What you do: Wrap the whole fruit in tinfoil and set it on the baking sheet. Pop it in the oven at 200°F for ten minutes, or until the avocado is soft (depending on how hard it is, it could take up to an hour to soften). Remove it from the oven, then put your soft, ripe avocado into the fridge until it cools.

The basic oven-ripening trick goes like this: Place your bananas, still in their peels, on a lined, rimmed baking sheet (because they ooze, sometimes). Turn the oven to 300°F. Bake the bananas until their peels turn black. Let them cool a few minutes before handling, and voila: sweet, mushy bananas for baking.

You can speed up their ripening by placing them in a single layer in a large paper bag with holes punched through it. Fold the opening of the bag over and leave it on the counter while the fruit ripens. The fruit releases a gas that is then trapped in the bag, which speeds up the ripening process.

Actually its all about the chemistry of how apples ripen. Unlike some fruits, apples continue to ripen long after they are picked off the tree. The emission of this gas is slowed by the cooler temperatures of a refrigerator causing the apples to last longer.

Apples will last longer in the refrigerator The best way to keep apples fresh is to store them in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator in separate plastic bags. Alternatively, you can place a damp towel on top of the apples to help them maintain moisture.

Don’t store squash and pumpkins with apples and pears Squash and pumpkins are well known for having a long shelf life but apples, another fall favorite (along with pears and other ripening fruit) shouldn’t be stored with them.

The best way to keep apples fresh and ready to eat is to store them unwashed, in whole form, and individually wrapped in the refrigerator. This can keep them fresh for up to 6–8 weeks.

Brown spots inside an apple are not a reason for concern. The apple is safe to eat as long as there are no signs of mold. However, it’s best to avoid fruits with bruises, skin breaks and other signs of damage, as they are prone to mold.

When its skin turns wrinkled and the texture becomes grainy, it won’t taste well, although it is edible. Therefore, you can grate it and make a salad or a pie.

Speaking of vitamin C, apple skins contain significant levels of vitamins and minerals that are lower or almost non-existent in apple flesh. In fact, a raw apple with skin contains up to 312% more vitamin K, 70% more vitamin A, 35% more calcium and potassium, and 30% more vitamin C than a peeled apple.

The Answer: Rinsing fruit and vegetables under water helps rid the food items of soil, microorganisms and potential human pathogens such as E. coli, listeria and salmonella, according to Sanja Ilic, an assistant professor and food safety specialist at Ohio State University.

Apples with the skin have more nutrients than peeled apples. Most nutrients in fruits and vegetables, such as apples, are found in the skin or peel. However, an apple’s skin makes it more nutritious. Discarding the skin takes away some of the apple’s fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidant properties.

Choose from our list of apple all-stars.

• Granny Smith. One of the most nutritious common apples, a Granny Smith apple has 13 times more phytonutrients than a Ginger Gold, according to Robinson.
• Liberty.
• Red Delicious.
• Honeycrisp.
• Braeburn.