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Fruit and vegetables Updated: 01 Jul 2010

Selecting & storing fruit

The table below shows when you can expect different fruit to be at its best. The dates are only an approximate guide because they'll vary from year to year depending on weather conditions. And with fruits like apples, for example, there are differences between varieties.

Fruit	Season	Features to look for	Storage
Apples	Spring/Autumn	Firm with unblemished skin. Watch for bruising.	Room temperature. Refrigerate for long storage.
Apricots	Summer	Plump and juicy looking fruit with a uniform golden-orange colour. Ripe apricots yield to gentle pressure on the skin.	Room temperature.
Avocados	Spring/Autumn	Ripe when soft. They bruise easily, so test as for tamarillos. Stalk end should pull out easily when ripe.	Don't refrigerate or cut until ripe.
Bananas	All Year	Bananas with spots are not bad, but at their sweetest. Watch for bruising.	Don't refrigerate - take out of bags and allow air to circulate.
Cherries	Summer	Bright, glossy plump-looking surfaces. Stem should be green.	Room temperature. Refrigerate for longer storage.
Feijoas	Autumn	Ready when soft. Cradle in palm and squeeze gently to test.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Grapes	All Year	Well coloured, plump and firmly attached and unwrinkled at stem.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Grapefruit	Winter	Firm and heavy for their size.	Don't need to refrigerate.
Kiwifruit	Autumn/Winter	Avoid very soft fruit.	Can be refrigerated. Hard unripe fruit will ripen if stored with apples and bananas.
Lemons	Winter/Spring	Heavy, firm fruit with a rich yellow colour and reasonably smooth skin with a slight gloss. Pale or greenish-yellow lemons are very fresh, with slightly higher acidity. Coarse skin means not much juice.	Refrigerate to slow ripening.
Mandarins	Autumn/Winter	Deep yellow or orange colour and bright lustre.	Don't refrigerate.
Mangoes	All year round (imported)	Plump with smooth skin that has at least begun to turn from green to orange/yellow or red, and a slight softness. Look for round "shoulders" at the stem end.	Room temperature or refrigerate for longer storage.
Melons	Summer	Should not sound hollow when tapped. Should be heavy for its size with good colour and have a strong aroma.	Store only cut fruit in fridge and wrap to prevent ethylene gas affecting other produce.
Nectarines	Spring/Summer	Rich colour and plumpness, and a slight softening along the "seam". Some varieties are orange-yellow between the red areas, others are greenish. Hard, tan stains on the skin don't affect taste.	Ripen at room temperature, refrigerate when ripe.
Oranges	Winter/Spring	Fruit should be heavy with a fine texture. Coarse, thick-skinned light fruit is unlikely to be juicy.	Don't refrigerate.
Pears	Autumn	Soft and discoloured if overripe.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Peaches	Summer	A green peach is not mature and will never ripen.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Pineapples	All Year	Should be firm, no bruises or spots. Leaves should be green and easily plucked out.	Use immediately, don't refrigerate as they get chilling injuries.
Plums	Summer/Autumn	Don't accept soft plums or those leaking juice.	Ripen at room temperature. Refrigerate when ripe.
Strawberries	Spring	Should be bright red with no white spots.	Very perishable, so refrigerate. Wash only just before use.
Tamarillos	Autumn	Ready when soft. Cradle in palm and squeeze gently to test.	Refrigerate in plastic.
Tangelos	Winter/Spring	Should have yellow tinges and a puffy appearance and feel.	Don't need to refrigerate.
Watermelon	Summer	Should not sound hollow when tapped. Should be heavy for its size with good colour and have a strong aroma.	Store only cut fruit in fridge and wrap to prevent ethylene gas affecting other produce.

How to ripen fruit

The ripening process in produce is pushed along by a gas called ethylene, which is produced by many fruits and vegetables both before and after harvest.

Ripe apples, kiwifruit, melons and bananas are among the fruit that produce a lot of ethylene. Produce like avocados, which do not ripen on the tree, will be hastened to ripeness if you store them in a bag with any of these ethylene-producing fruits.

Green bananas and unripe kiwifruit will ripen quickly if stored with apples. But this can also be a nuisance. If you store all your fruit together, the ethylene will make the already-ripe produce deteriorate more quickly.