Whether you buy bananas weekly or a punnet of raspberries, it can be incredibly annoying to find the fruit rotten within a couple of days of purchase. While looking for the freshest produce in the store can help, I kept finding that some fruits would still turn bad within a day or two, no matter the state they were bought in. With the cost-of-living crisis continuing, I was getting sick of contributing to food waste and losing money, so I decided to see which supermarket had the longest-lasting fruit.
Over a few weeks of food shopping, I picked up a variety of foods, such as grapes, blueberries, bananas, and tomatoes, from my local Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lidl, and M&S. The rules were simple: I picked the freshest-looking fruit and kept them in the same conditions, and the results were surprising.
Sainsbury’s
I tend to do my weekly food shop at Sainsbury’s because I like their selection overall, but I have found their prices slowly creeping up, which is why I’ve tried shopping at Lidl recently.
It didn’t take long to find some mouldy strawberries on the shelf, but the other fruits looked in good condition.
Unfortunately, upon opening, the grapes were squishy, and I prefer a crispy grape for as long as possible, which was disappointing. However, the bananas, blueberries, and tomatoes held up well.
Marks and Spencer
If I have the time, I’ll do my weekly food shop at Sainsbury’s or Tesco and then pick up my fruit from M&S because I’ve always had a great experience.
The selection is also vast, with doughnut peaches, golden kiwis, candy floss grapes, lychees, and more on offer. I also find some fruits with yellow sticker labels.
M&S grapes were crunchy, tomatoes super juicy and sweet, blueberries large and bananas delicious.
It reminded me why I shop at M&S for fruit: there is no food waste, and although the cost was slightly higher initially, I don’t mind this if the food is going to get eaten and last longer.
Lidl
I recently started to shop at Lidl and found I was spending more because of the Middle of Lidl, but I was impressed with their fresh produce section.
I’ve found in the past that the produce doesn’t last as long as at other supermarkets, but I’ve been impressed with it over the past few months.
Their grapes were juicy and crunchy, and their blueberries were sweet and delicious.
I didn’t enjoy their tomatoes as much just because the range was slightly smaller, so I picked up ones I wouldn’t usually have, but this wasn’t a huge issue.
The bananas lasted a few days less than at Marks and Spencer, which meant I had a great supply for banana bread, but overall, I was super impressed, and the prices were much cheaper.
Tesco
I find my local Tesco hit and miss when it comes to fresh produce, with strawberries often turning mouldy as I get them home.
So, I’ve ditched strawberry buying unless I pick them myself and stuck to other fruits. I’ve recently started to buy Tesco Finest grapes because I was so disappointed with the normal ones, and again, they were not crispy on the day I purchased them.
However, the blueberries were deliciously sweet, the tomatoes juicy and red, and there was a huge selection of ripe and unripe bananas to choose from.
Overall, I was impressed with the fresh produce. This may be because it’s summer and more is in season, but I’d say Marks and Spencer was the winner for me.
It’s important to note that the fresh produce has a quick turnover in supermarkets, so this could differ between days and weeks, and this is just my experience at my local stores.
To make fruit last longer, I try to buy the best-looking fruit in the store. When I arrive home, I decant grapes into a glass bowl, blueberries into a fruit container, and keep bananas away from other fruits.
