I usually tuck some type of whole fruit in my bag to eat with lunch or snack on later in the day. It might roll around a bit or — if I put it directly into my backpack or purse — encounter who-knows-what at the bottom of my bag. To protect apples, pears and other fruit with edible peels, I've come up with an quick way to keep them clean and protected from bruises.
When I pack my lunch in the morning, I use a cloth napkin to tie up the fruit in its own little protective pouch. This habit was inspired by Japanese furoshiki — an all-purpose piece of fabric used to tie up bento boxes, bottles, fruit and much more — as well as the individually-cushioned fruit you'll find in many Asian markets.
This trick also works with summer fruit like peaches and plums, although I am more careful to not let these softer fruits get too bumped around in my bag.
Do you have any tips for protecting fruit in your lunch bag?
Related: The Rubber Band Trick: How to Keep a Cut Apple Fresh in Your Lunchbox
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I've always wrapped my bananas (I am so picky about bruised bananas and other fruit!) in a tea towel or my scrub khaki pants that I change into when I get to work. Same kind of idea.
For some reason, it never occurred to me to use a cloth napkin--I've always wrapped apples in a paper towel. (Another benefit: you have a towel with which to wipe your hands when you're done with the fruit--but a cloth napkin would serve the same purpose and be reusable! Genius!)
For smaller, softer fruits (like apricots or plums), I use one of those mini airtight plastic food containers (the one-cup size from Glad is a good one, but other brands make similar styles.)
Wasn't there a post recently about banana holders?
I've seen those holders and I always thought they wouldn't really work...bananas are all different shapes. Plus they look a little...funny to me:). If they actually work I'd love to know.
I can't say this has ever been a particular issue for me. This morning I cut up half a banana to put on toast and tossed the second half, in the skin, into a baggie. I just ate it with tea. It was kind of smushed and the skin was now black, but it's still a good banana. Banana holders crack me up. They're so, um, suggestive?
I will cut up plums and apricots and put them in a container for work, mainly because working around the pit is easier at home.
I have a tiny little colander I found at a discount shop and it's the perfect size to keep fruit from getting bumped. I don't think a tea towel/cloth napkin would do much to protect a peach or plum. You need someting rigid.
I put bananas in a knee-high sock: pull the sock over the banana,twist at the top and then fold it back over the fruit to make a double layer. A shorter sock works well for peaches and the like. Good use for the odd socks that my dryer turns out from time to time.
I just read in Cooks magazine today to use a beer cozy to keep fruit from bruising. Sounds like a good idea!
I ride my bike to work and fruit gets really beat up from all the bumps. Apples are fine in a tea towel or cloth napkin but for pears and peaches I roll them in terrycloth bar mop (extra cushiony) and then slide whole thing in an old yogurt container. They always arrive in perfect condition and I have a towel to wipe up the juice from my nice, ripe peach. I have given up on getting raspberries to the office un-smushed so I just mix them into a cup of yogurt at home and take them that way.
I ride my bike to work as well (when it's not winter), & still use a plastic container for whole fruit, tho' everything else is in glass. Don't figure too much bad stuff is going to leach from the plastic if the fruit is intact.
Dione--a friend gave my husband one of those as a souvenir from Japan. It is totally ridiculous and takes up a ton of space, but he loves using it because it provides opportunity for lunchtime humor. It does work, and I think it fits many different shapes of banana because it is so big.
I like this idea because then you have a cloth napkin instead of a paper one.