After shopping, the food should be durable as long as possible . The groceries you buy are put in the fridge because you don’t want to eat them all at once, let alone eat them all in just a few days. Nevertheless, fruit and vegetables in particular should remain fresh and crisp for a long time. But how is that possible? Which foods can you store in a cool place and which foods have no place in cool storage areas? We’ll show you here!
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This fruit is sensitive to cold and loses flavor when refrigerated
- Apples are very sensitive to cold and they lose their taste when it gets cold. If you keep them unrefrigerated, they will stay fresh for up to a week or two.
- The sooner berries are eaten, the better they taste. They develop their flavor best at room temperature. If you want to keep the berries fresh longer, freeze them. However, remember to wash the berries before eating.
- Peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots also ripen and store best at room temperature. As soon as they are ripe, you can store them in the fruit drawer in the fridge or eat them. Keep in mind that the fruit will lose some of its flavor due to the cool temperature in the fridge.
- Bananas get mushy and brown in cold temperatures, they are also sensitive to cold. It is better to store them in a dry place and, if necessary, in the cellar. Storing bananas with apples and tomatoes will speed up the ripening of the bananas.
- Exotic fruits such as pineapples, mangoes, papayas and pomegranates also do not tolerate cold, they are used to warm temperatures and are therefore better stored at room temperature to ripen.
- Melons are best stored at room temperature. If you have already cut off some of the melon, you can keep it fresh in the fridge for a day or two.
- Unripe avocados take even longer to ripen due to the cold, better put them in a fruit bowl on the table. If you want them to ripen faster, put them in a bag with an apple. On the other hand, if the avocados are already ripe, you can reduce the further ripening process by storing them in the refrigerator and eating them within three days at the latest. If you have already cut an avocado, you can sprinkle it with a little lemon juice to prevent the fruit from browning.
- Citrus fruits such as lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits and tangerines do not tolerate cold temperatures. It is best to lay them open on a bowl, they are used to warm temperatures. If the fruit has already been cut open, the cut surfaces dry out slightly, protecting them from mold. Once cut, they can usually be kept for up to a week.
These vegetables can’t stand the cold
- Tomatoes and other watery vegetables like cucumbers, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant are probably the best-known examples of vegetables that shouldn’t belong in the fridge. They quickly lose their flavor and texture when refrigerated. It is therefore better to put the tomatoes on a plate or in a bowl. If you want the tomatoes to ripen faster, leave them in a bag in your apartment. Overripe tomatoes are great for cooking.
- Acorn, spaghetti, and butternut squash will keep for up to a month as long as they are not refrigerated.
- Onions will mold faster in the fridge and become soft. It is better to store them in a dark, ventilated place, where potatoes are also not stored, otherwise they will spoil faster. Cut onions, on the other hand, can be stored in the refrigerator for two or three days.
- Garlic has a similar effect to onions, if you keep it cool it will germinate and mold faster. Also place it in a tall vessel like the onions in a dark, ventilated place.
- Potatoes lose their taste when they are cooled because the starch they contain breaks down. Get them out of bags to avoid moisture and the resulting mold. Store them in a dark, well-ventilated area to preserve them for as long as possible.
More foods that don’t like cold
- Strongly alcoholic drinks such as vodka and whiskey do not belong in the fridge, they last practically forever unopened and even opened, you can easily store them in a dark place until the aroma and alcohol evaporate, it takes a while.
- Vegetable oils like olive oil change their texture when chilled, becoming hard, thick and flaky like butter. Only nut oil such as walnut oil should be stored in a cool place, it is quite thin and quickly becomes inedible and rancid when it is hot.
- Hot sauces like Tabasco often contain preservatives like vinegar and salt and don’t need to be refrigerated once opened. However, they should be protected from direct sunlight.
- When exposed to cold, honey hardens and begins to crystallize. Always keep the honey jar closed and in a dark, cool place.
- Fresh herbs like basil quickly absorb the flavor of other foods when chilled, and not only that, they also lose the fresh, crisp flavor. It is best to put the fresh herbs in a glass with some water.
- It’s the same with coffee. It should never be stored in a cool place because it also absorbs the taste of other foods and loses its own taste. The freshness and taste of coffee is preserved only in a dark, cool room.
- Bread can be made to last longer by freezing it and letting it thaw just before eating. It gets dry in the fridge. Store it in a bread box and consume it after a maximum of four days.
