Sometimes after doing your shopping you want to make everything last longer. You end up trying to refrigerate everything. But the truth is not everything needs refrigeration. In this article, we’ll share with you the top foods that you should never refrigerate. Refrigerating destroys their nutritional value, and flavour, or hastens their decay.
The most common mistake that people make is refrigerating chocolates. Crunchies should always to stored in perfect condition. That is the only way they would give you an amazing kick of goodness.
Why you shouldn’t refrigerate crunchies
If you love chocolates, then you can’t resist the temptation to buy several of them. But when take them home, how do you store these sweet treats? One thing is for sure, you shouldn’t store chocolates in the fridge.
You shouldn’t put crunchies in the fridge. Chocolates don’t do well when stored in the fridge. This is because of something called ‘sugar bloom.’ It’s recommended to store chocolates at room temperature of between 10 and 15 degrees. Cocoa butter absorbs odours and flavours.
When you store chocolates in the fridge, it destroys the taste. It also changes its texture.
But it’s not chocolate alone. There are other foods and snacks that you can’t store in the refrigerator. The following are some of the items that you can’t store in a fridge.
Other Foods That You Should Never Refrigerate
Apart from the chocolates, other products are not advisable to be stored in the fridge. This is because it destroys their taste or nutrients.
- Bananas
Bananas should be stored at room temperature. This is because the warm temperature helps bananas to finish ripening. This is especially if the bananas were bought when they were still green. When stored at room temperature, the air and light slow down and decay. That means the bananas will ripen faster, stay sweet, and stay fresh longer.
- Coffee
Coffee absorbs flavours around it. That’s why you shouldn’t store it in the fridge. It will pick up other flavours and make it taste bad after that. So, if you need your coffee to maintain its original taste still, keep it in sealed containers away from sunlight.
- Tomatoes
Most people keep tomatoes in the fridge. They last longer and look fresh. However, you shouldn’t store tomatoes in the fridge for a rich taste. Once you do that, you will mess up the deliciousness and texture of the tomatoes.
- Fresh Herbs
Refrigerating herbs and spices sap their unique flavour. That’s why it’s not advisable to store fresh herbs such as rosemary, basil, thyme, and other spices in refrigerators. If you want to keep them longer, put them in a small glass and store them at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.
- Honey
Storing honey in the fridge makes it unpalatable. If you want your honey to maintain its sweetness, keep it in its original containers and store it in a dark, cool pantry. So, don’t store your honey in a refrigerator.
- Bread
Don’t store your bread in the fridge. Not unless you prefer it dried-out or stale. Bread in cold temperatures becomes stale faster. This is as compared to putting in warmer temperatures. The best way to store bread is to keep it wrapped in foil or plastic material in a freezer. This is because freezing bread reverses the staling process.
- Melons
If you pay attention to the grocery section in the supermarket, you will realize that watermelon, cantaloupe, and other similar fruits are not stored in the cold section. So, use the same secret. Don’t store melons in the fridge. Keeping them in cold temperatures destroys their nutrients. But when you keep them at warm temperatures, you always keep their rich taste.
- Oil
When you store oil in the refrigerator, it starts to solidify or form a cloudy appearance. It thickens and makes it hard to retrieve. For the best experience, store the oil at room temperature. And that will solve the thickening problem.
- Onion
When the onion is refrigerated, the cold temperatures change the onion starch into sugars. It then becomes soggy and soft faster than it would naturally do. The onion begins to taste and smell nasty. But if you don’t store onions in the fridge, they can even last longer. They could go up to 30 days without refrigeration.
Keep the onion at normal temperatures, and you won’t have to worry about a thing.
- Potatoes
Potatoes are rich in starches. And when stored in cold temperatures they end up breaking the starch into sugars. As a result, they go bad quickly. And when cooking them they taste sweeter and darker. But when you leave the potatoes at normal room temperatures they don’t go bad easily. They can stay fresh for weeks in the right condition.
Always inspect your potatoes before storing them. Remove any potatoes that are damaged. Because the bacteria in one decaying potato might spread to other potatoes that are stored together.
- Garlic
Garlic should be stored in a dry and cool area in your kitchen. You can store it in a kitchen pantry, cupboard, or shady corner. When stored in a refrigerator the quality of the garlic deteriorates. And the added moisture in the refrigerator will also cause the garlic to start getting moulds. When you store garlic in the fridge, it will only last for a few days. But when it’s kept in a dry cool place it can last for up to over three months.
Parting Shot
The above are some of the items you shouldn’t store in the fridge. But you don’t have to stress yourself so much wondering what to store in the refrigerator. Just observe where you bought it. If it was in a refrigerator then refrigerate them. But if you found them in an open area, store them in an open area.
