Have you ever heard of those "Debbie Meyer Green Bags" that are advertised on late-night infomercials? Believe it or not, those dumb things really do work very well, and keep produce fresh a lot longer.

AND, they have now been copycatted by other brands and even as cheap knockoffs. I have been buying packages of them at the dollar store (generally 5 bags for a dollar), and those even work.

I was able to keep Asian pears fresh a whole year in them. Apples (Ark Black, Red Delicious, Stayman Winesap) will keep into about June or July.

The only drawback I've found to these is that, once you take the produce out of them, it does go downhill fast, like in a week.

Overall, I think it's a really good product and it really helps.

I put a link to them at the Ace Hardware site, just to show you the product, but you can buy them locally much cheaper than this. Most grocery stores and mass merchandisers carry some version of them now -- look in the section where they sell foil, plastic wrap, etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Green Bags at Ace Hardware

Hockingapple, you are correct about modern, frost-free refrigerators. They are dry inside, constantly removing moisture from the air inside. I can't help but think this is why your apples are wrinkling. Commercial storage is at high humidity. I would also think that plastic bags would help keep them from dehydrating. Or a nearly air-tight box of some sort. Anything to keep the fridge from sucking their moisture away. That's why those drawers in the bottom of your fridge are called "hydrators". They're intended to seal in moister.

Denninme, are you serious? Apples until June? I'm assuming that is under refrigeration... right? Anything else I need to know if I want to try this?

Yes, that is in the refrigerator, in the bags.

Um, the only other thing you need to know is -- don't spend any more than you have to on these bags -- the cheap dollar store knockoffs work just as well as the original, pricey ones. Hopefully you have a dollar store or someplace similar near you. I've found them here at Dollar Tree stores as well as some of the local mom and pop dollar stores. Believe it or not, they're even made in the USA.

Well, actually, there is one other thing -- if the fruit is damaged, it will still rot in the bag, so make sure that none of the bagged ones have bruises, cuts, scrapes.

I take a paper towel, wet it squeeze most of the moisture out and place in the heavy duty plastic bags I store apples in.

I've got a huge antique freezer from the 40's that I use for storing them in. It is hooked up to one of those thermometers from a wine making supply store...it also gets used with my wine and meade :)

If you have a old freezer or refrigerator that does not get below freezing on its evaporator it should not remove moisture from the product. Self defrosting models defrost on a timer, if the timer does not run they will not defrost, but in a matter of weeks they will be so full of frost they will run 24 hours a day and so will your electric meter. There is a market for dried apples, but I would not do it this way. Commercially now days they store apples in a "controlled atmosphere" meaning without oxygen. I have an idea that is how the green bags do it too. Al

Goldrush like Golden delicious has skin that lets moisture escape more quickly than other apples so it's a wrinkler. Any plastic bag with a few holes in it will greatly delay this affect. I store a lot of mine in my well house which is not ideal for most apples because the temps fluctuate too much during warm spells but my Goldrush hold up through March in there as does Pink Lady.

Thanks for all the input. I will definitely visit the dollar store and see about getting some of those bags. Thanks!

>Commercially now days they store apples in a "controlled atmosphere"
>meaning without oxygen. I have an idea that is how the green bags do it too.
>Al

The green bags work by adsorbing the ethylene gas released by the fruit. By locking up the ethylene, the bags slow down the ripening process.

This is the way I keep apples crisp for months.I learned this a long time ago.....real simple.

Put an inch of water into the bottom of a crisper.Place a garbage bag in the water and fill it up with apples.As others have said....you want temps close to freezing with 90% humidity.

Real cheap and easy.Those green bags cost a lot more than a plain old garbage bag.