6 Things That You Should Never Put In Your Refrigerator
What’s not to love about a refrigerator and freezer? It’s the place to stash your leftovers and other food, like a home-cooked meal or your favorite dessert. Indeed, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that refrigerators are a miracle of modern life.
Despite how useful refrigerators can be, it’s important to note that not all food should be stored in a refrigerator. To help you figure things out, here are 8 fruits and vegetables that you should never put in your refrigerator.
Bananas
Bananas ripen better when they’re kept at room temperature. Light and air can also slow down the rate at which the banana decays. With that being said, you can freeze ripe bananas to extend their lifespan. Frozen bananas can last up to 6 months. Leaving the bananas for longer than 6 months will cause freezer burn.
Tomatoes
Put your tomatoes on the countertop and not in the fridge. The cold temps in the fridge mess with their flavor and their texture. With that being said, you should consider putting ripe tomatoes in your refrigerator if you want to prolong their shelf life. While it will affect the tomato’s flavor, a slightly less flavorful tomato is significantly better than a rotten one.
Avocadoes
You’ll also want to refrain from putting avocados in your refrigerator. Now, the cold won’t really damage the avocado but it will significantly slow down the ripening process. If you’re looking to ripen avocados, it would be best to leave them on your countertop. A hard, green avocado will ripen in four to five days. Just leave it on the countertop at room temperature
Melons
In the grocery store, you won’t find cantaloupe, watermelon, and other similar fruit in the refrigerated section. You should do the same with the melons you have at home. With that being said, melons will need to be stored once they’re ripe. Be sure to slice them up in half and wrap them in cling wrap before storing them in the refrigerator
Potatoes
We usually refrigerate food to extend their lifespan. However, the opposite is true when it comes to potatoes. In fact, sticking potatoes in the refrigerator will cause them to spoil more quickly. This is because the gasses released by the potatoes will accelerate their spoilage. To add to this, keeping potatoes in room-temperature storage will also allow them to maintain their texture.
Bread
Never refrigerate bread. Storing bread in the fridge causes the starch molecules in it to recrystallize more quickly, which increases the rate at which the bread dries out. If you want your bread to retain its quality, be sure to store the bread in an air-tight plastic bag at room temperature rather than in the fridge.
Conclusion
We hope this article proves to be useful when it comes to furthering your understanding of the best practices for storing food in your refrigerator. While refrigerators are useful for prolonging the shelf life of many food items, fruits, and vegetables it’s important to take into account how they impact the quality and the flavor of the food.
For valuable information about fridge odors, mini-fridges on carpets, and other topics, read through the many articles on Pixel Fridge. Our blog offers tips, reviews, analyses, personal opinions, and recommendations for high-quality French door refrigerators. Get in touch with us if you have any questions!