Storage is always a hot-button issue whenever food is concerned. Many of us believe that the fridge is the best place for everything, but this isn’t true. Dairy products, food, and others are awesome when you keep them in the fridge, but there are also a lot of foods that lose their freshness when you keep them in the fridge as well.
For a lot of these foods, surviving in the cold is a problem. Others tend to lose their flavor and value when they’re kept in the fridge for too long.
Here are 15 foods that fall into the latter and how you can better store them:
1. Potatoes
Yea, it’s important to store potatoes in a dark and cool environment. The problem with refrigerators, however, is that they’re just too cold. When a fridge is too cold, it breaks down the starch in a potato and gives it a gritty texture that you won’t like.
Then, the starch turns to sugar in the fridge, and completely fouls the flavor.
2. Onions
There’s usually a temptation to put onions in the fridge instead of the counter. Well, that temptation is wrong and you shouldn’t consider it. In the fridge, an onion will get moldy and turn to mush.
The best place to store it is to keep it at room temperature and leave it.
3. Garlic
When garlic is put in the fridge for too long, it loses its flavor. The best place to keep it is in a cool and dry container that allows some air.
A paper bag works wonders in this case.
4. Melon
Room temperature is also the perfect place to store whole melons line watermelons and cantaloupes. Studies have also shown that a refrigerated melon could lead to a quicker degradation of the antioxidant content.
So, it’s actually healthier to eat a melon that’s in room temperature.
5. Honey
When you leave honey in a fridge, it crystallizes. Apart from being unpleasant, this makes it almost impossible to use. As long as you store it in room temperature, you can keep your honey for a long time.
If you’ve put honey in a fridge, then you can recover it by putting the bottle in some hot water.
6. Bread
There’s a lot of volatility when it comes to bread, and it doesn’t last long before molds start to grow on it. Some prefer to keep it in the fridge, but when you keep it for too long, it gets dry.
If you’ve got a pantry or a bread drawer, then you can store your bread there. You could also freeze and toast slices whenever you want to consume it.
7. Nuts
The point of keeping nuts in the fridge is to ensure that the oils don’t get too rancid. Even at that, eating them while cold isn’t great because they lose their flavor and absorb the odors of other foods in the fridge.
Room temperature is also the best for nuts, but you’ll need to keep them in an air-tight container t. Frozen nuts can also be heated in a dry pan before you eat.
8. Coffee
One of the best things about coffee is that differentiating between good coffee and bad coffee is easy. When coffee beans are refrigerated, watery condensation builds, and you won’t enjoy consuming it.
Instead, keep them in an air-tight container at room temperature.
9. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are another produce that should be kept on the kitchen counter.
When frozen, a tomato loses its flavor and becomes mealy.
10. Hot Sauce
You can actually keep your hot sauce in the refrigerator. The only problem is that it reduces the spice in those peppers.
Leave your hot sauce outside – there’s enough vinegar to preserve it.
11. Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread
Get chocolate-hazelnut spread with graham crackers, fruit, or toast and you’ve got something special. However, like honey, the spread solidifies when it’s in the fridge and doesn’t spread the same.
Cold chocolate-hazelnut spread also loses its flavor over time.
12. Apples
If you like your apples cold, then feel free to keep them in the fridge. However, chilling apples reduces their crisp. You can always leave apples out and let the stay on the table for weeks.
Freezing extends their life by a few days too, so feel free if that’s what you want.
13. Avocados
Avocados are a tricky fruit for several reasons – especially when it comes to catching them at the peak of their ripeness.
Still, the only avocado that should be frozen is one that’s ripe but which you want to keep for some days.
14. Berries
Usually, it’s advisable that you eat berries soon after you pick them. If you want to keep them for a few days, however, the fridge isn’t so much of a bad idea. Just make sure you don’t let them become overly wet.
15. Stone Fruit
Room temperature is the best for stone fruits like apricots and peaches. Keep them in a paper bag and on the counter.
However, the fridge can help to preserve a ripe stone fruit that you don’t want to eat now.
Conclusion
A lot of these items will be more than fine if you keep them on the counter or in a pantry. While chilling is fine if any has been cooked or cut, keep in mind that a lot of these foods don’t do well in the cold.
Hopefully, this guide will help you to do better.
