Last Updated on April 16, 2023 by
As a prepper, I’m sure you are constantly trying to find food that lasts longer than the typical normal foods in order to store up for a rainy day. Today we are going to look at what fruits and vegetables last the longest so you can learn the fruit that is better for storage.
What Fruits And Vegetables Last The Longest?
Here’s a list of fruits and vegetables that last the longest……
- Apples
- Lemons
- Pomegranates
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Celery
- Broccoli and Cauliflower
- Garlic
- Cabbage
- Onions
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Squash
- Beets
- Kale
But what about trying to add some real fruit for short-term disasters? Let’s say one to two weeks of being without electricity. This seems more realistic than a zombie apocalypse, right?
Below I put together a helpful table that shows you various fruits and vegetables and how long they last at room temperature and inside a refrigerator.
Vegetable/Fruit | Shelf-Life at Room Temp.(~ 68° to 77 ° F) | Shelf-Life In Refrigerator(~ 40°F) | Tips on Making Fruit and |
| Apples | 5-7 days | 1-2 months | High humidity places help keep apples up to 6 months |
| Lemons | 1-2 weeks | 1-2 months | Best way to store citrus is in the refrigerator or a cool, damp root cellar |
| Pomegranates (whole) | 1- 2 weeks | 3-4 weeks | You can freeze the seeds and keep them much longer |
| Oranges | 1-2 weeks | 1-2 months | Best way to store citrus is in the refrigerator or cool, damp root cellar |
| Grapefruit | 1- 2 weeks | 1-2 months | Best way to store citrus is in a refrigerator or or cool, damp root cellar |
| Celery (whole head) | 12 hours max | 2-3 months if stored properly to maintain its moisture | It is claimed it can keep up to 4 weeks if wrapped in tin foil. You can also freeze it for up to 18 months but blanch first. |
| Broccoli and Cauliflower | 2 days | 7-14 days | Broccoli can last 6-8 months in the freezer. |
| Garlic (whole) | 3-6 months | 3-6 months | If you chop the garlic, make sure you put unused garlic it in the refrigerator |
| Cabbage (whole) | 1-2 days | 4-5 weeks | If you cut the cabbage, it will last only last about 7-10 days in the refrigerator |
| Onions | 4-5 weeks | 6-8 weeks | You can freeze onions and they will last up to 8 months |
| Potatoes | 2-5 weeks | Up to 4 months | You can freeze certain types of potatoes like french fries or mashed potatoes and they will last up to 8 months |
| Carrots (whole) | 2-5 days | 3-5 weeks | You can freeze carrots up to 12 months but make sure you blanch them first |
| Squash | 1-3 months | 1-3 months | If you cook the squash, you will have to freeze to preserve for anytime afterwards |
| Beets | 3-5 days | Up to 2 weeks without green tops | Beets can last in freezer up to 18 months |
| Kale | Won’t last safely much more than 2 hours | Up to 2 weeks | Try to keep the leaves dry with a paper of towel so they don’t go limp |
Fruits and Vegetables That last The Longest
Let’s look at some of the fruits and vegetables that will last the longest whether in your pantry, int he refrigerator, or even frozen. Keep in mind that if the grid goes down in a SHTF scenario, you won’t have refrigeration (unless you have a generator of some sort).
Apples
Apples are probably one of the longest-lasting fruits out there that you can confidently rely on when you don’t have refrigeration available. Apples store well when they are in a cool, dry area.
If you keep them at room temperature apples will generally keep well at room temperature for about 5 to 7 days; longer storage at room temperature can cause the apples to shrivel and lose flavor and crispness.
Shelf-Life Of Refrigerated Apples
If you keep apples in the refrigerator, apples will usually keep well for 1 to 2 months. The problem in this scenario is that we are talking about fresh fruit and in a grid-down situation, you won’t have refrigeration.
The shelf life of apples can be extended even more to six months or more if the apples are stored somewhere that the temperature is between 30°F and 40°F with high humidity (difficult to find in most households).
