Food
15 Foods You Should Never Put In The Fridge
Are you the type who loves to put everything in the refrigerator the second you come home from grocery shopping? You might be surprised to learn that you’re making a big mistake that is causing your food to go bad more quickly. If you want your food to last longer and taste better, then always remember these 15 Foods You Should Never Put In The Fridge.
15. Nuts
You can extend the shelf life of your nuts by putting them in the refrigerator. However, the problem is, the flavor of your nuts won’t be as profound. If you want your nuts to taste great, then you’ll need to put them in the cupboard. The cold air of a refrigerator wreaks all kinds of havoc on the delicate flavor of nuts. You and everyone else will love the taste of your nuts more if they are kept in a dry, warm place. Put your nuts in an airtight container away from the light if you want them to maintain their crunch and flavor. Nuts of all varieties can’t hold up to the cold temperatures of the refrigerator. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking peanuts or walnuts, make sure your nuts are warm and toasty for the best eating experience possible.
14. Potatoes
A home isn’t a home without a bag of potatoes ready to be eaten a million different ways. These versatile tubers are on many family’s plates every day of the week. The one place where you shouldn’t store potatoes is in the refrigerator. Why not? The sugars in potatoes break down when they’re cold, and they will begin to discolor. It’s best to keep your spuds in a dry, dark place where the temperature is always constant. A burlap sack is the best place to keep your potatoes, but a clean bucket will work as well. Try to avoid keeping your potatoes in plastic bags since the material doesn’t allow the potatoes to breathe. Whatever you do, don’t put your potatoes in the crisper bin at the bottom of your fridge. That’s the worst place you will ever put a potato since the cold air will make the potato go bad super fast.
13. Bread
Putting your bread in the refrigerator makes it go bad faster. That doesn’t make sense. How can the cool air make your bread take a turn for the worst? There are many reasons, and the big one is that bread doesn’t like cool, damp areas like a refrigerator. It’s best to buy only the amount of bread that you think you’ll eat in a short time. If you, for whatever reason, must purchase a large quantity of bread, then consider putting it in the freezer. It’s possible to freeze bread safely and not lose any of its flavor or texture. The next time you buy an expensive loaf of artisan bread, put half in the freezer and save it from going bad. Putting it in the refrigerator is a huge mistake, and it’ll lead to a poor eating experience when you make your next sandwich.
12. Uncut melons
We’re talking about melons of all kinds here. Watermelons are too big for the refrigerator, and it should be common sense not to try to fit one in there. The problem with putting a melon in the fridge is, the cold air will stop the ripening process. If you buy a melon that isn’t perfectly ripe, then it will take several more days for the melon to come to complete ripeness. If you like your melons sweet, then it’s best to put them on the counter or someplace where they won’t be disturbed. It’s almost impossible not to eat watermelon on a hot summer day if you have one. If you do cut and eat your watermelon, it’s possible to save the leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days in the refrigerator. Summertime isn’t summer without eating so much melon that you’re afraid that soon you’ll turn into one.
11. Coffee
We’re talking both coffee beans and ground coffee here. You don’t want to put your coffee anywhere near the refrigerator. The refrigerator is too damp for coffee, and the cold air will also destroy the flavor. If all that wasn’t bad enough, your coffee will take on flavors of foods that are around it. Unless you want to enjoy a cup of coffee that tastes like tuna salad in the morning, then keep your coffee in the cupboard. Store your coffee in an airtight container away from the light and anything that may impart unwanted flavor. Don’t mess with anyone’s morning cup of Joe unless you want to wake up to an angry bear!
10. Onions
The worst place to keep your onions is in the refrigerator. The cold moist air will cause your onions to become mushy. It’s surprising how long an onion can last in a dry area. You can buy a bag of onions and use them for weeks, if not months if they are stored properly. Your onions will have a much shorter shelf life if you keep them in the refrigerator. Have you ever eaten a mushy onion? It’s disgusting, and the texture alone will make you never want to put an onion in the fridge. Do yourself a favor and make sure never to put your onions anywhere near the refrigerator ever. Cooked foods and salads are okay if they have onions, but keep in mind not to keep them in there too long because the onions will begin to degrade.
9. Avocados
Who can seriously keep an avocado long enough to think about putting it in the refrigerator? There are so many things that you can do with an avocado that has nothing at all to do with guacamole. You’re probably going to make guac out of your avocados anyway. You might as well break out the tortilla chips and have a party in your mouth. Whatever you do, don’t put your avocados in the refrigerator. Putting them in there will make them go bad too fast. If you have too many avocados on your hands, then you’re doing something wrong. It’s hard to imagine anyone being able to control themselves around such a tasty treat from Mother Nature herself. Spread a little on toast, and you’ve got the best all-natural spread that requires little to no work.
8. Bananas
Bananas and refrigerators make for a bad combination. You are asking for trouble if you put this fruit anywhere near cold air. Bananas ripen faster when they get below a specific temperature. Worse yet, your bananas will turn black really quickly in the refrigerator. Keep your bananas out on the counter or someplace where the temperatures aren’t going to drop to cold. Bananas should always be kept at room temperature, and anything less than that is going to cause you problems. If you feel that your bananas are going to go bad too quickly, realize that you don’t have to buy an entire bunch. You can pull off a couple of bananas and only buy them at the store. No one will force you to buy the whole bunch, and buying only a few is the best way to make sure you don’t waste your money.
