At what temperature should you store vegetables without a fridge?
Most winter vegetables keep best cold and damp, at 0–4 °C and 85–95 % humidity. Potatoes want it slightly warmer, at 4–6 °C. Onions need cold but dry air, at 60–70 % humidity, and squash wants warm and dry conditions, at 10–15 °C.
Storage conditions
| Food | Temperature | Humidity |
|---|---|---|
| Most winter vegetables | 0–4 °C (32–39 °F) | 85–95 %, damp |
| Potatoes | 4–6 °C (39–43 °F) | damp |
| Onions | cold | 60–70 %, dry |
| Squash | 10–15 °C (50–59 °F) | dry |
Rules that save a harvest
- Keep fruit apart. Apples, pears and quinces give off ethylene, so store them away from potatoes, cabbage and carrots.
- Store only sound, dry and unwashed produce. One rotten fruit spoils the whole crate.
- Measure. A thermometer and a hygrometer tell you what is really happening.
Where the cold comes from
Without power, cold comes from the earth and the night air. A cellar is cooled by ventilation and a clamp by the soil around it.
Storage without electricity: temperature and humidity
Why vegetables and fruit spoil, the three storage groups, how to get cold and damp without power, what must not be stored together, and how much food and space a family needs
- Winter stock calculator
- Space calculator
- Map of cold spots
- The storage year
- Stock inventory
- Equipment and shopping
Sources: Gross, Wang and Saltveit (eds), The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks; Bubel, Root Cellaring; Kader (ed.), Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops; FAO, Prevention of Post-Harvest Food Losses.
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