Apples and pears if stored correctly should last until the spring. Herre are some tips:
- All fruit and vegetables taste best eaten as soon as possible after harvesting, so a good plan is to eat the freshest produce and store only the excess.
- Harvest produce for storage in its peak condition. If you have damaged apples use them for making apple juice, cider or chutney.
- If you have the time wrap each apple individually in newspaper. This helps them keep. If you are short of time, wrap only a few and leave eating them till last.
- Check your produce regularly and remove any that have deteriorated. You know what they say about a bad apple (even though in my experience the rest are unaffected as long as they are not touching).
- Not all varieities store equally well. Cooking apples store better than eating apples, and late ripening varieties store better than early varieties.
- For more storage tips and recipies, take a look at How to Store Your Garden Produce by Piers Warren.