The Best Ways To Store Watermelon Cuts For The Freshest Results

When the days get longer and warmer, refreshing cubes of sweet, juicy watermelon are the perfect treat to beat the heat. Since buying pre-cut chunks is typically more expensive, the best bang for your buck usually comes from buying a whole fruit and dicing it up yourself. But cutting into a watermelon is no easy feat, so when you eventually emerge victorious with bowls of juicy fruit, you'll want to make them last as long as possible.

It's important to know that before it's cut a watermelon can last for up to two weeks in the fridge, but after you've chopped it up it's only good for up to five days. Proper storage is key to ensuring it lasts as long as it can. Whether you're slicing your melon into wedges or cutting it into bite-sized pieces, here's what you need to know about how to keep it fresh until you're ready to dig in.

Cover slices in plastic wrap or store cubes in a container

Creating wedges may be the easiest way to cut your watermelon, but it may be a little trickier to store it properly. As soon as you cut into the fruit, the juices start seeping out and you start losing a little moisture and flavor right away. So although wedges are best eaten right after cutting, if you aren't able to get to them all in one sitting, you can wrap them in plastic wrap or foil and set them in the fridge. The tight wrapping will prevent more juices from leaking out.

If you've put in a little extra legwork to convert your watermelon into cubes, however, you can simply store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Tupperware or any other food storage containers will work perfectly here. However, since you're not sealing in the cubes' moisture in the same way, they may start to drain out over time, so it's best to eat these as quickly as you can. If you can't down all of your fruit in a few days, you have the option to freeze it. But keep in mind that the texture will drastically change, so you may just want to keep frozen watermelon for smoothies. Ultimately, the best way to store watermelon is in plastic wrap or an airtight container.