8 foods you don’t need to refrigerate
Do you know which foods don't need to be refrigerated? For many of us, the answer is a matter of what we grew up with or personal preference.
But there are some hard and fast rules.
Here are some foods you definitely shouldn't put in your fridge.
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are best left on the bench and not in your fridge because they're sensitive to ethylene – a gas that accelerates ripening. Keeping your tomatoes separate from ethylene-producing foods, such as bananas, apples, pears and oranges, will ensure they stay fresh for longer.
Research also shows that chilling tomatoes below 12°C limits their ability to generate substances that contribute to aroma and taste. In other words, they won't be as nice to eat.
"Tomatoes lose flavour when placed in the fridge," says CHOICE's home economist Fiona Mair. "I always keep my tomatoes in my fruit bowl or on the window sill.
"I like to buy a mixture of firm and slightly soft tomatoes so I have beautifully ripened tomatoes I can use across the week."
2. Coffee
Ground or whole-bean coffee should never be kept in the fridge, even if it's in an airtight container. Why? Because coffee works as a deodoriser and absorbs moisture, odours and flavours from the air around it, making your morning cuppa taste less like the nectar of the gods and more like a nasty flavouring of 'fridge'. Ew.
Instead, keep your beans in an airtight container in a dark space such as your pantry, away from sunlight, heat, steam and moisture. For the best flavour and freshness, buy your beans as fresh as possible and use them within 72 hours of roasting.
If that's not possible, you can store your coffee beans in the freezer for up to a month, according to the US National Coffee Association. But do so in small portions because, once you've taken your beans out of the freezer, it's best not to put them back in again.
3. Uncut root vegetables
Root vegetables, such as potatoes, onions, sweet potato and garlic, thrive outside the fridge crisper. The high humidity in fridges can cause root vegetables to rot faster. It's also important that you don't store root vegetables together, as this can affect their flavour.
"Keeping these types of food out of the refrigerator is generally to avoid moisture absorption that happens in the refrigerator, as this can cause foods to ferment and reduce the taste and quality," says Mair. "Best to find a cool dry dark spot in your kitchen."
According to Aloysa Hourigan, accredited practising dietitian and nutritionist and media manager at Nutrition Australia, there are some exceptions to the rule, especially after the vegetables have been cut.
"Onions are best stored out of the fridge until they're cut, then need to be covered or placed in a sealed container and kept in the fridge," she says.
"Whole pumpkins can be stored out of the fridge for many weeks, but once cut, they need to be stored in the fridge."
4. Coconut oil
"Coconut oil is climate-dependant and will solidify at temperatures lower than 24°C, so it's best to keep it in a cool, dark place like the pantry," says Fiona.
But she says as a general guide, nut and seed oils are best kept in the refrigerator, otherwise they're "more likely to oxidise and go rancid quickly."
Whether or not you need to put a condiment in the fridge depends entirely on the type of sauce, oil or spread you have, how much preserving salt or sugar they contain, and whether it's been opened.
"With bottled sauces, such as soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, oyster sauce and curry pastes, it's always best to check the label to see if it says 'refrigerate after opening'," says Hourigan.
5. Bread
Bread doesn't belong in the fridge – it'll go stale much faster than if you just keep it in the pantry.
Instead, keep your bread in an airtight tin, bread box or, for hard-crusted bread, a brown paper bag. Avoid plastic too, as this encourages bread to go mouldy faster.
Fresh bread will only last a few days before it naturally goes stale, but you can extend its life span by putting it in the freezer. Doing so slows down the natural process of retrogradation and recrystallisation, and stops it going stale.
6. Honey and peanut butter
Honey and nut spreads are all unique, so all need different types of storage. This is why it's important to always check the label for advice.
Honey is unique - one of the few foods in the world that never spoils thanks to its one-of-a-kind chemical make-up. The reason honey doesn't go bad is because bacteria can't grow in it, so it's happy to sit at room temperature in your pantry, where it stays soft and easy to spread. When refrigerated, honey crystallises, but is still perfectly edible.
Honey's durability is legendary. When archaeologists opened ancient Egyptian tombs, they found jars of honey from the days of the Pharaohs that were still good to eat.
As for peanut butter, it's fine in the pantry for three months or so after opening. But to extend its shelf life and avoid oil separation, you can also keep it in the fridge, though this will harden it and could make it a bit more difficult to spread.
7. Basil and parsley
Some herbs such as coriander and mint are best kept in the refrigerator crisper, wrapped loosely in absorbent paper and put in a sealed container.
But basil and parsley will turn a nasty shade of yuk if you keep them in the crisper.
"These herbs seem to do better out of the fridge," says Hourigan. "The dry air in the refrigerator causes the leaves to wilt easily."
To store your basil and parsley, Mair says, cut the bottom of the stems, place them in a jar with a small amount of water, then leave the jar in a cool place. "You'll just need to change the water and cut the bottom of the stems every couple of days," she says.
8. Warm leftovers
Putting hot food in the fridge can wreak havoc on its internal temperature, which may affect other food in the fridge as well.
So, for the sake of freshness, leave your warm leftovers to fall to room temperature first.
Republished with permission of CHOICE.