Foods You Should Never Store in the Fridge

Hold it! Before you add another foodstuff to your fridge, take a few minutes to read this. Is your refrigerator always crammed with food that there is no way to see everything in it? For most people, the refrigerator has become such an important part of everyday life. So important that anything at all is stashed into it. Most of us are of the opinion that a cold environment is the best environment to keep food in. But that is not the case. Not every food has to be kept in the fridge. In this blog article, we will discover exactly which foods you should never store in the fridge.

Bread

Most people prefer to keep fresh bread in the refrigerator because the cold temperature is a no-no for mold. As much as that helps, your bread will not be happy with you. This is because bread will actually go stale and dry out quickly in the fridge than it will outside the fridge. This is due to the moist and cold temperature in the fridge. It will become tough to touch and feel chewy in your mouth. So, although you are stopping the mold, you wasting the loaf. The best way to store bread and keep it fresh is to store it in a cool and dry place, preferably on the counter. If you have more bread than you can consume quickly, store the rest in a freezer (not a fridge). When you are ready to eat, bring it out to room temperature or toast it.

Whole Melons

An uncut melon is rich in antioxidants locked up in it. It also contains compounds like beta-carotene, which helps to promote good eyesight and healthy skin. When a whole melon is stored in a fridge, the cold environment cuts down the number of antioxidants in it by half. Did you frown? Good. There is more bad news. Cool air prevents any growth in the antioxidants that occur after harvest; but room temperature does the opposite. However, when it comes to a piece of sliced melon, it is best to store it in a chilled environment to help prevent the growth of bacteria. Thus, store your uncut melon on a fruit rack. Wrap your sliced piece of melon in cling film and store it in a refrigerator. Please note that, however, that once a melon is cut, it should not be stored for more than five days in the refrigerator.

Potatoes

A lot of people love potatoes. They are easy to cook and easy to eat. But are they being stored properly? Some people store potatoes in the fridge. That is a bad idea. Potatoes contain starch, which breaks down in cold temperature and leaves the potato with a gritty texture while giving it an unpleasantly sweet flavor. This is because cold air converts the starch in a potato into sugar. Potatoes are best stored at room temperature. The ideal temperature for storing potato is forty-five degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature in most refrigerators is set from thirty-five degrees to thirty-eight degrees Fahrenheit. That is way beyond ideal. To store potatoes, place them in a paper bag and keep them in a cool and dry pantry away from sunlight. This is because sunlight will cause chlorophyll to build up. This will turn fresh potatoes green and may even make them taste bitter.

Coffee

Coffee is man’s best friend in the morning (you can quote this anywhere). Nothing can be more painful than getting rid of unused coffee down the drain. Thus, so some people prefer to store it in the refrigerator till the next time. But storing coffee in the fridge is yet another bad idea. This is because the moisture in the refrigerator can cause the beans to lose its freshness. What this means is that the next morning’s brew will not produce the bold flavor you desire in your coffee. To add to that, whenever the refrigerator is opened and closed. It causes a fluctuation in the temperature, which creates condensation. This, in turn, creates even more moisture. To store coffee beans properly, pour the beans into an airtight container, and keep in the pantry.

Avocados

Avocados are very delicate when cut open. When uncut, it can be very difficult to gauge how long it can last. You might be tempted to store your avocados in your fridge to keep it fresh while it ripens. That is another bad idea. This is because storing an avocado in a fridge will only soften it as it loses its freshness. Rather than ripening it, it will instead go mushy. The best way to store your avocados is to keep them in open brown bags. You can also store them with your bananas and allow them to snuggle together at room temperature. Bananas will help to ensure that your avocados ripen quickly and remain fresh. When you cut open an avocado, it is best to keep the left-over in a fridge to keep it fresh for a day or two if you are lucky.

Bananas

As mentioned previously, when it comes to unripe bananas, they can be good snuggle-mates with unripe avocados. If you wan t to store bananas that still need to ripen, the refrigerator is the last place you want to put them. This is because bananas do not have any natural defense mechanism against cold temperatures. What this means is, if you store your unripe bananas in a fridge, they will turn black and mushy instead of ripening. However, when it comes to storing ripe bananas, it is safe to keep them in the fridge.

Honey

You can hardly say no to a drip of this sweet and sticky fluid falling on your tongue. Honey can also be used to sweeten a lot of dishes. Thus, it should always be kept fresh to be available when it is needed. How do you store honey? The answer is definitely not in the fridge. This is because the cold temperatures in a refrigerator will cause the honey to seize up and crystallize. Honey is in itself a natural preservative and, therefore, does not need to be kept in a fridge. To keep your honey fresh and gooey while you store, it is best to keep at room temperature. It should be stored in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight. So, do you want to keep your honey fresh? Then put it back in the cupboard…or on the shelf…or wherever you took it from. Just keep it away from the fridge!

Tomatoes

You do not need to be told about tomatoes, do you? If you have ever tasted tomatoes brought out from a fridge and fresh tomatoes. You know that the fridge is an absolute no-no when it comes to these red juicy little guys. When tomatoes are stored in cold temperatures, the cold air is capable of altering their chemical combination. When this happens, the chemicals that are responsible for making the tomatoes fresh are slowed down, while the chemicals that cause a dull flavor are accelerated. At room temperature, tomatoes taste better. When cold, there is very little to taste. Thus, to store your fresh tomatoes, keep them on your kitchen counter for a more delicious taste.

Hot Sauce

Hot sauce purchased from the store contains vinegar and preservatives. This helps to give it a long shelf-life. Hot sauce contains plenty of vinegar to prevent the growth and spread of bacteria. When a bottle of hot sauce is stored in a fridge, the spicy peppers it contains may shed off some of their heat. Now, what is a hot sauce without the heat? To keep the heat of the pepper more potent, store your hot sauce outside the fridge at room temperature.

Garlic

To keep garlic fresh, the cloves should be stored in temperatures between sixty degrees and sixty-five degrees Fahrenheit. Ideally, the cloves should be kept in a ventilated container. This is because a ventilated container will allow in the moisture that garlic gloves need to stay fresh. The container should also be stored in a dry place. When garlic is stored in the fridge, it will cause the cloves to sprout and become rubbery.

Onions

To keep onions fresh, they should not be stored in a refrigerator. Onions require good air circulation to keep them fresh. Thus, the best place to keep them is in a vegetable basket that allows in enough air. They can also be stored in a paper bag with enough holes punched around it and kept in the pantry. Onions emit gas and moisture. It is, therefore, important not to store them beside potatoes, as this will cause the potatoes to go bad quickly. Chopped onions can be refrigerated.

Eggs

Eggs are not sold in coolers or refrigerators. Yet, after purchase, most people dash off to store the eggs in their refrigerators. The ideal temperature to store your eggs is twenty degrees Celsius or below. This will ensure that your eggs taste better in your dishes.

To Summarize

Keeping your food fresh has everything to do with proper storage. When food is stored well, not only does it last longer, but it also tastes better. The refrigerator is excellent for storing a lot of different foods. However, it is important to keep the foods mentioned above away from the fridge.

Sources:

1. 10 Foods You Should Never Keep In The Fridge – Huff Post
2. Which vegetables should stay in (and out of ) the fridge? – The Guardian