because: say it with me! No preservatives!

It's weird about the apples though, winter apples are supposed to last forever. I usually don't have a problem with my apples, it's pears that go insanely moldy fast as hell.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh, you know, that's a good point! It's all organic, that's all anyone around here wants...

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Back when I lived on the boat we kept our citrus for months by 1) dip-washing it in a mild bleach solution and allowing to sun-dry, and then 2) keeping it in a net bag hung from a hook, so that the fruits didn't rest on a surface. Apples store best in the fridge or a cool dark place.


Another thing you can try are green bags. There are a few brands of them - you can buy them from boating supply stores and our local natural foods store carries them - and they are washable and re-usable. They are impregnated with a chemical that absorbs ethylene gas, which is emitted by fruits and vegetables as they age, and which speeds ripening (which is why you put unripe fruit in a paper bag to help it ripen faster, because it holds the ethylene close to the fruit). I know that I had trouble with some lemons, and the green bag helped a lot.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Woo, thanks for the ideas! I didn't go to the market this week, so hopefully I can get them into place before next week!