Can You Freeze Apples?
Believe it or not, you can freeze your fresh apples but first, you have to peel them, core them, slice them, and coat them with a special solution. Coat apples with a solution made of 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid for every six tablespoons of cold water to prevent darkening.
Finally, put the apples in covered airtight containers or heavy-duty freezer bags. They will maintain their best quality for about 10 to 12 months but will remain safe beyond that time.
The freezer time shown is for best quality only – apples that have been kept constantly frozen at 0°F will keep safe indefinitely.
Lemons and Limes (smaller citrus fruits)
When it comes to lemons and limes, you will want to keep them as cool as possible to keep them lasting the longest, but generally, at room temperate they last for at least 5-7 days.
If you continue to store them like this, it will cause them to shrivel and lose flavor so you’ll want to put them in the refrigerator if you can inside a plastic bag.
It’s best to refrigerate them because they will last much longer at around three to four weeks in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Lemons?
Freezing lemons is a great way to preserve them for quite some time. You can take the entire bag of lemons that you get at the store and throw it right in the freezer. The only downside is they are going to be mushy when they are thawed, but you can use them for cooking and juicing, for example.
To defrost the frozen lemons you can use a microwave and simply throw them in there for a few seconds and you’re done. You can also submerge them in cold water for about 15 minutes and that will work also.
If you store them properly, lemons will maintain the best quality for about three to four months, but will remain safe beyond that time.
Lemons that have been kept constantly frozen at 0° F will stay safe forever.
Pomegranates
At room temperature pomegranates will last for about one to two weeks. To extend the shelf life of fully ripe pomegranates, place in a plastic bag and refrigerate. Pomegranates will last for about one to two months in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Pomegranates?
The best way to freeze pomegranates is to scoop out pomegranate seeds and lay them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. After the seeds are frozen, transfer the seeds to an airtight container or heavy-duty freezer bag and put them back in the freezer.
The frozen pomegranates will last anywhere from 10-12 months packaged this way. If you store them frozen at 0 degrees Fahrenheit the pomegranates should last pretty much forever.
Oranges
At room temperature, oranges usually keep for up to one week — in your fridge, they’ll generally stay fresh for three to four weeks.
As the Florida Department of Citrus points out, oranges don’t ripen any more once they’ve been picked and the refrigerator is the best place for maximizing their shelf life.
Once you’ve peeled or cut into an orange you should refrigerate any leftovers right away. Wrap the cut fruit tightly with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container and use it within three or four days.
Grapefruit
Grapefruit will generally keep well at room temperature for about one week. If you keep it at room temperature for too long, you’ll start noticing that the grapefruit will start to shrivel and lose the flavor.
Properly stored, grapefruit will usually keep well for about three to four weeks in the fridge.
Can You Freeze Grapefruit?
The best way to freeze grapefruit is to peel it, then divide the fruit into sections, remove all the seeds. Secondly, get a saucepan and combine 2 3/4 cup sugar and 4 cups of water then mix it until it’s clear.
Once it’s clear, bring it to a boil for a few minutes. Then what you will do is pour this syrup over the grapefruit. Make sure to place the syrup-covered grapefruit in a covered, airtight container or freezer bag.
The grapefruit should last anywhere from 10-12 months like this and will taste fantastic! You can definitely keep it longer, but after the 12 months, the taste tends to deteriorate a little bit as time goes on.
Vegetables That Last Last Forever
Celery
Celery is made up of mostly water, so when it starts to go limp, you know that the water has evaporated or almost gone. In order to help maintain the moisture content within celery, you can wrap the full head in tin foil, believe it or not and set it in your crisper.
Because celery is another vegetable that produces ethylene gas, it will spoil faster if you keep celery in a simple plastic bag.
