Storing Apples and Pears Through the Winter Months

Only Store Fruit That Deserves It

Nothing undermines a winter store faster than a single bad apple. The old growers' rule still holds: one rotten fruit spoils the barrel. Before anything goes into storage, handle each apple and pear individually, turning it over in your hand and looking for bruises, cuts, scab, maggot holes or soft patches. Any fruit that fails the inspection should be eaten fresh, pressed for juice, or turned into chutney within a few days rather than tucked away with the keepers.

Variety matters as much as condition. Early and mid-season apples such as Discovery, Worcester Pearmain and James Grieve are at their best within a few weeks of picking and will never store well, however carefully you treat them. The genuine long keepers are the late-season sorts, picked in late September and October once they come away from the tree with a gentle twist. Look for Egremont Russet, Ashmead's Kernel, D'Arcy Spice, Annie Elizabeth, Newton Wonder and Bramley's Seedling. Given the right conditions, these will carry you comfortably through to February and beyond.

Sort Into Three Groups Before You Store Anything

As you harvest, grade the crop rather than tipping everything into one crate. A simple three-way sort saves a great deal of waste later.

• Keepers: perfect, undamaged, stalk intact, picked dry on a dry day.
• Eat soon: slight bruises, small blemishes, or early varieties. These go to the kitchen.
• Process: windfalls, splits and anything with rot. Juice, cider, chutney or jelly — but deal with them within days.

Never wash fruit destined for storage. The natural bloom on the skin helps protect it, and added moisture invites mould. If a fruit is muddy, wipe it with a dry cloth and leave it to air for an hour before packing.

To Wrap or Not to Wrap

Wrapping each apple individually in newspaper is the traditional method for good reason: it prevents any one fruit that turns from touching its neighbours, slows moisture loss, and cushions the fruit against knocks. Twist the paper closed around the stalk end. Plain newsprint is fine; avoid glossy magazines, whose inks can transfer.

Alternatives work well too. Shredded paper, dry straw, wood shavings or slatted wooden trays all keep fruit separated. What you should avoid is sealing fruit inside plastic bags or airtight tubs — trapped moisture and ethylene build up quickly, and rot follows. Arrange wrapped fruit in single layers or no more than three deep in a sturdy box, stem ends facing the same way so they sit without rocking. Line the box with paper first, and top the layer with more paper or straw before closing it.

Getting the Conditions Right

Cool, dark, humid and steady is the mantra. Aim for the following:

• Temperature: between 2°C and 5°C, as constant as you can manage. A frost-free shed, unheated garage, cellar or north-facing pantry all suit. Fluctuation is the enemy — repeated warming and cooling brings fruit out of dormancy and shortens its life dramatically.
• Darkness: light encourages greening and sprouting. Keep boxes covered or stored in a cupboard.
• Humidity: roughly 85 to 90 per cent. Too dry and apples shrivel and turn rubbery. If your store feels dry, lay a damp (not wet) cloth over the boxes and refresh it weekly, or stand a shallow tray of water nearby.
• Ventilation: gentle air movement keeps mould at bay, so don't seal boxes shut or stack them against a wall. Check for mice, which will happily chew through newspaper and cardboard.

Pears Need a Different Approach

Pears will not behave like apples, and treating them the same way leads to disappointment. They ripen from the inside out, so a pear that feels firm on the outside may already be going mealy at the core. Pick them slightly underripe, while still hard, and store them at the cooler end of the range — around 0°C to 2°C holds them longest. Conference, Concorde and Doyenné du Comice all store well this way for six to ten weeks.

When you want to eat them, bring a few into a warm room for three to five days and test the neck just below the stalk; when it gives slightly, the pear is ready. Pears also bruise more readily than apples, so handle them with extra care and pack them in single layers only.

Check the Store Regularly

Inspect your fruit every week or fortnight through the winter, working through the boxes by hand. Remove anything soft, mouldy or suspicious immediately, and take the opportunity to eat the fruit that is ripening fastest. Russets tend to keep longest and improve in flavour, while softer-skinned varieties will need eating first. Keep a note of what you stored and when — next year's crop will thank you for it, and by late winter a bowl of your own apples in February is one of the quiet pleasures of keeping an orchard.