7. Dried fruit
Are you on a health kick where you’re trying to lose weight? If so, then you’ve probably replaced several of your favorite snack foods with dried fruit. As you probably already know, dried fruit can cost a pretty penny. The worst place to put your dried fruit is in the refrigerator since it’s both cold and damp. Your dried fruit will soak up the moisture in your refrigerator, and that will spell the end of it. Instead of trying to prolong the life of your dried fruit by putting it in the refrigerator, put it instead in an airtight container away from prying hands and anything that will add unwanted moisture to it. Your fruit is dried, and your efforts should be to keep it that way. You don’t want your diet to go off the rails because your dried fruit isn’t as delicious as the day it was picked.
6. Chocolate
Where is the worst place to store your chocolate? If you said on your radiator, you’d technically be right. The second worst place is in your refrigerator. The cocoa butter in chocolate absorbs all kinds of unwanted flavors. Whatever you do, don’t put your chocolate near the anchovy and onion pizza you bought last night. Not unless you want your chocolate to taste like onions and tiny fish that pack a surprising wallop of flavor. Those little fish taste great on pizza, but you’re not going to be too fond of the flavor of them in your chocolate bar. If you want to ruin a romantic Valentine’s Day, then put your box of chocolates in the refrigerator. You’ll turn what should’ve been a lovely evening into one filled with the type of havoc that leads to a divorce attorney on the other end of the phone. Avoid that at all costs by making sure your chocolate never goes above or below room temperature.
5. Honey
The thought of honey brings a smile to your face. Does the thought of honey that doesn’t flow out of the bear bottle make you frown? If it does, then you don’t want to put the honey anywhere near the refrigerator. You don’t need to keep honey cold because it’s full of natural sugar. Honey doesn’t go bad if you keep it in a cool, dry place. You can store your honey near your spices in the cupboard, and it’ll be fine for quite some time. The only time honey goes bad is when you put it in a place that’s cold. If, by accident, you do put your honey in the refrigerator, then place the container in a pan with some warm water and slowly allow it to come to room temperature. Honey, cockroaches, and Cher are the only things that will survive a global nuclear meltdown. Don’t worry about your honey going bad, keep it at room temperature and there’s no hurry to eat it since honey doesn’t spoil.
4. Strawberries
Strawberries are one of those fruits that you have to eat quickly or suffer the consequences. If you can’t eat your strawberries before two to three days, then don’t buy them. If you have strawberries from your garden, then you’ve got to eat them quickly or preserve them in some manner. Strawberries get mushy fast when you put them in the refrigerator. Whatever you do, don’t wash your strawberries as soon as you come home from the store. If you do, that will speed up the process that makes them mushy. You should buy strawberries on the same day that you eat them. Keep strawberries out of sunlight and definitely out of the refrigerator if you don’t want to end up eating a mushy slimy mess. If you have a whole mess of strawberries and can’t make jam right away, toss them in the freezer. You can add sugar to the strawberries or keep them the way they are. It’s possible to freeze whole or sliced strawberries. It’s probably best not to put sugar on them and slice them up if you have something specific in mind that you want to do with the strawberries once they’ve been unthawed.
3. Garlic
What would your favorite foods be without fresh garlic? Garlic is one of those things that can bring anything to life. Whatever you do, don’t store your stash of garlic in the refrigerator. Have you ever seen garlic with those green shoots on it? If you were unfortunate enough to taste one of those shoots, then you know how bitter they can be. Garlic that is in the refrigerator can also become moldy. The last thing you want is mold on your garlic. For the sake of all the Italian dishes that you love to make, store your garlic in a dry, dark place that has a constant temperature. You’ll be surprised by how long your garlic will last, and it’ll be there when you need to whip up the next batch of your world-famous spaghetti sauce. No one will ever know that your spaghetti sauce is store-bought, and you doctor it up with a few grates of cheese and some fresh garlic. It’s the garlic that throws everyone off, and they think it’s homemade sauce since the fresh garlic flavor is so pronounced.
2. Open cans of food
It should be noted that an open can of food in the fridge doesn’t pose any health hazards. You won’t get sick from eating a can of corn that has been in the refrigerator overnight. The real problem here is that the corn will taste like the metal can that it was sitting in. What do you do if you open a can and can’t use all of it? Remove the contents of the can and put it into a container and then put it in the refrigerator. It is best to write the date on the container with a marker that can be easily erased. By writing the date onto the container you or anyone else who gets into the refrigerator will know when the food was put into the container. It’s safe to put things such as soups, fruits, and vegetables in plastic containers and store them for several days before using them.
1. Peanut butter
Not putting peanut butter in the refrigerator is a no brainer if you’ve ever done it before. If you have, then you know that cold peanut butter is next to impossible to spread. You don’t need to worry about peanut butter going bad since they make that stuff shelf-stable. You can safely keep your peanut butter on the shelf for months after opening it. As long as you store the peanut butter at room temperature, you’ll be fine. Some say that natural peanut butter that needs to be mixed has a longer shelf life if you put it in the refrigerator. That might be true, but you’ll have to keep mixing it together. Mixing cold natural peanut butter is a difficult task, and it’s something that you’ll hate doing first thing in the morning when making your breakfast peanut butter toast. Peanut butter is best kept in your cupboard not far from the bread, so you don’t have to go far to make your next sandwich.