These 29 Tricks Will Change the Way You Peel, Eat and Store Fruit

If you’re looking for a way to treat yourself while still sticking to a healthy diet, you can’t do better than fruit! “Nature’s candy” is sweet, sure, but it’s also packed full of vitamins, making fruit a dessert that won’t fill you with guilt while it’s filling you up.

Yet whenever we go looking for fruity ideas, we always find ones centered on using fruits in other things things – pies, cakes, sorbets and parfaits – that, while delicious, don’t really pay attention to the food as it is, and instead focus on using it as just another ingredient, often stripping away its nutritional value in the process.

Today, we’re fixing that trend. Rather than a list of recipes, we’re making a list focused on the fruits themselves: how to find the ripe ones, how to peel and cut them, how to store them for long periods, and much more. Here, friends, are our 29 best and favorite fruit tricks and tips. Check them out and use them all.

Avocados

 

    1. Who has time to wait for avocados to reach perfect ripeness? Not us! Whether it’s for an unexpected party or to fulfill a craving, you’ll love this trick for safely and quickly ripening your avocados in the oven

without

    1. baking them.

 

    1. Prefer avocados that have ripened naturally? Don’t find them by squeezing! Instead, try this more accurate test and peel back that stem for a peek.

 

    1. Once you have a perfectly ripe avocado, you want to keep it around for as long as possible! The best technique out of the SIX tried in this test? Storing it – or your guacamole! – with slices of onion!

 

    1. Found a sale and now have a

ton

    1. of ripe avocados? Keep them fresh all season by freezing them.

 

    1. Want to get as much avocado flesh out of the peel as possible? Borrow this

kiwi

    1. -peeling technique and use a glass – not a knife! – to separate that peel!

 

Bananas

 

    1. While we’re on the subject of going knifeless, check out this trick for quick banana slicing! This time, you’re using a cooling rack to get perfect banana slices in seconds. It works for

avocados

    1. , too!

 

    1. Even cooler than quickly slicing bananas without a knife? Peeling them to discover they’ve already been

presliced

    1. ! This trick uses a needle to work the “magic” that will delight kids and kids-at-heart.

 

    1. Bananas brown before their time— i.e., before you got to eat them? Bring them back to life with a hair dryer!

 

    1. Prefer to keep bananas from going brown in the first place? Divide and conquer— literally. Separate the bananas from the bunch and wrap in plastic to keep them from ripening too quickly.

 

Berries & Cherries

 

    1. You don’t need to make a mess or use a specialty tool to pit a bunch of cherries all at once. Just grab a glass bottle and some chopsticks, and go to town!

 

    1. You can’t eat the leaves and stem of a strawberry, but that doesn’t mean you have to bid adieu to half of the sweet berries with every stem you slice. Instead, destem them with a straw, and never waste any of your strawberries again!

 

    1. Keep those fresh-picked blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and more for much longer! Before you do anything else, give them a “berry bath” of water and vinegar as soon as you get home, and you won’t have to worry about them growing mold or going bad too soon.

 

Mangoes

 

    1. Remember that trick we showed you for avocados? It works for mangoes, too!

 

    1. Feel OK using a knife and want a more attractive way to serve the tropical fruit? Take inspiration from this man, who first stabilizes the fruit on a long stick, then makes strategic cuts to turn it into a flower.

 

Oranges

 

    1. No, peeling oranges isn’t “hard,” but why wouldn’t we want to find ways to make the process easier and faster . . .

 

    1. . . . or just more fun!

 

    1. Prevent both an on-the-go mess and your orange slices from going bad by “pre-peeling” them, then using the rind as a portable container.

 

Pineapples

 

    1. Did you know that pineapples stop ripening the moment they’re picked? Did you

also

    1. know that they’re sweetest at the bottom, where it was connected to the plant? Put both pieces of new knowledge to use and make your pineapple sweeter while also making it last longer! Just slice off the top, turn it cut-side-down, wrap in foil, refrigerate, and wait.

 

    1. Spiky pineapples can be intimidating, but this easy carving technique demystifies the process so we all can do it. The end result is pretty and perfect for sharing.

 

    1. Still a little afraid of the pineapple? Try these three other ways to cut it up: a pineapple bowl, easy cubes, and a pineapple tube!

 

Watermelon

 

    1. Of all the fruits out there, watermelon might be the trickiest when it comes to determining if it’s ripe or not. Here are three tricks – based on how it looks, feels and

sounds

    1. – to make it a little easier.

 

    1. Conventionally, getting to the good part of the watermelon means removing the flesh from the rind, but there’s a far smarter way: doing the opposite! Cut the

rind

    1. away from the

flesh

    1. the same way you’d peel any other fruit, and you’ll enjoy much more of your watermelon!

 

    1. Want more watermelon tricks? Try these no-mess slices that are perfect for parties . . .

 

    1. . . . these fast, easy cubes, which are great for fruit salads or on their own . . .

 

    1. . . . this party trick that will blow everybody’s mind . . .

 

    1. . . . and this picturesque carving technique that’s ready for sharing.

 

General Tips

 

    1. If a recipe only calls for a few slices of a fruit, don’t sacrifice the entire one! Instead, cut what you need, then use a toothpick to preserve the rest for later with this clever trick that works for vegetables, too.

 

    1. Sometimes you don’t have a choice, and you

have

    1. to slice the entire fruit. If it’s anything like an

apple

    1. or a

pear

    1. , it can start to brown in what seems like seconds. Prevent that browning with a 30-second honey water soak! It works for veggies like potatoes and parsnips, too.

 

    No matter what tip you use on this list, you’ll probably end up with some leftover peels, shells and seeds you can’t eat. Put them to use! Whether they’re from a pomegranate, orange, grapefruit or lemon, there’s a way to use that refuse in DIY remedies for health, cleaning, and beyond.

We love all of these tips, and we’re always searching for more! Are there any tips you know that we missed? Which fruit is your favorite? Did any of these ideas surprise you?