Here are some tips to help prevent premature food rotting.

In my many years in restaurants I found that more restaurants wasted food by not storing it correctly, which would increase their costs.  Well these same principals apply in our homes, think about it, if we don't store foods properly they go bad faster, and ultimately go in the trash making us go and buy the foods we already had.  Here are some quick tips to help understand where foods should be held.

One easy method is, while you are shopping look at where the foods are stored there.  Thinks like tomatoes aren't in the refrigerator they are in a bin in the middle, so why do we as consumers take them home and put them in the fridge where they go bad twice as fast.  Items like tomatoes, melons, lemons, and most citrus fruits do not require refrigeration, if they are put in the fridge their cell structure breaks down twice as fast, resulting in soft, mushy fruits and veggies.  This doesn't mean that they should never go in the fridge, just don't store them there, we all like cold tomatoes on our salads and sandwiches, so just pop them in there they day you are using them to chill them a bit.

Now I personally feel that apples should be stored away from all other fruits for one simple reason.  We've all heard our mothers, and grandmothers tell us if you want to ripen some bananas faster put an apple in the basket with them.  But have you ever wondered why??  Well, the reason for this is...apples naturally omit a gas called "ethylene" this gas is what causes the ripening affect.  So the next time you're at the store take a moment and look around, there are reasons for everything being where it is.