You do your weekly grocery shopping hoping that the fresh produce you purchased would last for a week—and they actually could so long as they are stored properly in the right conditions. It makes an incredibly huge difference when you have a reliable refrigerator that can do a great job at preserving your food. Complement the advanced features of a quality appliance like Sub-Zero with hacks you can easily follow, then your food is sure to stay fresher for longer. Scroll down to get more tips that can extend the shelf life of your fruits and vegetables.

1. Don’t wash your fresh produce before putting them in the fridge.
While it’s generally recommended to clean and prep food as soon as you get home from grocery shopping, make sure you don’t wash your fresh produce before storing them in the fridge; when they’re damp, they actually wilt faster. A great hack would be to store leafy greens in a container with paper towels that can absorb moisture. Wash them when you’re about to cook or eat them already.

2. Don’t combine apples with the rest of the food in your fridge.
Yes, one bad apple can spoil the bunch. Apples produce ethylene, a gas naturally emitted by food that causes other types of food to easily spoil. A tip related to this is to store fruits and vegetables separately. Do not store vegetables with fruits that emit high levels of ethylene, to avoid ripening them faster than usual.

This is also where Sub-Zero refrigerators’ dual refrigeration feature specially plays an important role. A technology pioneered by Sub-Zero, this feature prides itself in two separate cooling systems – one for the refrigerator and one for the freezer – that allow each type of food to be stored in their proper environment. To preserve flavour, fresh food items (eg: vegetables) need chilly, humid air while frozen food items (eg: meats) require dry, frigid air. With Sub-Zero’s dual refrigeration feature, the refrigerator and the freezer don’t share the same air as they have different compressors. Because of this innovation, the food items’ flavors are retained and they definitely stay fresher longer.

3. Don’t store your fruits and veggies as is.
Don’t make the mistake of taking out your fruits and veggies straight from the grocery bag to the refrigerator, because skipping the necessary preparatory steps for storage could mean rapid spoilage for your food. Different types of fruits and vegetables require different handling and caring techniques.

Here are some examples: For berries, it’s best to wash them with water and a bit of vinegar before placing in a plastic container or ziplock bag. For carrots, remove their leafy green tops, chop them off, and store in a jar with water to keep them fresh; other items that can benefit from being submerged or dipped in water while in the fridge include celery, radishes, and asparagus that’s placed upright. Lemons should be kept in the fridge in a ziplock bag, too.