Do Apples Go Bad?
Apples can go bad and the time for that depends on where you’re storing them. At room temperature, apples last for up to seven days only; in a pantry, they can last up to three weeks. In a fridge, apples can last till six weeks. After all of these time frames have passed, apples do go bad.
Before getting to how you can store those large quantities of apples efficiently, let us take a look at how you can tell whether or not an apple has gone bad. Remember, it is important to store things correctly, and you should be using visual inspection to tell if apples are going bad as soon as they are getting a little older. Whatever your plans, know the right way to store them so that you can enjoy the apples in different ways and not waste any of the fruit. When you do not have a lot of apples, but want to store some for days, even weeks, your best option is a refrigerator.
To learn about How To Preserve Food, check out my article where I cover everything you need to know.
If you want to make sure that your apples last as long as possible, the refrigerator is going to be perfect. However, if you keep apples in the fridge, they will likely last for a few weeks to as long as two months. If the apple is stored in the fridge, then apples last for around 2 months before they begin to degrade in quality. As long as you keep your apples whole, apples should last in your kitchen for up to 2 weeks, depending on your climate.
| Benefits | Shelf life |
| May be beneficial for bone health | In pantry 3 weeks |
| May protect against heart disease | In refrigerator 4-6 weeks |
Store-bought apples will last for at least one week at room temperature, but you will want to keep them refrigerated to extend their life. Remember, apples only retain their best quality for approximately seven days when stored at room temperature. Apples really ripen a lot quicker at room temperature, which is why they will last for just three to seven days on your countertop. While the apple starts losing its freshness and starts rotting in just one week at room temperature, it will last a lot longer in your refrigerator.
When kept cool, the apple may last for weeks once you get it home from the store. You can expect the apple to remain fresh for a couple weeks if stored in the pantry, or for up to two months when placed in the refrigerator. Buy the freshest apple bundles you can, they will last the longest when you take them home.
If you have got lots of bruised apples you cannot immediately eat, just crush and store in your refrigerator or freezer for making an apple pie, crumble, or sauce later. You should put your chopped apples somewhere that you and your family can see and pick up an apple for easy snacking.
By the way, if you’re interested in How To Preserve Lemons, check out my article on that.
Once frozen, take your sliced apples off of your cookie sheet and put into a plastic container or zippered bag for storage in the freezer. You can wrap each apple with foil or foil wrapper, then place into a freezer-safe bag. Make sure that the temperature of your freezer is set to a high temperature to create tiny ice crystals inside the cut apples, maintaining as much of their structural integrity as possible.
Make sure the temperature in the pantry does not drop below freezing, because that would greatly harm your apples. Just be sure to keep it protected from freezing temperatures (your apples should be around 30-40 degrees) and keep it moist. Use water: Drop your slices of apples into a bowl of water, then put a clean paper towel over top of it to keep it flooded.
In the refrigerator – Store apples in a plastic bag with holes in it so that the ethylene gas can escape, or individually wrap in paper towels or baking parchment paper before placing in a crisper. Wrapping apples individually with a paper bag or plastic wrap will provide a longer shelf-life by protecting apples from surrounding respiratory activities. Because damaged apples will degrade more quickly, wrap each one separately so that they do not degrade at the same time should any become gruesome.
If you do not need your apples right away, it is best to cut your apples off beforehand so they will not oxidize and quickly degrade in quality. Do not store apples close to bananas, oranges, avocados, and potatoes, because ethylene released from bananas will accelerate apple ripening.
You definitely should not store apples close to other fruits and vegetables, particularly oranges, bananas, avocados, and potatoes. Your apples will be fine to make pies, but there are plenty of other ways to store them, so this is a completely unnecessary option. Now you have learned that keeping apples in the refrigerator is the best possible way to maintain their health, you need to figure out how to keep them correctly.
In fact, you can use the very principles apple farmers use to maintain the freshness of apples, even after months of prolonged storage. For instance, you can keep apples with thick skins, such as Granny Smiths and Golden or Red Delicious, for months.
Keep in mind that temperature and storage arrangement greatly influence how well apples keep their freshness. Keep in mind that proper storing is crucial, and after apples are slightly ripe, you should check if they are rotten or not.
When apples get rotten in the fridge, they will show the same signs that indicate that they are bad that they do outdoors in your kitchen. They will still be fine a day or so after starting to sour, but will become far more suitable for cooking or baking rather than for snacking.
Okay, so once you get home, you are going to wonder how you can prevent apples from turning brown and mildewy. Do not hesitate in buying apples as they are super handy to work with and they will last a long time. As long as you take the information mentioned above as directed, you can make sure that you are using up the apples before they get spoiled.
Apples stay best in temperatures of 30deg-32degF (or -1deg-0degC) ([PU]), making a refrigerator your best option. The closer the apple is to going bad, the faster it will rot: A single bad apple, whether it is in the crisper or in a fruit bowl, in a barrel for preserving, or a shipping container for shipping across country, or even just hanging out in a tree, will accelerate the rotting of every single apple that one bad apple touches, even those that do not. When the rotting apples skin turns wrinkled and its texture becomes gritty, it does not taste good, though it is edible.
Can apples go bad in the fridge?
The average shelf life of whole apples in the cupboard is one to two weeks before the skin begins to wrinkle and the fruit becomes mushy. They last up to 2 months when refrigerated before the quality starts to deteriorate, usually for 4 to 6 weeks.
What does apple mold look like?
Infected fruits develop a soft, bluish-green, light brown, fuzzy coating surrounding wounds or lenticels on the exterior of the fruit. Fruits that have gone bad have a distinct moldy flavor and smell. Under conditions of high relative humidity, masses of spores that are greyish blue may form on the fruit surface.
Is it OK to eat an apple when it’s brown?
Everyone has experienced this scenario: you leave a few apple slices out too long or take too long to finish an apple, and you are met with an ugly picture. Once crisp and juicy, your white apple has turned a dreadful shade of brown. Not very mouthwatering. So, a brown apple is totally safe to eat.