How long do apples last

Keep a whole apple unwashed, in a bag with holes or an open basket. FoodKeeper prints the pantry as 3 weeks. Do not park a bruise or a rotten one against the sound fruit; mould moves to the neighbour. The fridge is printed as 4–6 weeks. The bold number is four weeks. The drawer holds moisture; the door warms up every time it opens, and that is not the apple’s home.

The whole-apple clock ends the moment you cut it. Put the cut face in a closed box in the fridge. This page does not write a separate day for a slice. Wash just before you eat. Water speeds mould on an apple that is waiting.

Get perishable food into the fridge within 2 hours of cooking it or bringing it home, and within 1 hour if the kitchen is above 32°C (90°F). USDA FSIS and Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry both publish that cutoff. A closed deep pot stays warm; a shallow box cools.

A chart is a window, not a verdict on the container in your hand. A sour smell, a slimy surface, or mould means it is finished, even on day one. This page is not medical advice.

• A soft, sunken, or wet spot. A light bruise on its own does not finish a whole apple; mould with it does.
• Mould. Cutting out the spot and carrying on is not enough once mould has entered the flesh.
• A sour or fermented smell. The apple’s own smell is not that.
• A collapse inside into something like brown meal.

Natural speckles on the skin can be the variety. Softness and smell decide.

Slice it, take out the core, press out the air, and freeze it closed. The ministry caps fruit at 6 months. FoodKeeper’s freezing note is 8 months. The bold number is the shorter one, 6 months. That note does not say to freeze a raw whole apple in its skin. The months are about quality. USDA says food held continuously at −18°C (0°F) stays safe.

Thaw in the fridge. Do not refreeze a slice that has thawed. A frozen slice is fine for a pie.

Thaw in the refrigerator, not on the counter. Do not refreeze a portion that has thawed. The ministry states the same rule: thaw frozen food in the fridge and take out only what you will eat.

• An apple lasts for months in the pantry. FoodKeeper prints the pantry as 3 weeks.
• The fridge poisons an apple. FoodKeeper prints the fridge as 4–6 weeks. The acrylamide argument on the potato page does not move over to apples.
• The freezer month is for a raw whole apple. FoodKeeper’s note, 8 months, is apples prepared for freezing. The bold number is the ministry ceiling, 6 months.

The windows assume a generally healthy household. Pregnancy, young children, older age, or a weakened immune system are reasons to keep the shorter figure, to skip raw or undercooked food, and to reheat leftovers until the centre is steaming. USDA’s figure for reheating leftovers is 74°C (165°F).

Heating a mouldy apple does not undo mould. In pregnancy, for young children, in older age, or with a weakened immune system, do not sort mouldy flesh by tasting it. An apple is not raw meat. A bruise on its own, with no mould, can be cut away and eaten; if you see mould, that apple is finished.