Quick Way to Store Apples in Your Pantry for 6+ Months

When fall approaches, you know it’s apple season. It’s one of my favorite times of year! I look forward to pies, pastries, preserves, and eating these ruby red and yellow-green lovelies right out of hand.

But like all good things, it has to come to an end: even the most bountiful harvest won’t last, and if you don’t preserve your apples, they will shrivel and spoil soon enough. I guess you should enjoy those fresh ones while you can…

Unless you know the right way to quickly and easily keep them fresh in your pantry! No canning, no freezing, no joke. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you how.

What You’ll Need

Apples: Of course, you need apples, but what kind of apple matters quite a lot. As a rule, you’ll get better storage life and better quality over time by going with thicker-skinned varieties that are a little more tart.

Three of the best include Granny Smith, Newton Pippin, and Honeycrisp, but Fuji, Jonathan, Pink Lady, Braeburn, Gold Rush, and Macintosh are all dependably good choices too.

Paper: Wrapping apples individually in paper keeps them fresh, crisp, and tasty. It also stops spoilage from spreading through the bunch. Butcher paper is ideal here, but you can use newspaper (non-glossy only), paper bags, or even paper towels for the purpose.

Boxes, Crates, Trays, or Baskets: Simply something to store your apples in. It needs to be clean and food-safe, but don’t worry about it too much as long as it wasn’t storing hazardous chemicals. The paper we wrap the apples in will give them some protection. If possible, use multiple containers.

And that is it. In the following sections, I’ll tell you some tips, and then we’ll get right into the instructions. I promise you’re going to love this—so quick, easy, and effective you’ll never think of storing your apples in any other way.

Pro-Tips for Storing Apples

Aside from the procedure itself, there are a few crucial tips you need to know for getting the most out of your stored apples. Happily, this is quite easy to remember and implement too.

Perfection

Listen to me, because this is more important than anything: any apple that you want to store fresh must be absolutely perfect. No blemishes, no brown spots, no dents, no problems, nothing.

Imperfect apples spoil quickly, and as we all learned when we were kids, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. On the other hand, you can eat, can, or cook with any apples that have defects.

Keep Cool

You don’t have to keep your pantry apples as cold as they would be in a root cellar, but keeping them cool is going to make a big difference.

The ideal temp is right at 35°F (2°C), but if you have a pantry, closet, or other spot in your house that stays good and cool, anywhere from 50 to 60°F (around 12°C), that will suffice.

Humid

Likewise, if possible, pick a humid spot for your apples but only if it is cool. This might not be achievable depending on your home and storage concerns, but make it happen if you can.

Okay, time to get down to business.

How to Store Apples in the Pantry, Step-by-Step

Step 1: Wrap each apple in paper. Remember, don’t use glossy paper and don’t wrap any apple that is damaged or defective in any way because it won’t last. Newspaper will do.

Step 2: Place wrapped apples in a container. Leave a little bit of room between each apple. Don’t cram them in there.

If possible, only load a single layer of apples in each container. Doing so increases storage life and quality by helping to prevent incidental damage from crushing.

It also reduces “vectors” by which spoilage can spread to neighboring apples; the fewer apples that are touching the bad one, the fewet that can possibly go bad! This takes more room, and might not be possible for everyone, but it is worth it if you can.

Step 3: Load the smallest apples first and the biggest apples on top. If you have to use only a single container or don’t have enough room, keep the biggest apples near the top of the stack since they will ripen and spoil faster. We want to pull them out and eat or use them first!

Step 4: Place container(s) in your selected spot. As long as the spot is cool, dark, and preferably humid, you’re good to go.

Step 5: Move a weekly supply of apples to the refrigerator crisper drawer. Based on your menu for the week, move that many apples out of storage and remove the paper before you transfer them.

And you are done! I told you it was easy, didn’t I?

How Long Will Apples Last Stored This Way?

Short answer: 4 to 8 months, perhaps longer if you plan on processing them afterward. Long answer: it depends. It depends on the variety, storage conditions, and other factors.