My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.

Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
some things, but not for others.

I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
packs daily.

It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
and stone fruits before they are brown mush.

Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?

"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
...
> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>
> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
> some things, but not for others.
>
> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
> packs daily.
>
> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>
> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?

Buy a little fridge? You should be able to get one for around $50-60 now
with the back to school sales. Maybe less. I got one for about $40 a
couple of years ago. Or maybe it was last year. Can't remember.

I once had a produce keeper that was electric. Kept stuff cooler than room
temp. but not quite as cool as the fridge and perfect humidity. Worked
perfectly for a few months then died. Online reviews indicated that mine
worked better than most. Those quit working after days or weeks. Those are
no longer being made.

"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
...
> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>
> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
> some things, but not for others.
>
> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
> packs daily.
>
> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>
> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>

get a small fridge you can set to a more desirable temp to hold fruit.

On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:55:11 -0700, "taxed and spent"
> wrote:

>
>"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
.. .
>> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
>> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
>> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
>> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>>
>> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
>> some things, but not for others.
>>
>> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
>> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
>> packs daily.
>>
>> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
>> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>>
>> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>>
>
>get a small fridge you can set to a more desirable temp to hold fruit.
>

Good idea. Have one in the basement. Tried it, but it is harder to
keep the temp adjusted to where it would be ideal. Dunno know if that
is this particular fridge or most small ones. That was why I went to a
cooler. I should have explained in the earlier post.

"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:55:11 -0700, "taxed and spent"
> > wrote:
>
>>
>>"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
>>> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
>>> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
>>> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>>>
>>> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
>>> some things, but not for others.
>>>
>>> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
>>> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
>>> packs daily.
>>>
>>> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
>>> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>>>
>>> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>>>
>>
>>get a small fridge you can set to a more desirable temp to hold fruit.
>>
>
> Good idea. Have one in the basement. Tried it, but it is harder to
> keep the temp adjusted to where it would be ideal. Dunno know if that
> is this particular fridge or most small ones. That was why I went to a
> cooler. I should have explained in the earlier post.

You may have to get a separate thermostat in the fridge to control power to
its cord, to get the temp you want. Like if you are aging sausages, etc.

On 7/31/2015 10:44 AM, Julie Bove wrote:
>


>> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>
> Buy a little fridge? You should be able to get one for around $50-60
> now with the back to school sales. Maybe less. I got one for about $40
> a couple of years ago. Or maybe it was last year. Can't remember.
>
> I once had a produce keeper that was electric. Kept stuff cooler than
> room temp. but not quite as cool as the fridge and perfect humidity.
> Worked perfectly for a few months then died. Online reviews indicated
> that mine worked better than most. Those quit working after days or
> weeks. Those are no longer being made.


Get a wine cooler and put both wine and fruit in it. I keep the one for
red wine at 55 degrees. That would work well for fruit too, I think,
but you can always adjust up or down as it suites you.

They also have them with dual temperature, but they did not get as many
good reviews. I keep the whites at 47 degrees in another 20 bottle cooler.

On 7/31/2015 8:21 AM, Boron Elgar wrote:
> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>
Dehydrate the bloody stuff, make fruit leather.

On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:36:13 -0400, Boron Elgar
> wrote:

>On Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:55:11 -0700, "taxed and spent"
> wrote:
>
>>
>>"Boron Elgar" > wrote in message
. ..
>>> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
>>> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
>>> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
>>> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>>>
>>> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
>>> some things, but not for others.
>>>
>>> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
>>> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
>>> packs daily.
>>>
>>> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
>>> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>>>
>>> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?
>>>
>>
>>get a small fridge you can set to a more desirable temp to hold fruit.
>>
>
>Good idea. Have one in the basement. Tried it, but it is harder to
>keep the temp adjusted to where it would be ideal. Dunno know if that
>is this particular fridge or most small ones. That was why I went to a
>cooler. I should have explained in the earlier post.

You have a whole basement so why pray tell do you need a small fridge
like you live in a dorm? Costs very little more to power a decent
sized fridge and will be a lot more useful. I bought a used fridge
from an appliance store, was a reconditioned trade in, a 16 cu ft with
a top freezer. Been using it 12 years now and never a problem, works
great, holds the set temperature perfectly, fridge and freezer. Cost
me a measly hundred bucks delivered, it's no-frills, has wire shelves,
no ice maker, very basic but works like a charm. Buying a dorm sized
fridge I think is a total waste, unless all you want it for is two
bottles of wine and two six packs. I got the used 16 cu ft fridge
primarilly to store my garden crops, and does that well, but does so
much more. I can't imagine what I'd do with a mini toys r us dorm
fridge, can't even make enough ice for a party of two.

Boron Elgar wrote in rec.food.cooking:

> My kitchen is not air conditioned. It can get really hot with its
> eastern and southern exposures and it is difficult to keep fresh fruit
> around, as the heat can make things go from not quite ripe to -uh-oh,
> chuck it - overnight. We do not buy in large amounts, either.
>
> Lowest level of the house is of no benefit. Fridge storage is ok for
> some things, but not for others.
>
> I have been keeping a cooler in the kitchen the past couple of weeks
> and placing the fruit in there with a few ice packs. I change the ice
> packs daily.
>
> It seems like it's silly and a bother, but we get to eat the bananas
> and stone fruits before they are brown mush.
>
> Anyone else have any idea of what we can do?

First thought here is blackout curtins (they need not be black) to help
in the heat of the day. I assume there is a reason for not having an
ancillary AC in there (we have one with a fitting for a patio door,
portable, used the few times the AC is out). You can get some fairly
decent ones for 20$ at amazon.com.

Next thought is since the downstairs doesnt work (could be too awkward
to get down there for a variety of reasons), would be either a larger
fridge or a second smaller one that fit someplace in the room (top
becomes extra counterspace sortof).

Meantime, your solution isn't terrible at all. Just get lots of those
blue-ice cubes or find a diabetic friend who has their insulin shipped
in with those big bags that are the same thing really and snag their
spares.

Carol

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