For some mysterious reason, my fridge used to be so full that it always seemed as if a movie just got over and everyone was in a hurry to get out of the theatre! In this case, the location is my fridge and the audience is my grocery! I know like me there are many of my tribe, who instantly feel like shoving most of the grocery shopping into the fridge to keep them ‘good’. What we do not realize or maybe not know from before, there are many hiding stars on our grocery list which actually hates being refrigerated. Is that a totally new piece of information for you? It was for me! So, I thought why not share this valuable information with my tribe? Yep, that’s what I’m going to do right now.
Vegetables
There are a few veggies that absolutely ‘love’ the mild cold temperature of the dark cabinet rather than being very cold in the fridge. Guess their names; potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions, squash, corn, fresh herbs {of course, they are fresh and should be used fresh!}
It so happens that when the potato gets ‘fridgy’ cold, the starch in it turns sweeter, so there goes away the authentic taste when you use it for mashed potatoes!
The same goes right for peppers, if you have not cut them, the fridge is not the right place for them.
Garlic loses its flavor and rots from within when it gets too cold and onions thrive in warmer temperatures, so they would love another place in your kitchen.
Fruits
Bananas actually turn black faster {ripen at the horses’ speed} if put into the fridge, they would love the humidity in the kitchen instead!
The same holds true for Melons, the cold fridge air quickens the rotting process, so keep’ em out baby!
You like your cucumbers crispy? Ditch the fridge and make the cucumber hug the fruit basket instead!
The fridge is another dampener for Avocados, why? Because in this case, the ripening would take ages {yes ages when you are really craving that avocado salad!}.
Apple and pears lose their crispness when left inside the fridge. Peach and Plums are also part of ‘leave me on the countertop’ brigade, they would not ripen if you leave them in the fridge.
Berries, anyways go bad really fast, if they are put in the fridge crisper, they only go bad and moldy, faster.
With citrus fruits, it’s really up to you, you may or may not pop them into the fridge, it’s a no-harm no-good scenario!
Sweet Treats
A few that serve the sweet tooth also love hanging around, the cake could absolutely be left on your counter, just cover it up, that’s it. I have noticed that keeping cakes in the fridge dries them out, the sweetness goes down and it becomes much more crumbly.
Our favorite Nutella type spreads, jams, and honey {honey tends to crystallize}are better left off the fridge.
Admit it, no one wants their butter rock-hard when they are ready with a toasted bread slice!
So, gauge the portion you might need for about 2 days and keep it in an air-tight jar and the rest in the fridge. USDA and FDA say it’s perfectly safe to keep butter at room temperature for 2 days and when it goes around 70 degrees, the fridge would be the better place. Read more about this on State Food Safety Resources.
Peanut butter is made of steel, they can be good without refrigeration for 3 months after that it needs help from the cold fridge air to keep the oil and the butter together!
Chocolates if put into the fridge would not only turn ‘teeth-breaking-hard’, but it would also alter the taste to some extent. It would best stay safely in your kitchen cabinet, till the time you decide to devour it all, that is
Your Cup of Joe
Fridge would be the last place your coffee would want to be, really! Coffee absorbs smell, remember how you smell coffee beans in between trying out different fragrances at the Bath & Body Works? Just like that, coffee would leap to absorb all the smell/flavors in your fridge {what a savior it pretends to be!} and also turn moisture-laden. Not good at all.
Pickles, Salad Dressings, and Hot Sauces
Pickles have so much sodium and brine in it, so save the fridge space for some other item.
And the case with the hot sauce, the cold air would definitely bring the ‘hot level’ down and mellow down the flavor. A quick tip: when you find your dish is a bit high on the spice level, put it in the fridge overnight, you would find that the cold air has brought down the ridiculous spice level at least a bit!
Spices
We would not want the flavors to diminish, isn’t it? Keeping spices in the fridge would rob them of their aromas. So, ditch the fridge!
And the list goes on, so add the dried beans, basil, nuts, canned foods, vinegar, syrups {I love maple syrup, btw}, flour, pumpkin to the list and don’t forget your Jerky!
So, did you see how much you were cramming that poor little fridge of yours! No wonder every day the fridge seemed to go smaller for all the grocery that we assumed must go into it. Ok, now that this epiphany has dawned on us, we’ll act better and leave these safely out of the cold zone!
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