10 commonly refrigerated foods that don't need to be
It seems that most homes have a huge refrigerator these days. But it didn’t used to be the case – our parents and grandparents used to get by with a much smaller unit, or in some cases just a chilled cupboard.
So is our obsession with chilling food all about avoiding food poisoning? Or could it be that we are storing food in the fridge that doesn’t actually need to be there?
Many foods will actually do better out on the bench instead of in the fridge.
1. Bread
While your fridge will stop your bread getting mouldy, it will also zap it of moisture, rendering it hard and stale. If you can see that you aren’t going to get through a loaf in time, freeze the rest and use it for toast.
2. Butter
This is a tricky one, as spreading hard butter on fresh bread is nearly impossible, but leaving butter out reduces its life span. The solution? Keep half in the butter dish on the bench, and the other half in the fridge.
3. Honey
Did you know that honey is the only food that never goes off? The fridge causes crystals to form, so it’s best kept in the pantry. You can get rid of the crystals by running the jar under the hot water tap.
4. Cake
Like bread, cake will quickly get dried out in the fridge so it is much happier in an airtight container on the bench for a couple of days. Elaborately iced cakes will need to be stored in the fridge but will dry out sooner so they are best eaten ASAP or frozen for future consumption.
5. Coffee
At one point we were all convinced that our coffee needed to be chilled but in fact that can cause problems for your beans. The condensation formed in the cool environment can affect your coffee beans, compromising their flavour. A better solution is to keep it in an air tight container out of direct sunlight.
6. Avocados
If you want to ripen a hard avocado then definitely don’t place it in the fridge as this halts its ripening cycle. So that means if you’ve bought a perfectly ripe avocado to use in your salad tonight, pop it in the refrigerator.
7. Bananas
In the same way, only put bananas in the fridge if you want to stop them from ripening any further. The fridge does cause their skin to turn brown, so it is only a short term solution. You can also peel and freeze banana to use in smoothies.
8. Melon
Leave your watermelon or rockmelon on the bench to sweeten, and then store in the fridge once they have been cut up.
9. Tomatoes
To avoid your tomatoes losing flavour, don’t store them in the fridge. Keeping them out on the bench keeps them juicy and tasty, whereas in the fridge they are quickly at risk of deteriorating in quality.
10. Sauces and mustard
Although your tomato sauce bottle advises you to ‘keep refrigerated after opening’ there’s enough acid in them (and mustard too) that will ensure they are going to keep well in the pantry. If you don’t use them frequently you can still store them in the fridge, as keeping them in the pantry will shorten their life span.
Related links:
Do we really have to wash fruit and veggies?
Mistakes people don’t realise they make with chopping boards
8 tricks to maximise space in fridge