How Long Apples Keep in Fridge and Cellar — Apelil — Apples as a food product: varieties by sugar and

At 0-4 °C (32-40 °F) apples keep 2-6 months; at about 20 °C they soften within 1-2 weeks — every storage decision follows from those two points.

The fridge crisper is the most reliable home store. Held at 0-4 °C, apples stay crisp for 2-6 months, and a perforated bag restores the humidity the drawer loses.

A cellar or unheated garage works only while it genuinely holds 0-4 °C. Keep a thermometer in the box: a cold snap that freezes the fruit or a mild week that warms it both shorten the clock.

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The freezer is a preservation tool, not a crispness tool. Frozen apple flesh thaws soft, so freeze slices or stewed apple for pies and sauces, and keep fresh-eating fruit in the fridge instead.

Commercial storage goes further with controlled atmosphere — 1-3 % oxygen and 1-5 % carbon dioxide at the same 0-4 °C — which is why shop apples can crunch months after harvest.

Whatever the space, the routine is identical: sort, wrap, keep cold, check. Variety choice sets the ceiling on all of this — see /apple-varieties — and ripeness should be confirmed before storing with the tests at /apple-ripeness-test.

Step 1 — Sort out bruised or cut fruit; it rots first and spreads spoilage.
Step 2 — Wrap each apple or use a perforated bag to hold humidity.
Step 3 — Pack shallow so no apple bears weight.
Step 4 — Set at 0-4 °C (32-40 °F) with a thermometer alongside.
Step 5 — Check every 1-2 weeks and remove soft or spotted apples.
Typical failures: shrivelling from dry air, mealiness from storing overripe fruit, brown patches from rot travelling between neighbours.