Broccoli and Cauliflower
Broccoli and cauliflower are some of my favorite vegetables so I’m buying them quite often and trying to make them last as long as possible. Since broccoli and cauliflower are considered to be ethylene “sensitive”, I’m always trying to keep them away from my apples and pears. (Quick Tip: I use Debbie Green Bags to keep my vegetables longer. They are designed to protect from ethylene gas)
One of the best things you can do is freeze broccoli and use it at a later time. You always want to make sure you blanch vegetables before you freeze them so that it preserves freshness and texture to the best of its ability.
Garlic
Garlic must be one of the most versatile food ingredients that there is. Not to mention one of the tastiest in my opinion. Getting the maximum shelf-life out of these delicious bulbs requires you to keep them whole, keep them in a cool, dark place, and keep them out of the refrigerator.
If you decide to peel or chop them, make sure you put them in an airtight plastic container and then put them in refrigerator when they will keep for up to 2 weeks. If you have more garlic than you know what to do with, you can always bake the garlic (my mother used to do this all of the time), then freeze it and it should last up to 3 months.
Cabbage
As you can guess, cabbage outside of the refrigerator doesn’t have a long shelf-life. Usually it will only last 1-2 days on the counter. Of course keeping it the refrigerator will keep it for 4-5 weeks if stored properly in a crisper.
Believe it or not, you can actually freeze cabbage for 9-12 months, but take care to blanch it first.
Onions
At room temperature onions will last for 2-3 months and when put in the freezer, they will last 2-12 months. If you have a root cellar, this is a great item because they store well in cool, dark places.
With onions it’s nice, because it’s not necessary to store them in the refrigerator unless you’ve cooked them already. You can even pickle onions and they’ll keep for 4-6 months in the refrigerator.
Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the favorite foods of preppers and survivalists because they provide a good source of carbohydrates. Healthline has a great chart on the various types and forms of potatoes and how long they will store for. You’ll notice that instant, uncooked potato flakes are one of those foods that can last forever.
But for the every day person who just wants to know how long potatoes last, 3-4 months is a typical average when kept in a cool, dark place. You can freeze them of course, but it’s best to cook them first.
Carrots
When it comes to the shelf life of carrots, it depends on whether or not they are baby carrots, peeled carrots, or sliced carrots. Either way, all forms will produce ethylene gas, so make sure to store them away from other fruits that produce ethylene gas because it will speed up the ripening process.
You don’t have to store carrots in the refrigerator, but it will certainly help them stay a little longer up to 3-4 weeks. You can also freeze carrots, but as always, make sure to blanch them first. This will make them last for as long as 1 year.
Squash
Winter squash is wonderful to cook with and I absolutely love that they last so long just sitting out on the counter at room temperature for up to 3 months. It doesn’t make any difference if you keep the squash in the refrigerator because it won’t last any longer. You can freeze cooked squash and it will last 6-8 months.
Beets
I’ve never been a big fan of beets, but if the apocalypse comes knowing on our door, I certainly might become one because these little bulbs can be stored for quite some time with not much effort.
The trick is to pull the green stems off as soon as you get them to your house. You can technically eat the green tops, but I don’t know how good those would taste. But again, if you’re in a precarious situation and you’re short on food, they might make for some good nutrients.
When storing beets, don’t wash them, put them in a plastic bag, then put them in a high-humidity crisp drawer and should last you up to 3 months. If you want to freeze your beets, you might want to learn how to freeze beets first, because you’ll want to cook them first and then put them in the freezer. They will last from 8 to 12 months in the freezer.
Kale
Kale is one of those leafy green vegetables that don’t fair well outside of the refrigerator. As a matter of fact, these types of vegetables can only last a few hours outside of the fridge before they go are deemed unsafe to eat. But when kept in the refrigerator, they will last from 5-7 days.
Final Thoughts
Most people have some fresh fruits in their refrigerators already, but the above article is designed to help you decide which fruits last the longest so that if you are ever in that situation where you lose electricity for a week to two weeks, you’ll know the fruits that will get you by.