These foods should not be in your fridge

Your fridge may seem like the obvious place to store foods to ensure that they stay fresher for longer. However, for some food items, for example tomatoes, the fridge is not the best storage place.

WHOLE BUTTERNUT

The moisture from the fridge can impact the quality of a butternut. It furthermore often changes the texture and cause the butternut to go off quickly.

CHOCOLATE

The fridge is the worst place to store your chocolates, whether a slab of chocolate or a box of loose chocolates. A fridge’s cold temperature and moisture will affect the chocolate’s taste, colour and texture. Chocolates (specifically the cocoa butter) also easily absorb the flavour and smell of surrounding food, so it’s best not to keep it too close to other food.

COFFEE

Coffee naturally takes on the smell of the ingredients around it and absorbs moisture. So, the fridge can damage its flavour and texture. The fridge is not the right place to store coffee in any form – whole beans, ground, or in an airtight container.

UNCUT CUCUMBER

Contrary to what many people think, cucumbers should be stored at room temperature to ensure that they have more flavour. Storing cucumbers in the fridge could cause them to be watery and to go off quickly.

DRIED SPICES

A fridge is an enemy of dried spices. Keeping dried spices such as cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and nutmeg in the fridge, will lead to unwanted condensation getting in the spices, affecting the taste and freshness.

FRESH GARLIC

If garlic is unpeeled (whole) it will deteriorate much faster when stored in the fridge because of the added moisture. The reason for this is because garlic bulbs are low-acidity, making them prone to Clostridium botulinum. Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium that produces dangerous toxins under low-oxygen conditions​, according to the World Health Organisation. Garlic that is preserved in oil sold in supermarkets, has preservatives added to it that increase the acidity and thus prevent bacteria from forming.

OLIVE OIL AND SUNFLOWER OIL

Storing oils in the fridge will often cause them to become cloudy and grainy, and in some cases they will solidify.

PEACHES

Peaches kept in a fridge will take much longer to ripen. They will also be more likely to go off and/or dry out.

RAW POTATOES AND SWEET POTATOES

Storing raw potatoes or sweet potatoes in the fridge will change their chemical composition which in turn will change their texture and taste. During refrigeration, an enzyme in them turns its natural sugar (starch) into glucose and fructose, causing discolouration and impacting the taste and texture.

TOMATOES

Like in the case of potatoes, tomatoes also contain an enzyme that reacts to cold temperatures. This enzyme causes the cell membranes to break down and as a result, the tomato will be watery, mealy, and often tasteless.

According to CBS News, refrigerating tomatoes stop them from making some of the substances that contribute to their taste.